Counter Markets

Financial Newsletter for Free Marketeers and Libertarian Entrepreneurs

Education

Microschools Are Proving to Be a Winning Option in Las Vegas

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By Kerry McDonald Tears filled Maria Castaneda’s eyes as she recalled moving her son from a Las Vegas charter school to a microschool in 2020. She explained that in the charter school, her 7th grader was excelling academically but was growing increasingly withdrawn and angry. “I pulled him out because in that situation it brought out the worst of him, not the best of him,” … [Read more...] about Microschools Are Proving to Be a Winning Option in Las Vegas

Students Against Mandates — “Solutions Watch” with James Corbett

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By The Corbett Report Leigh Vossen and Sheldon Munroe of Students Against Mandates join us today to discuss their organization, how and why it was formed, and how it is working to lift the mandates and restrictions on students across Canada and to make sure that those mandates are never imposed again. SHOW NOTES Students Against Mandates website Canadian university … [Read more...] about Students Against Mandates — “Solutions Watch” with James Corbett

5 Surprising Facts About Microschooling

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By Kerry McDonald One of the most popular and fastest-growing educational trends today is microschooling. Microschools are intentionally small, mixed-age, K-12 learning communities with personalized curriculum approaches that are sprouting rapidly across the U.S. They harken back to the one-room schoolhouses of yesteryear and were gaining traction even before the education … [Read more...] about 5 Surprising Facts About Microschooling

How Microschool Networks Are Activating Education Entrepreneurs

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By Kerry McDonald When Katelyn Shore opened the first Wildflower Montessori microschool in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014, she hoped it would be the start of something big. The vision, introduced by Sep Kamvar at the MIT Media Lab, was to create an open-source network of intentionally small, storefront, neighborhood Montessori microschools that would offer the tools and … [Read more...] about How Microschool Networks Are Activating Education Entrepreneurs

Why Former School Teachers Are Earning More Money As Education Entrepreneurs

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By Kerry McDonald When Emily Williams told her parents back in early 2020 that she was leaving her job as a certified public school teacher to launch a microschool, they thought she was crazy. Both longtime public school educators themselves, they couldn’t understand why Williams, who taught in Mississippi public schools for more than a decade, would want to give up a good … [Read more...] about Why Former School Teachers Are Earning More Money As Education Entrepreneurs

Will the Microschool Movement Last? Lessons from the 1960s “Free Schools”

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By Kerry McDonald Over the past couple of years, there has been a surge in the number of microschools spreading across the country. These small, multi-age, co-learning communities with hired educators were gaining popularity before the educational upheaval of 2020, but they were still very much at the edge of the educational landscape. The disruption caused by the pandemic … [Read more...] about Will the Microschool Movement Last? Lessons from the 1960s “Free Schools”

Are Innovative K-12 Education Models Coming To Your Community? It Depends On Where You Live

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By Kerry McDonald Chris Turner is inventing an entirely new category of education. It’s not school and it’s not homeschool, and it doesn’t fit neatly into existing regulatory frameworks. Turner’s startup, Moonrise.com, is truly an out-of-the-box learning model that too often gets boxed in, preventing its ability to launch or grow in certain US states. Turner decided to … [Read more...] about Are Innovative K-12 Education Models Coming To Your Community? It Depends On Where You Live

Hybrid Homeschooling and the Benefits of a Decentralized Education System

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By Kerry McDonald I presented at a conference last week hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School on emerging school models. I talked about the growth and diversification of the microschooling and hybrid homeschooling movement that was already underway prior to 2020 and that has since accelerated. Now, more families recognize the tremendous value of these hybrid homeschool … [Read more...] about Hybrid Homeschooling and the Benefits of a Decentralized Education System

Why This East Coast State Is Becoming a Hub of Education Entrepreneurship

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By Kerry McDonald New Jersey education entrepreneurs are embracing an ethos of permissionless innovation, creating new learning solutions that work well for children and others in their communities rather than trying to change an entrenched traditional school system. When Ben Ashfield and Tammy Tiranasar couldn’t find their preferred educational environment for their two … [Read more...] about Why This East Coast State Is Becoming a Hub of Education Entrepreneurship

More States Are Mandating Kindergarten. Here Are 3 Reasons Why That’s A Bad Idea.

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By Kerry McDonald This back-to-school season, many parents are eager to drop-off their kindergarteners to begin the 13-year journey toward high school graduation. It can be a joyful time, full of anticipation and excitement. But just because something may be desirable for many families doesn’t mean it should be mandatory for all. California is the latest state to try to … [Read more...] about More States Are Mandating Kindergarten. Here Are 3 Reasons Why That’s A Bad Idea.

How Disruptive Innovation Is Accelerating the Growth of Alternative Learning Models

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By Kerry McDonald Disruptive innovation usually begins on the margins, with a few, intrepid users embracing a new product or service. Abetted by new technologies, a disruptive innovation penetrates the mainstream when its quality is proven to be as good, if not better, than more established models. According to author and investor, Michael Horn, a classic example of … [Read more...] about How Disruptive Innovation Is Accelerating the Growth of Alternative Learning Models