In many fields, researchers have identified a design problem known as the “reference man.” For decades, systems in medicine, engineering, and public policy were often built around a statistical model of an average adult male body—sometimes defined as a 70-kilogram “reference man.” Drug dosages, safety standards, and equipment design were frequently calibrated around this hypothetical average person. Over time, researchers discovered an obvious problem: Very few real people actually resemble...

One of the biggest shifts in a self-directed classroom is that students are given real opportunities to choose: Will I continue playing, or will I engage in something challenging right now? Will I persist through the difficulty of learning something new, or avoid it? How do my choices affect the people learning around me? To adults, these may seem like behavioral decisions. To children, they are actually neurological training. Developing self-directedness is more than motivation or...

Below are five questions I’ve received this year from parents, along with detailed responses to help clarify how our self-directed classroom operates and how we can continue partnering together to support each child’s success.