I recently read this article by education entrepreneur John Danner, in which he compared today’s microschool founder movement to the hacker culture of the early home computer adopters in the ’80s and ’90s.
I’ve never considered myself “cool” or “fringe,” so I was thrilled to be considered among the “hacker” culture he described—who’s that cool girl reading the latest data on homeschool college admissions? (Snort laugh)
Joking aside, Danner’s description of the microschool movement resonates for me, noting that it is led by passionate “hobbyists” who are building whole new educational approaches on the weekends, and then sharing with one another what they learn as they go. This sharing is happening through networks like the National Microschooling Center, VELA, Microschool Solutions, on Kerry McDonald’s LiberatED podcast, and in Facebook groups and other social media platforms.
As I pondered this concept of “hobbyist revolutions,” my eyes were opened to another hacker community evolving in my own microschool. I saw the kids playing Minecraft. I observed the way they enthusiastically share what they learn with one another, whether it’s commands, cheat codes, mods, or glitches—they are truly exploring a new frontier. There are no adults who know this landscape better than they do, so they are discovering it on their own, finding their people as they share what they know, and growing in confidence as they master this new world. I realized they too are part of the hacker culture.
This wasn’t the first time I have realized the benefits of children’s intense interest in this game. When I first moved toward an interest-led learning approach in my own family, one of my biggest concerns was the same one I often hear from new unschooling parents today: “What if my kid only likes (fill in the blank)?” You can fill it in with Minecraft, video games, YouTube, cartoons, or anything. In order to explore my own fears around this, I took the advice of some fellow unschooling parents, and sat down to play Minecraft with my kids.
Here are three things I think we can learn from this hacker culture as we chart our own course in this brave new world of microschooling.
- Open worlds require cognitive flexibility. I sat down to make a house in my first Minecraft session. I asked, which is the floor block? The reply, “Any of them. Just pick one.” I was surprised at how uncomfortable I felt with the openness, so I asked a follow-up question: But which is the right floor block? Thinking in my mind that if I choose the best one first, I will build more efficiently and get this project over with. Similarly, I have found myself wanting to find the “right” everything for my school, from billing software to learning platforms and employees. The truth is, I am building in an open world. Sometimes the right or the best hasn’t been discovered yet, so you just have to pick one and start building.
- When you find something that works, share it! The Minecraft kids love sharing with one another. They watch one another’s tutorials on YouTube. They build whole packs of “mods” to change how the game works and then share it, often freely, on an open platform. Similarly, the generosity of the microschool movement is inspiring! What a joy it is to work with people who are so fired up about this educational revolution that they just want to see it succeed in all parts of the world. There is no “trade secret” to protect because the movement is full of open-minded and open-hearted individuals who are testing out all kinds of new methods, systems, and products. There is no way one teacher or founder can reach every kid, so you actually extend your own reach by helping other founders succeed.
- New skills take time. I am a very slow builder in Minecraft. I break when I mean to build and build when I mean to break. I just can’t get the coordination on the mouse keys. Playing it wasn’t very fun at first because I felt so slow. I had to put my money where my mouth was and model for my kids the patience I always request of them when learning new things. New skills take time, but as an adult, we sometimes avoid learning new things. Kids, by contrast, have so many new skills to pick up that they tend to live in a more constant state of learning. My own kids have pushed through that learning phase and now can build their ideas quite quickly in Minecraft. I found myself wanting to outsource my house build to their more efficient hands.
When you first start out as a school founder, you will need to learn new skills. It feels awkward, slow, even exhausting sometimes, to be on a learning curve, especially if you have spent years in a job that you could practically do in your sleep. Sometimes I equate the discomfort of learning something new with some kind of sign that I shouldn’t be doing it, or that I am doing it wrong. Hard doesn’t necessarily mean wrong. It means it’s new. It will get easier—you will learn new hacks (pun intended).
So just pick any block for your floor and start building. There is a whole community of us “hackers” ready to share other options with you when you’re ready for more!
