Welcome to Volta
(VOLusia Thought Academy)
I am launching this microschool so I can live according to my values.
I believe in a holistic approach, nurturing development in all areas of life. The college-bound student should be able to change a tire or build a bench, just as the vocational-track student should be able to write a sonnet or identify logical fallacies.
Having taught at public, private, and charter schools, I see the limitations of large-scale school systems. I am going out on my own so that I can do my best work, unfettered by the new and changing restrictions on Florida educators, and so I can teach meaningful, useful skills that regular schools don’t.
“Only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual. ”
“Collaboration is important not just because it’s a better way to learn… learning to collaborate is part of equipping yourself for effectiveness, problem-solving, innovation and life-long learning in an ever-changing networked economy.”
“Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting. Most people learn best by being “with it,” yet school makes them identify their personal, cognitive growth with elaborate planning and manipulation. ”
Size Matters
For years, I taught upwards of 150 students a day, in 46 minute intervals. It was not ideal. I also spent years teaching classes capped at 16 students, and the difference is staggering. With small groups each student can get personal instruction, and this greatly accelerates mastery. Having small groups with individual attention allows students to move at their own pace, which is often far faster than the pace of a 30-student class room. This creates more time for enrichment and additional subjects. Classes here are capped at 14 students in total, and most courses will be offered in groups containing between 2 and 6 students. This ensures all students get the most out of instruction without waiting for a huge class to catch up to them. It also means no student will fall behind because the teacher is focused on the individual rather than the middle 80% of a large group. Lastly, a total student body of 14 allows us all to fit in the 15-passenger van for weekly field trips.
“The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. ”
A Different Approach
The kids will plan, prepare, cook, and serve lunch for and with each other, sharing the labor of planning, preparation and clean up.
There are physical fitness and mindful awareness exercises embedded in the daily routine.
There is daily independent reading time.
There are weekly field trips.
The student body is treated as a single team, engaging in regular team-building activities.
Students will identify and pursue areas of study according to their own interest (in addition to core curriculum, not in place of it).
The daily curriculum is a blend of traditional teacher-led instruction, thematic/experiential/project-based learning, and individualized web-based learning.
Regarding pedagogy, we strive for a middle path. Rather than subscribing to a single approach, we freely borrow from many methods, including: Waldorf, Montessori, forest school, traditional direct instruction, Socratic seminar, and inquiry-driven learning.
“We must be careful not to discourage our twelve-year-olds by making them waste the best years of their lives preparing for examinations.”
What it is & What is isn’t
It IS a place where students can:
Pursue personal academic interests, have regular access to nature, manage their own daily tasks of living, be included on a single team, be called by whatever name they want, speak freely about their perceptions of truth and reality, pursue a rigorous academic college-bound track, pursue a practical skills-based vocational track, receive individualized accommodations for their learning plan.
It is NOT a place where students can:
Evade responsibility (either to their work, themselves or their classmates); behave disrespectfully (being such a small school means acts of violence, harassment, or abuse will impact the entire school, and cannot be abided); only study what they want (to be clear, this school leans in to self-directed learning, but certain courses are required for all students, including most core academics, philosophy, and nature studies).
Location
For the first year at least, the school will operate out of my home in west Deland. Whole group activities will take place in the large back room, and individual work can be completed at the long front table, around the kitchen counter, on couches, at group work tables, and at several individual work desks.