Kate Friedman on Promoting Self-Direction in Public Education

If you’re in love with the principles of self-directed learning but don’t want to abandon the public school system, how can you still make an impact? Kate Friedman (katefriedman.co) has figured out one way to do this. A former kindergarten special ed teacher who has also worked at the Brooklyn Free School, Kate now nudges classroom teachers in the direction of self-directed learning with the hopes of gradually shifting the New York City public school system toward more choice and inclusion of different ways of learning. We discuss good structure versus bad structure, the orthodoxy of self-direction education (that sometimes leads to kids who can’t read or write), and what inspires her to continue working in the public system despite its flaws.