13 year old Logan LaPlante:
Hackschooling Makes Me Happy
When 13 year-old Logan LaPlante grows up, he wants to be happy and healthy. He discusses how hacking his education is helping him achieve this goal.
Saleena's Notes while listening to Logan: I was so inspired by this very clear young man. His message uplifted me and inspired me to check my life to see what I need to add to be more happy and healthy… so here are my notes of what stood out to me while listening:
Logan: When you're a kid, you get asked this one particular question alot. It really gets kind of annoying. What do you want to be when you grow up? Now adults are hoping for answers like "I want to be an astronaut", or "I want to be a neurosurgeon." You adults and you're imaginations… Kids, they are most likely to answer with Pro Surfer, Skateboarder, or MindCraft Player… See, us kids are willing to answer with something we're stoked on…what we think is cool, what we have experience with, and that's typically the opposite of what adults want to hear…"
He quoted from Dr. Robert Walsh:
TLC-Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes
Exercise
Diet & Nutrition
Time in Nature
Contribution & Service
Relationships
Recreation
Relaxation & Stress Management
Religious-Spiritual Practice
"Much of education is oriented around making a living rather than making a life."
"Schools kill creativity…"
Saleena Note: At least they tried to…it didn't work on me…though I've have had to stand strong in my own inner determination to choose and design a lifestyle that was anything but traditional over the years.
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." Sir Kin Robinson
"Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status…" Sir Kin Robinson
Logan: "There are alot of parents now pulling their kids out of traditional school and going about it with creative thinking. He was 9 when his parents pulled him out…
Hacking makes me happy… not just computer hacking… hackers are innovators, people who challenge and change the system to make things work differently., make them work better. It's how they think, tits a mindset…
I am growing up in a world that needs a hacker mindset, and not just for technology. Everything is up for being hacked."
My Hackschooling=
Creativity Hacker Mindset
Happy & Heathy 8 TLCs
Technology & Online Resources
Experiencial Classes & Camps
"I hack my education. I take advantage of oppotunities in my community and through the network of my friends and family.
I take opportunities to experience what I am learning and I'm not afraid to look for hacks to get a better and faster result. A remix or mashup of learning...it's flexible, opportunistic and it never loses sight of making happy and healthy and creativity a priority.
Here's the cool part,
it's a mindset, not a system.
Hackschooling can be used by anyone, even traditional schools.
So what does my school look like?
I study alot of math science history and writing.
I didn't used to like to write because my teachers wanted me to write about butterfies and rainbows and I wanted to write about skiing.
It was a relief when one of my friend's Mom started Squaw Valley Institute where I got to write through my experiences and my interests, while connecting with great speakers from around the nation, and that sparked my love of writing.
Once you're motivated to do something, you can get alot done in a short amount of time and on you're own.
Hacking Physics was fun….through experimenting and making mistakes.
Ropes Course: 60 feet off the ground got to learn to handle your fear, communicate and trust each other.
Community Organizations are a big part of my education…"
Time in nature is really important to me. It's calm and quiet and I get to just log out of reality. I spend one day a week outside all day. Logan LaPlante
Saleena Note: It's really about finding places to participate, experience, learn and contribute where one's interests are. I am still "schooling" myself this way. Nearly every day I learn something new.
Logan: "I look at skiing powder on a mountain like my education. If people ski like traditional education, they would all follow one route, probably the safest most well travelled and most of the powder would go untouched. I look at it and see a thousand possibilities…skiing to me is freedom, and so is my education.
It's about being creative, doing things differently, it's about community and helping each other. It's about being happy and healthy among my very best friends.
I am starting to know what I want to do when I grow up, but I will always know what I want to be… happy and healthy. Thank you!"
