What if we trusted you?: Jerry Michalski at TEDxCopenhagen 2012

Many institutions we take for granted are designed from a basis of mistrust. Skip school too often? Go to jail. Run that red light, even when nobody is around for blocks? Ticket.
Movements around the world are finding new ways, flipping the model, building practices and institutions based on the initial gesture of trust. Building on trust, we are rediscovering how to be citizens in civilization together. The effects of this shift will catalyze every sector of human activity, a process we've only just begun.
therexpedition.com/
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.*
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[@segolilymama]

As someone who wrote for & compiled a book called "Trusting Children" this talk really resonated with me. We can trace so many issues in our societies to the lack of trust in schools. It takes something to be a parent willing to trust your child, and the innate curiosity that human beings have!

[@MikeSadofsky]

I didn't find this until today. Sudbury Valley School has been doing this for kids from 4 through high school age for the past 45 years with marked success. No curriculum, no grades, no tests, no age segregation. The school operates as a democracy with about 150 kids and 10 staff meeting, discussing and voting on policy and practices. Graduates move on easily to work and university. There are 30-49 schools modelled on this institution in the US and elsewhere and several more inplanning.

[@mightymomto1]

This was a wonderful talk. We chose the path of trust and unschooling for our daughter. We have watched her grow into a happy, caring and confident young woman with talents and passions that will benefit her throughout her life. Our relationship with her is so much closer than it would have been had we chosen the typical parent/child dynamic.

[@walteredstates]

Great! Eloquent and concise pep-talk to continue unschooling my child - and deschooling myself!

[@MaiavanSner]

Love what you have to say! The world is waking up and I am thrilled about it! Change is happening.

[@mykillmielia]

Healing my curiosity after finishing school, took me about two years, just(!) two years. I'm really happy with that, and sometimes even happier, when I feel I am still at the foot of the hill...

[@justynapietrzak]

Parents in Belgium have to sign the daily homework journal. Their signature confirms that they knew what their kids' homework was, and the informal but well worded out deal is that they would sit with their kid to do the homework. The message: I don't trust you to do the work that is externally asked of you to be done. I am such an outsider with my attitude of leaving the responsibility to my kids. Fan of Alfie Kohn. Yes, in super-structured Belgium, trust is a huge issue.

[@GlennMcGrewII]

Well done, Jerry! As you were talking about unschooling, something I'd wanted my kids to do instead of school but couldn't because they'd already been too damaged by school, you showed deschooling, which I've never even heard about (sadly!). I unschool pretty much every day and, actually, my kids do, too. Not as a replacement for school, but a supplement. They both love science. My son loves history. My daughter loves art and music. And they learn about other stuff, too. What I'm saying is that unschooling isn't just for students.

[@tamagochifromhell]

This talk deserves a lot more views

[@SoulaimaGourani]

Jerry - spot on!

[@7eis]

This is much more about society than scool.

[@aeroameet]

We're doing something very similar at Exosphe.re (not for school kids yet, but that's the next step for us). Great talk!

[@KathysClutteredMind]

Love this video. Thanks for speaking out about this very important subject.

[@fannymartin7531]

Awesome Video. We send our children to a Prison. It's a prison system, Parents. The kiddies are way, way smarter than the parents.

[@PhilStracchino]

There's been a number of different studies over time conducted in schools now examining the effect that schools have on the way students think. One of the things that comes out consistently in these is that schools crush curiosity. They teach children to think safely inside the box. But curiosity is where the desire for learning comes from. How badly designed is our educational system if it crushes the very attribute that leads to the outcome it is supposedly intended to achieve?

[@justynapietrzak]

Volontary drop out center with one of the resources being a huge open ended play area. Unstructured playground. That one I value most in my sons' school.

[@user-fl2un2yo5u]

I really enjoyed this!! But I noticed he said he won’t share the statistics to prove his point. Assuming he withheld this information due to time constraints, speakers must be given the time they need to explain their research/resources; this is what validates their position.

[@susannerieger10]

I'm so glad about your wonderful Ted Talk :-)

[@TheNicB]

Awesomeness!

[@JerryMichalski]

btw, I gave a follow-on talk in Vegas as part of the Downtown Project. you can watch it here: vimeo.com/74978969

[@itsinsider]

This is awesome Jerry Michalski. We took this premise, "We are a Trust network" and build a company around it. Has some features that will surprise and delight you I think. Would love to connect and share what we're doing. We've learned a few things that might be valuable to you as you continue to explore what is possible. Great presentation, btw. Both my daughters are going to see this next (both involved in teaching).

[@JerryMichalski]

Yay! Have time to talk next week?

[@LiminalCoaching]

This is really cool. Reminds me of the mail order diamond business that no-one except Buffet would invest in because they were providing the diamonds on approval. Became a hugely successful family business with exceptionally low fraud write-offs

[@itsinsider]

Sure. Monday 12 - 5pm, Tuesday 1:30 -3pm, and Wednesday 9am - 2pm are all open right now. I'm CST (Chicago time). Feel free to email me susan.scrupski at gmail. Looking forward!

[@yvitube2008]

I support the spirit of unschooling, the only problem is I don't want to spend everyday on the kids, I want my own life too. also I believe interactions with more individuals can help, and I trust the professional teachers; so your idea of having a drop-in school where they can explore (if with teachers as faciliators) would be great!

[@macyjunecavener115]

There are about 250 such schools and many more centers around the world - try Googling "Sudbury schools," "free schools," or "agile learning centers."

[@JerryMichalski]

@@macyjunecavener115 you are right on this! Love to know what you've learned and found since these posts.

[@eelniets]

jerry..once again a great talk... seems that the industrial age manufacturing model of bells starting factory times and ending work shifts, and batch (lot) manufacturing is at play (each year).. one product being made.. IQ segmenting without any credit to all of the other forms of intelligence.. i think there are 8 other forms completely ignored...

[@krjjohnson]

Awesome!

[@banditontherun1024]

Oh please. He does an absolutely brilliant job of describing the problems in our education system. Then, instead of trying to transform the system into something positive, he created an unrealistic ideal that itself would only work for those privileged enough to already have access to the best schools. Some amount of structure creates a ground work of knowledge that allows us to think critically later on. Let teachers actually teach and their creativity will rub off on their students.

[@samantha8223]

Well it is quite easy for most to see the problems in America's schools. The "ground work" knowledge can be acquired in so many other more involved and individualized ways that would allow for every child to to learn in a real world context that is significant for them. The teachers have been given plenty of time to teach. The system is the problem. Creativity does not need to rub off onto students in our current public school setting, rather students already possess an incomparable creativity within themselves when they begin school. The most difficult part of our public school is how much it damages each child

[@SKSmith]

I'd love to know what presentation program was used here. Very cognitively stimulating way to move through the "screens" of info.

[@joshuaarbogast6192]

Most likely Prezi. prezi.com/index/6/

[@JerryMichalski]

Prezi, indeed :)

[@spacehabitats]

It is one thing to repair the damage done by vandalism to a website, quite another to restore the Mona Lisa. Allowing people to be responsible is good, but they (and they ALONE) really DO need to suffer the consequences for their poor choices. Misusing antibiotics creates resistant organisms that we ALL have to deal with.

[@SeeingFinance]

Who would vote this video down?! Walmart?

[@gordonwrethman9716]

They designed it on purpose, to keep your child from becoming a future business leader and taking their money back from them.

[@gradingterminal807]

oh no!! ... souldears n sens....!! smilLa. .. (?) .. why, purpose n the to keep u going.. therefor.. hmmm.. unlearn my lińes in that case only ...i able in deficit ;');