Former Teacher Helping Self-Directed Teens (w/ Katy Burke

How do self-directed teens prepare for adult life? What is the value of allowing teens to “do nothing” with their time? Today, we talk with Katy Burke, a former public school teacher of 11 years who, frustrated with standardized testing, gave up teaching in a conventional school and found work in the Princeton Learning Cooperative. There, she helps teens learn what and live how they want. On this episode, we talk about her journey into self-directed learning, the problem with forced testing, and other topics. Enjoy the discussion.



0:50 - Katy's Decision to Leave the Teaching Profession After 13 years: “Everything started to get more and more data-driven, and it wasn't the direction I could see myself going.”
9:06 - Katy Finds (and Describes) the Princeton Learning Cooperative: “We don’t spend any time doing anything that isn’t worth it.”
11:02 - How Do Teen Make Progress Without Forced Tests or Grades?: “In the real world, there aren’t really tests or quizzes all that often.”
17:59 - Teens Preparing for Adulthood: “We want to see that kids are capable of making choices on their own.”
20:52 - The Significance of Downtime: “I had to adjust to that and it kind of made me nervous as well.”
27:56 - Remedying Gaps in Their Knowledge and Preparing for College: “It’s not as scary as it might seem. It’s actually, I think, a pretty smooth process.”