Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Draper.
Ben, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In the spring of 2012, I teamed up with Denise Geddes to work with a small group of families who were looking for a better educational fit for their children. In September 2012, we opened the Macomber Center for self-directed learning, a nonprofit educational organization in Framingham Massachusetts. We started with 15 kids and only myself and Denise on staff. We now have over 50 kids and six adults on staff.
Has it been a smooth road?
I cannot say that we have had to overcome any great obstacles. But I think that one of the biggest challenges for me, as well as many other people working to promote self-directed education, is getting parents to see that their children don’t need to stay in school in order to learn and grow into happy, successful adults.
Many parents these days have an intuitive sense that school is not the right fit for their kids. They know that forcing their kids to go sit at a desk all day and listen to a teacher talk about things that they do not find to be interesting or relevant to their lives is not really doing them any good. The stress, anxiety, and depression that many kids experience at some point during their school years as a result of being in that environment can be enough for some parents to make a change. But so many parents keep their kids in school either because they don’t know that there is any alternative or because they fear that their child’s future will be doomed if they don’t stay in school.
There is sound research out there now which provides evidence that kids who grew up in a self-directed education environment do just as well later in life as traditionally educated children. But it is so counter to what believe that a lot of people aren’t willing to except the evidence. This is kind of heartbreaking for me because I know that children thrive in a self-directed educational environment, I see it every day. I myself am a product of self-directed education. Most of the people I grew up with were self-directed and I have watch them go on to do interesting, meaningful, productive things with their lives. Yet, when someone is not ready to see something new, there is not much you can do. So this is the challenge, to get to a point where the term “self-directed education” is familiar and excepted as one of many educational approaches, just as terms like “Montessori,” “Waldorf,” or “Reggio Amelia” are familiar and excepted even if they are not embraced by everyone.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Macomber Center for self-directed learning is one of a growing number of small, independent learning centers cropping up all over the country. The Macomber Center is not a school, nor is it a supplement to school, like a tutoring agency or after school program. Rather, it is a fully staffed drop-off program which runs from 9 to 5, five days a week, and follows the regular academic calendar. Our members, who range in age from 5 to 18 years old, get dropped off in the morning and spend their entire day at the Center. It is not for especially gifted children, nor is it for children with special needs. It is a place where all kinds of kids come to pursue their own interests and develop their own unique strengths. At the Macomber Center kids are not segregated by age, there are no required classes, and no tests or progress reports of any kind. Instead, the kids are free to explore the world around them and interact freely with each other and the adults on staff. The adults are there to provide support and help kids carry out their own self-directed education.
There is no structure to the day aside from the structure that the kids create for themselves. They bring their own lunch and eat whenever they are hungry. They are also free to bring things in from home like bicycles, scooters, iPads, costumes, projects or any other personal items they choose to bring in with them. We provide art materials and crafts, some basic woodworking and science equipment, games, sporting equipment and extensive musical gear. We also do a lot of movie making and cooking.
Our main building has a simple, elegant design with skylights and plenty of windows allowing light to flood into the entire space. We are surrounded by over 115 acres of beautiful, natural outdoor space. The kids enjoy playing in the stream, going for long walks in the woods, climbing trees and building forts.
Self-directed education is the fastest growing educational movement in the United States and has just been added to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia. The Macomber Center for self-directed learning is a premier example of a self-directed education community.
Pricing:
- 5 days a week, for $8,735
- 4 days a week, for $7,686
- 3 days a week, for $5,737
- 2 days a week, for $3,864
Contact Info:
- Address: 1 Badger Road, Framingham, MA 01702
- Website: http://macombercenter.org/
- Phone: 508.202.9488
- Email: ben.draper@macombercenter.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacomberCenter/?ref=br_rs
Image Credit:
Denise Geddes
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