November 12, 2010: The Autodidact Adventure has been postponed. Look forward to a shorter, cheaper, and improved version of the program in 2012! I apologize for any inconveniences. - Blake (UA Director)
| Trip duration: | 4 weeks |
|---|---|
| When: | Oct 2-30, 2011 |
| Where: | Ashland, Oregon |
| Departure/Arrival Airport: | Medford, Oregon |
| Who: | 8-12 students (ages 14-19) and your friendly friendly trip leaders and mentors (TBA). |
| How Much: | $2800 program fee includes room, board, and all activities. Fee does not include personal spending money or transport to/from Ashland. |
| Application Status: | Not currently open. |
| Priority Application Deadline: | March 15, 2011. On this date we will make our first round of enrollment offers. Apply beforehand for your best chance of enrolling! (Enrollment will remain open until the program fills.) |
Brainstorming in Ashland's Lithia Park
This Unschool Adventures leadership program is designed specially for new and transitioning unschoolers. Whether you're a high school student who just decided to leave school, a homeschooler taking charge of your education, or an unschooler ready for the next level, the Autodidact Adventure is designed for you. It will teach you how to become an edu-hacker.
hacker [noun] - a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data
edu-hacker [noun] - a person who uses high-quality mentors, internships, and resources to gain access to fascinating skills and knowledge
autodidact [noun] - a self-taught person; i.e., someone trained in edu-hacking
The question that the Autodidact Adventure tackles is: How can you quickly, effectively, and confidently dive into the worlds that fascinate you as a teen unschooler? There is endlessly fascinating knowledge waiting for you in the world. Artists are creating beauty, programmers are writing languages, psychologists are building theories, and chefs are testing recipes. In our program you'll gain concrete tools and experience in accessing such interesting worlds.
The main challenge of the Autodidact Adventure is for each student to create multiple short-term internships, mentorships, or interviews with professionals, business owners, college professors, or community members in Ashland. The students choose these activities based on their interests, and they are free to concentrate on one or many fields.
Accomplishments of previous students include: landing an internship at a nursery that turned into a paid job, interviewing and sitting in on the classes of a psychology professor, obtaining a food handler's card to get involved in kitchen work, doing a 2-day job shadow with a florist, interviewing a former professor & business executive, interviewing a raw food artist, and touring a glassblowing shop.
The students pursue these challenges mostly on their own. While staff members provide tools and guidance, they do not micromanage. The staff's goal is for students to learn to create their own learning opportunities and constructively deal with failure.
Our various program activities include:
Each of the program activities is designed to support the main challenge of finding and creating your own internships, mentorships, and interviews with knowledgeable adults. This skill is fundamental to edu-hacking, unschooling, and self-directed learning in general.
A mini-quest in action!
After the Autodidact Adventure, you'll be prepared to go home (or onto your next adventure) and tackle all sorts of new challenges. Some of the skills, knowledge, and other takeaways that students will gain include:
On the high ropes challenge course
"This has been a completely new experience for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Personal challenges, new environments, and a very warm and welcoming group of people are what made this retreat such a blast for me. I would recommend this program to any teen looking to push their boundaries a little bit and have a great time." - Christie W.
"[The leadership program] made a huge difference in my outlook on life and what I'm capable of. I gained motivation to do something besides sit and watch TV all day. I also gained confidence in myself. Before this, I would have never gone and talked to store owners because I would have been nervous about them rejecting me." - Amber M.
"The Leadership Retreat was an extremely fun program that taught me about being independent and finding a job. The people I met on this retreat are going to be life-long friends." - Amanda M.
"Wonderful experience! Life changing, skill building, and friend making time. I will definitely be coming on another one of these retreats in the future. I feel I have the tools now to make my dreams come true and to accomplish my goals." - Josh B.
"The biggest benefit this retreat gave me was the confidence to jump forward even for things that seem out of reach." - Caleb P.
Read more previous student feedback.
Another advantage of the Autodidact Adventure is learning how to do college-level learning without ever enrolling as an official student. College can be a life-changing experience, but it can also leave you with life-sapping debt. If college-level learning is your interest, we can tailor your Autodidact Adventure to learn how to take advantage of college resources, students, professors, and social circles. Whether you ultimately choose to enroll in college student or not, you'll gain invaluable tools for giving yourself a top academic education.
Ways that you can gain college-level skills include: participating in college-centered mini-quests, enjoying optional leadership workshops tailored to college edu-hacking, and embarking on an optional field trip to Portland, Oregon to explore, crash classes, and interview professors & students at Portland State University, Reed, and other colleges.
Students who choose to focus their Autodidact Adventure on college will:
Are you a high school student considering unschooling? Are you a recent graduate who noticed a few (big) gaps in your education? Just to be clear: You're welcome and invited to apply!
The Autodidact Adventure is held in beautiful Ashland, Oregon. Ashland is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a thriving small business and art scene, and a 4-year public university (Southern Oregon University). As a small, safe, and compact town, Ashland has served our leadership programs well since the inaugural program in May 2010.
The Ashland Hostel provides our accommodations. The hostel is superbly located and only a short walk from downtown, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Southern Oregon University. Students stay in gender-separated dorm rooms and have access to the hostel common areas, full kitchen, and wireless internet. Our group has exclusive access to the hostel's downstairs common area. (Click here to view photos of the accommodations.)
Our program chef will provide three meals per day: a do-it-yourself breakfast, sack lunch, and hot dinner. Dinners are multi-course, hearty, and always vegetarian. All students will have occasional dish chores and/or dinner prep duties. (It's fun! See image below.)
Dish angels: making the world safe for eating
What's a normal day like during the Autodidact Adventure? Here's a rough breakdown so that you know what to expect:
The day starts at 9am with an hour of prep time. You can wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast, and pack a sack lunch--in any order you'd like :)
At 10am, the group splits up for the day. This large block of unstructured time is your opportunity to make contacts, do research, pursue interviews, be an intern, face mini-quest challenges, and eat lunch. You can also read in the library, nap in the park, or tag along with friends. You're not allowed to be back at the hostel until 5pm--sorry! Staff are in meeting or doing their own research during many parts of the day, but they're always available via cell phone.
Between 2-3pm staff are available for optional "office hours". Our office may be a coffee shop or grassy field, but that doesn't matter. If you need focused one-on-one time with a staff person--to help you overcome program challenges, deal with a sticky situation, or just talk--find them during office hours.
At 6pm, everyone rejoins for group mentor meetings. This is when you share your successes and failures of the day, get feedback, and make plans for the next day. Mentor groups typically have five students and one staff member.
7pm is dinner. Yum. And then dish crews fly into action.
At 8pm is evening workshop, which typically lasts 2-3 hours (with a short break in the middle). Afterward is free time.
Quiet time starts at midnight.
High ropes course: An all-day adventure held in the mountains near Ashland. We do the ropes course very early in the program for group bonding and challenge experience.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: We'll enjoy a play at the world-famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival, dressed in our finest semi-formal attire.
Special dinner: An end-of-program feast prepared by students and staff. Students may invite Ashland community members with whom they worked during the program.
Talent show: A chance to display your incredible talent.
Scavenger hunt: An unconventional introduction to Ashland!
Wheat grass: One of the many scavenger hunt challenges
Here are several questions to consider when asking if this program is right for you:
If you answer "yes" to most of these questions, then you're probably ready for the Autodidact Adventure.
Students may fly (to Medford airport), drive, or carpool (with another family) to and from Ashland. Please note that families are financially responsible for this travel.
E-mail and phone. Ashland has widespread cellular coverage, our hostel has free wireless internet, and the Ashland Public Library and Southern Oregon University offer free computers with internet.
You'll get your own twin bed in a dorm with 3-6 total beds. Dorms are gender-separated. Staff sleep in separate rooms from the students. There are full bathrooms (also gender-separated) with hot showers.
Breakfast is a do-it-yourself affair where students choose from fresh fruit, cereal, milk & soy milk, eggs, toast, yogurt, juice, granola, etc. For lunch, we provide a build-it-yourself sandwich sack lunch option. (Students may also purchase lunch out with personal spending money.) Dinner is a large, hot, nutritious meal prepared by staff and work-traders. We prepare vegetarian dinners with vegan options. Die-hard carnivores will have lunch meats available for sack lunches.
We can easily accommodate meat-eaters and vegetarians. Vegans, dairy-free and wheat-free students will be able to eat many, but not all, of our offerings. Please feel free to consult us if your needs are more specific.
Our programs are about developing personal leadership: the ability to figure out your dreams and turn them into reality. Before you can lead other people--in a business, non-profit, community group, or backpacking trip--you first must learn to lead yourself.
Yes! During the day and in the evenings you'll have large chunks of time to self-structure. You can use part of this time compute, nap, read, play music, write, explore, do laundry, or just relax.
Our evening obligations end between 10-11pm, and we don't leave the hostel until 10am most mornings. If you need lots of sleep, you'll have the chance to get it.
Yes, please! Cell phones are required and laptops are very handy for this program.
The staff can only be described as "dashing"
Apply by filling out our online application. We'll then get in touch and do a phone interview. Enrollment will be offered beginning on the date of the Priority Application Deadline (see above). After being offered enrollment, a $500 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your spot.
Contact us via e-mail or phone and we'll be happy to answer your questions.
Spring 2010 Leadership Program at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival