What You Want To Know
These are some of the questions we receive on a regular basis. If there's a question you have that isn't answered here, feel free to send us an e-mail!
Self-Direction
What is self-directed
education?
Self-directed education is education that derives from the self-chosen activities and life experiences of the learner, whether or not those activities were chosen deliberately for the purpose of education.
Why choose self-directed
education?
SDE is natural, fun, and joyful. Surveys have shown that SDE benefitted learners by allowing them to develop their own interests and by fostering such traits as personal responsibility, initiative, curiosity, ability to communicate well with people regardless of status, and continued appreciation and practice of democratic values.
Is self-directed learning hard?
SDE is becoming easier to pursue. Due to increased visibility, acceptability, and availability, the number of SDE learners has been increasing. Communities are also generating more resources to support the ability for others to learn from their experiences more than any previous time in history.
Do you think public school is detrimental?
We believe learners can thrive in many different environments, and that each family has different experiences, so we don't discount the many positive experiences children have had in traditional schooling. However, The schools that we call “standard” or “traditional” are not a product of scientific understanding of how children learn and become educated. Their methods often oppose what data has shown about how children learn best.
Our Learning Community
How long have you been around?
Wild Roots was founded in July of 2021. in the halls of the Lewisville Library. We began with holding weekly gatherings within our community, then briefly moved to a donated space in Richardson, and now we have made Denton our permanent home.
How many days are you open?
We meet every week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. As funding permits, we have goals to expand into a full 5-day program.
Do you have a curriculum?
No. We hold the belief that learning happens naturally and in many different ways. Self-directed learning emerges from a child's own experiences and activties that they choose to pursue.
Does my learner have to attend all three days?
Learners are not required to attend all days, but due to our desire to build community, we highly recommend at least 2 days a week. We want your child to get the most out of our program!
Donations
What does it cost
for my child to attend?
We value accessibility, so we used a donation-based sliding scale. This means that we have conversations prior to enrollment to help make sure that what you're pledging is sustainable for us and isn't a strain on you financially.
When I donate, what percentage goes to your program?
All donations made to Wild Roots go to our community. Our expenses include paying facilitators, renting our space, purchasing materials, and sponsoring learners who otherwise wouldn't be ablet o participate in our program.
Are you considered a non-profit organization, such as a 501(c)(3)?
Due to the open source fiscal host we use to allow our donations to be completely transparent, we cannot be classified as a non-profit. Instead, Wild Roots operates as a worker-owned, not-for-profit.
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
One of our most important short-term goals is to have a permanent space for our learners, and our community to grow. One of our long term goals is to be able to have an industrial kitchen that is dedicated to providing meals to those in need within our community.
You can read more about our plans on our "Growth and Goals" page.
