I will spend the next year researching and experimenting with creating a cohesive individual curriculum and a living model of independent education. The steps. 1)Set specific research questions and goals for studies (topics, deadlines, projects). 2)Collect, organize, and design material (e.g. online courses, books) and sources (e.g skillshare.com) into 3.5 month courses of study, based on my research questions. 3)Research, formulate and implement structure that will create a productive learning environment (e.g. study groups, mentors, practical engagement). 3)Undertake study, integrating practical and theoretical components. 4)Share results and use fundings to update living model on the website. Note Steps 3-4 are repeated cyclically.

1. Read up: Nothing innovative here, but I love books. Currently, Draw It With Your Eyes Closed and Joseph Beuys in America occupy my desk. I'm always on the hunt for more food for thought. 2. Meet the community: I'm trying to connect with every creative professional, arts instructor, and nonprofit expert I can, hoping to get them to share their creative advice with me, and their skills with our students. 3. Do it: First class starts in June! My lesson plans involve skills I've never practiced, so I'm going to get to learn them, because I have to. 4. Learn by doing it: The summer class is a prototype, which should be excellent but won't be perfect. Same goes with the foundation itself. 5. Do it better: Rinse, repeat.

June 1 - 30: Learn Final Cut Pro X using textbook, free resources, and software, maintain project blog and Twitter account with updates, tips, and notes July 1: Take online Apple Associates FCP X certification test July 2 - 31: Record 8 FCP X video tutorials and post to Youtube August 1-17: Flip these videos using Ted Education platform to build quizzes, notes, and time management resources so anyone can complete the training in 30 days, the length of a FCP X free download August 18-31: Create list of video project challenges to build a portfolio, use video-based LMS ApprenNet to allow anyone to submit short, creative video clips and get feedback from peers and industry professionals

1. Attend National Storytelling Network Conference in June for further brainstorming and potential collaborators. (already scheduled) 2. Month long residency in Jonesborogh TN (the Capital of Storytelling in the US) to develop the idea I’ve used for bullying to incorporate other tough topics. 3. Research Stories that are effective for addressing Tough Topics, I have a repertoire for Bullying, I want to learn more. 4. Contact Education Departments at local universities to learn how they currently address tough topics such as bullying. 5. Create the workshop by combining what I’ve learned from other storytellers and educators.

In 1 month, we will learn about all aspects of business at breakneck pace. We will, 1. Conduct market research to dertermine our target demographics. 2. Create a business plan for the launch and calculate financies 3. Read books and talk to restaurant owners to learn about our customers and how to operate a restaurant. 4. Negotiate with business owners and restaurant suppliers to find a restaurant location and ingredients. 5. Create our own original menu based on research and reading.

My learning plan will give me an understanding of programming principles through books and courses that teach coding specifics and generalities and through healthy amounts of practice, discussion and interaction. READING LIST: "Lauren Ipsum" by Carlos Bueno, "Think Like A Programmer: An Introduction to Creative Problem Solving" by V. Anton Paul, etc. || SKILLSHARE COURSES: Build Your First Ruby on Rails Application (taught by Avi Flombaum) and Thinking Like A Programmer - Coding For People Who've Never Coded (taught by Mike Caprio). || PRACTICE: Create a complete to-do list application, both front end and back and pay it forward for others online and in-person. (See below.)

The majority of the funds would go to purchasing the latest portable 3D printer from Solidoodle. I have an extensive background in 3D modeling with SketchUp and would just need to learn how to bring the two together. Also if I run into any snags I have created an extensive network of people to help me such as my local FabLab and maker/hacker spaces. The funds would help me purchase a resources that I can then share with the local community endlessly and help them prepare for the next revolution, digital fabrication!

1) Interview groups and people who have successfully passed legislation, pushed for a permit or worked on a city council. Read everything I can on local government and running for local office. 2) Take a Ruby on Rails class through Skillshare. 3) Start a Meetup group for people interested in learning how to become involved with local politics. (This will happen in Seattle this summer and Philadelphia in the fall - a way to see how the plans differ between cities.) 4) Create a site with stories, tips and resources for dealing with local government. Make members of the Meetup group moderators who lead discussion on various aspects of local government that they have experience with. Encourage people to post about their success.

By documenting KCDC efforts and the efforts of other free schools, I will learn how to build on to our educational model. I will document our teacher training sessions, survey the participants for feedback and ask them for reflections. The School of the Future and the Trade School, both New York city free schools, with KCDC will jointly provide a month of classes to the general public. To see how these free schools teach and run their classes, I will document their classes and conduct interviews. This collaborative project will certainly help spread awareness about KCDC. This grant would help purchase a video camera, and bus passes so that KCDC can travel to New York city and back. The video camera will be used for documentation.

This summer- we are engaging the issue of "Fun" and building a Pop-Up Movie Theater! The lesson plan to teach youth to do this is simple: (1) RESEARCH & KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION- We will explore the town for appropriate spaces, and teach the youth basic design principles. (2) RAPID PROTOTYPE- Youth will sketch and build various iterations on the smaller scale. (3) BUILD & ACTUALIZE- Using community resources and in-kind gifts, we will develop a full size pop-up theater. (4) TEST & EVALUATE- We're gonna watch a movie outside with our parents and community! (5) EVOLVE & REPLICATE- Given our results of the first pop-up theater, we will reach out to other towns that lack theaters and build with youth there!

1. READING LIST. Change by Design, The Power of Unreasonable People, Infinite Vision, and more. /// 2. CONVERSATIONAL HINDI. Intro through Rupert Snell's course, supplemented by Hindi Flagship's resources. Objectives are to better connect with community and to pursue own curiosity with language. (At different points in my life I have studied/spoken English, French, Mandarin, Spanish, and Malagasy.) /// 3. DESIGN FOR CHANGE. Learning-by-doing approach for strategy and project management. I'm assigned to work with an edupreneur. My idea is to engage students at the school in the DFC challenge, and this portion of the funds will go toward students' contest entry. DFC is only a start, after which I'll launch larger-scale projects.

Learning is doing. Before ever setting off on a journey and dipping into the funds granted, I'll spend a month apprenticing under a bike mechanic. Then, I will use the grant to fund a month long ride, along an experienced bike mechanic to learn the ins and outs of fixing, tuning and creative McGyvering on the road. A portion of the funds will go to purchasing and making necessary tools and replacement parts (tubes, spokes, chain, lubricant, etc.). I will not use the funds for food, lodging (we'll tent along the way) or any other non-bike-related items. After completing the ride, I will then plan a tour that will circumnavigate the globe, without any support team.

To render plan drawings quickly in the clean and simple style of today, I need to learn to be more proficient in Adobe Illustrator. Two intense Illustrator classes at CCA ($135 each) will teach me this program at an accelerated pace. Learning to digitally combine 3D drawings with Photoshop is another skill that I've practiced, but have yet to master. I plan to read and reference two reputable books on digital drawing by Bradley Cantrell ($65 and $75). Lynda.com ($375/year) will be used as a learning resource for Illustrator, Photoshop, Sketchup, and Rhino. The premium membership includes exercise files.

1. We plan to invite in professionals from our community who can lead discussions. 2. We plan to take turns co-leading discussion so to practice our speaking and communication skills. 3. We plan to build and maintain networks and relationships with organizations and groups in our community. 4. We plan to share our new ideas and opinions with our peers in our school and in the community.

The best method would be a mixture of three tools. The first would be interviews and conversations with notable experts on certain "assumed ideas" that we all have. These could be normal individuals, these could be Nobel-prize-winning authors. The second component would be a communal factor, helping those interested in the ideas to collect, convene, and communicate these ideas in small group opportunities, especially when viewpoints of controversy are presented. But this will allow facts, insights, and truth to stand out among the rest. The third component would be a simplified tool that summarizes and shows how these opinions and ideas matter to everyday life, whether a man be a fireman, a CEO, or a solider.

Our mission is to prepare our youth for Today, Tomorrow, and Forever by equipping them with relevant entrepreneurial skills and business knowledge that will give them an alternative option for creating a healthy, happy and prosperous life for themselves. The Brave Heart Entrepreneurial Youth Camp is designed to promote and encourage early awareness and involvement in entrepreneurship education activities among youth ages 8-12. The Brave Heart Entrepreneurship Academy is designed to offer teen youth 13-19 targeted support and mentoring that makes entrepreneurship a tangible, achievable alternative to creating a healthy, happy, prosperous life for themselves as they prepare to transition from young adults to adults.

1) Learn Ruby on Rails in 8 weeks from BLOC.io (class starts May 21 - I already signed up) 2) During class, I will use what I am learning to work on my food-related startup idea 3) Attend lots of Ruby on Rails meetups in the Bay Area & meet good instructors 4) Finish reading my beautiful HTML/CSS book by Jon Duckett ----Full image here: http://min.us/m1x8eK9gB

The first part would be for me to read THE GREAT BOOKS. Following that, I would compose poetry encapsulating the GREAT IDEAS from THE GREAT BOOKS. I will then compile all my poetry into a book that I will self-publish (and there shall be delightful illustrations within the book, too) with the $500 funds from this Skillshare Challenge. My self-published poetry book inspired by THE GREAT BOOKS will be made available for others to read and enjoy. A poem a day can be a healthy way of keeping one's mind informed about the treasure trove of GREAT IDEAS found in Western canon as presented by THE GREAT BOOKS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION set (that Mortimer Adler first began).