This is the 6th webinar in our series put together by facilitators across the ALC Network as an introduction to the philosophy, tools, and practices from our self-directed education communities. It is our hope that the content offered in these sessions will be useful to families adapting to having kids unable to physically attend their usual learning centers, schools, and other facilitated meetups. Profits from registrations will go to supporting awesome facilitators in continuing to offer online support and sessions even as covid-19 closures of centers and side-hustle spaces strain folks' finances.

Without exercising intentionality, we can easily find ourselves on paths and in patterns that others have set for us as the cultural defaults...and then pushing those same paths and patterns onto young people. But is subscribing to hustle culture an expression of our authentic selves? Does asking a child what they want to be when they grow up or asking a teen where they're going to college next year as small talk actually support their pursuits of fulfilling lives? This webinar will deal with the practice of pausing to identify our needs and values so we can then choose ways of speaking and acting that align with our "Why?"

This webinar is hosted by Anthony Galloway, Jr. (he/him), facilitator and co-director at Heartwood ALC. Anthony has spent 10+ years working in the field of childcare and education. He’s been a summer camp counselor, a classroom aide, an after school tutor, and a college mentor. He has worked in a Montessori classroom, a Sudbury-model school, and democratic schools. Anthony co-founded Heartwood as part of an effort to work towards solutions to the issues that arise from the structures of inequity. ((He didn't write this in his formal bio, but Abby is writing this webpage text and would also like to shout him out for being an inspiring artist and tinkerer!)