The ATG School One-Page Policy List

How I plan to create a few steps forward in education

I’m not trying to reinvent schooling.

There are just a handful of things I believe in which I haven’t seen in any school I’ve been around as a student or parent.

Policy #1: Each student gets to be responsible for growing some of their own food, no matter how small, THROUGHOUT schooling (not just a quickie project here or there).

Policy #2: Minimum 1:1 ratio of time NOT SITTING IN THE CLASSROOM. What they do with this is up to them. There are so many real-world skills, sports, gardening, music, etc. The strict ratio in the school day is the key for me. Common sense and personal interests can take it from there.

Policy #3: Daily time to read whatever they want to read about. The biggest barrier for my reading was INTEREST. Be there to ensure the book is at their level, and to help them if they don’t understand something. Other than that, LET THEM ENJOY READING, ALL THE WAY THROUGH SCHOOL, not just in early years.

Policy #4: (This is the most unusual yet the biggest reason I’m in education.) High school is a 50/50 bridge to winning in real life. Mornings are for actual work, making and SAVING UP MONEY. Afternoons are for learning finances and professional skills of THEIR INTEREST. With average work, they’ll finish school with $25,000-$100,000 in the bank (depending on location, the work they’re doing, how heavily they’re taxed, and the random luck or unluck that can come with business). They’ll have more skills than the norm and a greater chance of creating their life and work from there on out, rather than conforming to merely make a paycheck.

Policy #5: As part of the high school 50/50 system, ensure each student learns the adult financial red tape in their state/country before they’ve got bills, kids, etc.

Those are the policies that are shaping how I make my school.

If you’re wondering how I’ll be running Gym Class, my ATG School physical approach is simple:

1. Rotate different sports each day.

2. Finish each day with just 1-2 optional exercises.

Slowly but steadily, this will result in balanced abilities, bolstering students’ interest and know-how for the rest of their lives while having a blast in the process.

Even athletic greatness can be built on FUN and balanced foundations.

Thank you, as always, for your willingness to hear my unusual ideas.

I don’t expect other schools to adopt any of this any time soon, but if we can get millions of people to walk backward, I’ll bet spending the rest of my life coaching kids results in a few steps forward in education.

Yours in Solutions,

Ben

Mobility Made Simple program (which reflects the exercise skills I’ll be working to help students master by graduation) and form-coaching: https://www.atgonlinecoaching. com

Equipment: https://www.atgequipment.com

To see if there’s an in-person coach near you: https://map.atgforcoaches.com