OUR SCHOOL
The DC Free School is about providing something of educational value which both enhances our lives and defies embedded social injustice. We operate from the notion that all people are equally valuable, and that there is no intrinsic difference between social elites and the human majority. We are not interested in education which is designed to help realize the dreams of those society tells us are superior. Instead, we aim to help realize the dreams of the people who wish to live in justice, peace, and solidarity.
Content in the free school is based on the passions of those who use the space and in figuring out how we can shape a better world. This is a space where anyone can learn. As every person has learned something that can benefit others if shared, anyone can teach as well. We work to make space embody what we would like to see in the world overall. We welcome the diversity of people and all of the identities they bring with them. We encourage ideas which may not conform to the status quo in order to transform the status quo. We aim to build relationships of mutual compassion, camaraderie, authenticity, and support. These values shape how we organize and what we create in the classroom.
We believe that knowledge is not meant to be sold but shared freely for people to empower themselves. As such classes are free of cost. The school is also free in the sense that it is an exercise in freedom. Students do not seek the grade (there are any). We do not quantify learning in order to determine our worth or external approval. Instead, we seek that which will liberate. Our education is not a means to an end, but a space to realize our values despite what difficulties and hostilities face us. We succeed, not in transforming the entire world, but in transforming ourselves and what we have the power to affect. We learn, and push our little part of the world in a direction of greater justice and peace. It is a labor of love, an expression of love, and a commitment to make a more loving world for everyone. We do what we can for ourselves, with the hope that this liberating energy can both deepen and expand.