THE WHO
Hi, I’m Stephen Caddick.
Over the last 13 years, I have been a youth worker, then teacher and now a correctional officer. I have witnessed first-hand, the system we put our youth through, where they go when it isn’t working and where they can end up when it all falls apart. I have seen many things in these roles, the good, the bad and the ugly. I have seen gun athletes and academics achieve amazing things; I have seen kids trying their best and still not meeting “the standard” and thinking themselves failures; I have seen children forgotten, left to comfort themselves in a corner.
In my role as a Corrections Officer, I am afforded a lot of time to think and reflect. Over the last 3 years most of that time has been thinking on the education system. The catalyst came when it was time to choose a school for my son. Nothing seemed right, until I bumped into an acquaintance. He put me on a path of my exploration into homeschooling and natural learning.
My research led me to many conversations with parents, students and homeschoolers. I visited numerous alternative educations facilities in Australia and the US. I consumed dozens of books and spent countless hours, debating, reflecting and ideation. In that time, an idea has evolved, cultivated and nurtured into what I believe is a way to form an ever-evolving fluid system of education. A free path.
In short, Free Path is a way to let our children learn without restrictions to their freedom and creativity. It is a way to give
parents educational autonomy, a way to retain the joy of learning, to create an education that fits your child, not the
other way around. Where their natural curiosity is nurtured.
Imagine a world where your child wakes up excited to learn.
Let’s walk that path together.
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The Founder
Stephen Caddick
Youth worker, teacher, parent.
Founding Member
Gary Martin
Athlete, instructor and wellbeing.
Founding Member
Alan Rose
Business mentor, lawyer, coach.
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THE WHY
Why is a new way needed?
First let's first ask ourselves, why would we want to different way?
Perhaps we aren’t getting the outcomes we want. Maybe because the process to get the outcomes is a long and unhappy one. Or maybe we lose something vital in the process, like creativity or mental health. If one of these things was true, immediate reform would be the minimal requirement. If all were true, a complete overhaul of the system is required.
Are we getting happy, healthy and prepared young adults?
Let's check.
The Desired Outcomes
The Process
The Losses
Mental Health Concerns
Most of our youngest people just want to be active. To run and jump, to learn how to use the machine they'll be driving for the rest of their lives.
However, after 5 years, Rikki is required to start sitting down and listening to the all knowing adult. Rikki has a lot of energy, like a puppy learning to sit.
He's off, if there was a door to the outside, he'd be on the grass in seconds. The door is closed so Rikki plays with something he shouldn't and is disturbing the others that lasted longer than Rikki.
"That's not good behaviour", the adult thinks. The adult tells Rikki he has to sit inside and think about his his behaviour while the others play outside.
Rikki tries so hard but he just has so much energy. He needs to let it out! Oh good, Mum's here. Rikki goes home and finally releases the energy unchecked.
Rikki is free at home.
There is a parent/teacher night, the adult tells Mum and Dad about Rikki being unable to control his energy. Mum and Dad think about how much energy Rikki has and agrees. The adult sees this a lot and makes a suggestion.
This is obviously a fictional story but not uncommon in our schools. It highlights that young people, just want to run and play in order to learn how to operate their consciousness car. This is an important lesson, but once they start to get a handle on it (age 4-5), we trap them in a room for most of the sunny hours of the day. It’s no wonder they have so much energy left when they’re back home.
Nobody is the villain in this story, just a bunch of well intentioned people doing the best they can for everyone in their care.
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Aside from the need of fidget toys, worse problems arise.
Non attendance is up by a large amount since COVID and is not showing any sign of recovering. With remote learning and school closures, the students broke regular attendance habits. Having the time and freedom of home learning, the post-pandemic school refusal surge is, potentially, our youths' way of letting us know they want a better way.
Suicide and self-harm being a big one. In a world where you don't feel free, you still have control of one thing. So, to prove it to themselves, well…
Pamphlet Citations
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Deci, Koestner, & Ryan (1999)​​ - ​A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.​
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Segool, N. K., Carlson, J. S., Goforth, A. N., Von Der Embse, N. P., & Barterian, J. A. (2013) - Heightened test anxiety among young children: Elementary School students' Anxious responses to high-stakes testing.
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Kohn, Alfie (1992) - The case against competition.
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Przybylski et al. (2009) - Having to versus wanting to play: Background and consequences of harmonious versus obsessive engagement in video games.
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Pellis and Pellis (2011) - How play makes for a more adaptable brain: a comparative and neural perspective.
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Spinka et al. (2001) - Mammalian Play: Training for the Unexpected
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Liu, C., & LaFreniere, P. (2014) - The Case for Mixed-Age Grouping in Early Education.
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Duran, D. (2017) - Learning-by-teaching. Evidence and implications as a pedagogical mechanism
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Laycraft, K. C. (2012) - The development of creativity: a study of creative adolescents and young adults