Schools of a Different Sort: Five Alternative Educations

Every three months, GOOD releases our quarterly magazine, which examines a given theme through our unique lens. Recent editions have covered topics like the impending global water crisis, the future of transportation, and the amazing rebuilding of New Orleans. This quarter's issue is about work, and we'll be rolling out a variety of stories all month.

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Needless to say, a traditional academic education isn’t for everyone. Some people aren’t built to thrive in a lecture hall, and conventional schooling doesn’t guarantee a job. Luckily, there are those who have taken heed of this and have embarked on projects that give learning a different dimension. Here are five examples of such ventures.

Hyper Island started as a response to the blossoming new-media industry in 1996. Jonathan Briggs, David Erixon, and Lars Lundh joined forces to create an experience-based educational program that transcends traditional textbook learning. Headquartered in Sweden, the organization offers five long-term programs in areas such as mobile applications and motion graphics.

Project M is a design program in Greensboro, Alabama, that aims to create meaningful projects that will make an impact on the community and residents of surrounding Hale County. Two separate, two-week sessions challenge designers to “think wrong,” and to go against linear thought processes that inhibit innovation and creativity.

Y Combinator provides seed funding for new companies to help turn ideas into reality. But a lot of companies do that. Y Combinator then works with up-and-coming entrepreneurs on everything from conceptualization of a business strategy to dealing with potential investors and acquires, in a sort of crash course in starting a company.

W+K12 is an experimental advertising school started by the Portland, Oregon-based ad agency Wieden+Kennedy. Even as the academy trains young designers for the advertising industry, it also subverts it. A student once described it as “a school for advertising and a school for people who don’t like advertising.”

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms This organization connects people who want to experience what it’s like to work at a farm and hosts who could use the extra help. Volunteers learn about how organic food is grown while helping their hosts with various tasks for a set amount of hours. In return, farmhands are provided accommodations and food during their stay.