We provide an experiential education to self-directed students. Students are given the space and resources they need to sustain their curiosity and become inspired learners. Our model is emergent and adaptive; and our priority is to develop our inner compass—our Unarvu—as we navigate our learning journey within a supportive learning collective.
Our Values
At Unarvu, it is less about what we do and more about how we are.
The following is a list of core beliefs and values that make up the foundation of our collective.
We agree to take care of ourselves, take care of others, and take care of the space.
We recognize that liberatory education is an emergent path which asks us to be adaptive and to trust our children.
We maintain that social and emotional development and the well-being of our people is fundamental on this journey.
We acknowledge that this path of learning is colored and guided by the culture within and around the collective, adults included.
We practice compassionate listening and communication and use conflict resolution and restorative justice tools to help us do this.
We strive to be tender with each other and with ourselves on this path of learning, moving with humility, generosity and reverence.
We endeavor to look at painful and difficult things with the love of really wanting to see.
“To understand life is to understand ourselves, and that is both the beginning and end of education.”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti, Education and the Significance of Life
Our Program
We believe in mixed-age learning environments, self-direction, and being inspired by each other and by our environment. Drawing inspiration from our own praxis as well as a variety of recognized resources, we iterate and evolve our tools and practices so that the process is always serving the people.
The Agile Culture model of education holds these four values at its core. They drive all that we do.
1. Learning: Learning is natural. It’s happening all the time
2. Self-Direction: People learn best when they make their own decisions. (And children are people!)
3. Experience: People learn more from their culture and environment than from the content they are taught.
4. Success: People grow through cycles of intention, creation, reflection, and sharing.
When the students arrive in the morning they check the offerings, confer with friends and facilitators, and then update their kanban to reflect their plan for the day. At the morning check-in meeting, everyone shares their intentions for the day and how they are doing; request any support they might need; suggest, request or make offerings; and take time to connect as a group. After check-in students join one of the available activities or pursue their own interest. Everyone usually comes together for lunch and then an afternoon activity before closing the day.
Facilitators
Facilitators are co-players, co-discoverers, co-learners, and co-creators with the students. Their primary responsibility is to develop functional relationships with the kids so they can support them. They set an example of lifelong passionate learning and creating for the students. They invite students to teach them about their passions. They see sparks of interest in the students and find ways to nurture them.
We recognize the importance of rhythm and facilitate an environment that empowers students to follow their curiosity, develop and cultivate skills, and take ownership over their learning. They don’t tell students what to learn but they do offer up things they’re interested in and offer to share them.
Sample Day
10h Check-in
10h15 1st Block
sample activities: drumming, nature walk, running games, storytelling, improv games, electronics fix-it or take-apart, 11h30 2nd Block12h30 Suggested Lunch13h30 3rd Blocksample activities: clay, art, sewing, portugese language, math circle, board games, woodworking14h30 CleanUp, ChangeUp, Closing15h PickUpAt the end of the day we gather together for reflections and a change-up meeting. At this meeting we bring group awareness to and collectively problem-solve any interactions which were bothersome in some way. This is part of how we intentionally cultivate culture and manage conflicts.
-
Learning Journey for Collective Members
Students attending Unarvu from Monday to Wednesday 10a to 3p form the foundation of our program and hold the culture at Unarvu as members of our collective. They self-select the classes to join, participate in conflict management meetings, co-create agreements to meet the needs of the collective, participate in seasonal celebrations, practice rituals like gratitude circles, and more.
The times are urgent; let us slow down.
—Dr. Bayo Akomolafe
What People Are Saying
“What I love most about Unarvu is the freedom that I have to create what I like. For example, I make the decision of what would I would like to do in the Art Studio. We get offered different opportunities that we can choose from. Overall, I enjoy my time at Unarvu.”
— Lena, Student
“This project is life changing: true free thought, creativity, homely and loving atmosphere. Everything I ever dreamed for my son and more.”
— Avital, Parent
“I have a feeling of tremendous gratitude to participate in this journey with a caring, interested and warm community. Learning, working, playing, inquiring, building, sharing and growing together makes time at Unarvu very special.”
— Matt, Facilitator
“It is so important, especially for this age, to have a place outside of the family where they are able to explore and develop theirselves, hang around with peers and learn from each other and just be - in a peaceful surrounding with lively, mindful company. To be jointly responsible for ensuring this is a great relief for the family itself. And therefore, we are very, very grateful for Unarvu.”
— Shirley, Parent
“What I like best is the chilled atmosphere and that I can choose how I can spend my time there.”
— Karlo, Student
“Unarvu, to me, is an inspiring education project that aligns with my beliefs on how knowledge is best passed on and built. It is a beautiful space of community based on respect and curiosity and trust and I look forward to seeing how these ideals will continue to be put into practice as the project grows.”
— Ioanna, Facilitator
Membership
Unarvu Education is solely supported through the fees paid by our families. The fees are calculated with the goals of running Unarvu, not on the goal of making a profit.
Furthermore, the current rates are made possible with the cost savings provided by the donation of facilities, skills, time and talent from several people.
Collective Member
This membership is for families committed to exploring liberatory education. Students attend either for a minimum of 1 Sprint (6 weeks, usually) or the full academic year from September to June on all the days Unarvu is in session. These members forming the foundation of our program; and hold and shape the culture at Unarvu Education. This membership is offered solely to families pursuing liberation.
We offer a sliding scale fee model for those enrolling for the full academic year in the spirit of inclusion and as a commitment to accessibility and social justice. Furthermore, our experiences are more robust, interesting, satisfying, and reflective of the real world when they involve participants from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
With a sliding scale model, each family contributes according to their means. Those paying in the middle help cover our costs. Those paying towards the bottom, “Sponsored,” are being held by the community. Those paying towards the top, “Patron,” are helping others access our programs.
For a sliding scale to work it relies on the principles of truthfulness, respect for complexity, and accountability.
Academic Year Enrollment:
Sponsored: 3,000€ per academic year (can be paid in installments)
Supported: 3,500€ per academic year (can be paid in installments)
Independent: 3,750€ per academic year (can be paid in installments)
Patron: 4,500€ per academic year (can be paid in installments)
Sprint Enrollment :
65€ per day for a minimum enrollment of one Sprint
*** The cost of excursions and clubs is not included in the membership. Unarvu Education does not provide lunch or transportation. One-time application fee per student (on sliding scale) due with application; enrollment fee at the beginning of each year.
“This is our work, to discover what we can give. Isn’t this the purpose of education, to learn the nature of your own gifts and how to use them for good in the world?”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Visit Us
We invite parents and students to come visit and get to know us.
We are in a lush oasis near Cascais. In a cozy home with a classroom and studio, garden with pool, and spaces for cooking, hanging out, and working. We are most grateful for this home base.
Our Location
“As a classroom community, our capacity to generate excitement is deeply affected by our interest in one another, in hearing one another’s voices, in recognizing one another’s presence.”
— bell hooks, Teaching To Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
FAQs
-
English serves as our common language and Portuguese will be written, spoken and heard often given the nature of our community. Other languages are welcomed and explored as initiated by the students and community.
-
Currently, our program is for kids aged ten and older.
-
This is intended as a drop-off program. We want the space to be one the students feel is theirs; one where they blossom, grow and explore with their peers.
However, many parents choose to stay for a small part of the first session to ease the transition for their child. If you have concerns or thoughts on how you would like to handle the transition, please talk with us.
-
The current student-to-facilitator ratio is 5 students to every 1 facilitator; and we aim to maintain a ratio no higher than 10 students per facilitator.
-
Unarvu Education offers year round rolling admissions as long as capacity allows.
Read Information packet
Attend a tour or info session.
Submit completed Membership Application along with Application Fee.
If invited, student signs and submits “Student Agreement” and adult(s) sign “Parent Agreement.”
Submit Enrollment Fee, Deposit and Onboarding Survey.
Welcome!
-
On a space-available basis, we welcome local homeschoolers and alternative schoolers to our classes and events. Please contact us for more information.
-
Consider contributing towards “Patron” on the scale if you:
—have the ability to comfortably meet all of your basic needs (food & rent)
—have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money
—travel recreationally
—have access to family money and resources in times of need
—work part-time by choice
—own the home you live in
—have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or citizenship, gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.)
Consider contributing towards “Sponsored” on the scale if you.
—have difficulty covering basic expenses (like food or rent)
—have significant debt
—have medical expenses not covered by insurance
—are an elder with limited financial support
—are an unpaid community organizer
—have unstable housing and/or limited access to reliable transportation
—have not taken a vacation or time off due to the financial burden
The scale is intended to be a map, inviting each of us to take inventory of our financial resources and look deeper at our levels of privilege. It is a way to challenge the classist and capitalist society we live in and work towards economic justice on a local level.
(This is based on the ‘Green Bottle’ sliding scale model by Alexis J. Cunningfolk | www.wortsandcunning.com)
-
Unarvu is a Tamil word (உணர்வு) without a direct translation in English. It is a sort of inner compass…a strong gut feeling. Most often, it is used to mean feeling, knowledge, awareness, conviction, self-knowledge, or earthly consciousness. Its full meaning is presented below for our collective inspiration:
1. physical sensation not connected with our five senses
2. the thoughts and feelings, collectively, of an individual or of an aggregate of people
3. a fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way.
4. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight ; intuition; discernment
5. capacity for thinking and acquiring knowledge, especially of a high or complex order; mental capacity.
6. a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.
7. the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.
8. earthly consciousness; cessation from sleep.
9. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something
-
Our sense of learning and education is influenced by many schools of thought, authors and revolutionaries, as well as our introspection and praxis. We are committed to ALC’s focus on culture creation.
Below are a few useful resources:
How We See Self-Directed Education (video)
Three Popular Models of Education
The Real Schedule and the Shadow Schedule
When Schools Forgo Grades: An Experiment In Internal Motivation