A River Between

Greetings! My name is Scott Schumacher. I live in Duluth, Minnesota with my partner of three years, Michael, our dog, Junebug, and many wonderful friends in the community and beyond.

Welcome to “A River Between.” This website is both a playground for my learning journeys, as well as an invitation for others who are seeking to “walk on” to self-directed space, and the unknown. I feel I’ve lived many lives at times. I am a Massage and Bodywork Practitioner, Web Designer, Bicycle and Transit Commuter, and a Lifelong Learner.

With regard to learning, I feel that I’ve learned many things through my own self-discovery - very deeply. This kind of learning, in my opinion, doesn’t come from a classroom, a curriculum, or an imposed set of rules and standards. True learning is deep, organic, transforming, and takes us on a thrilling journey. This is the journey I have been on. This is the journey I am loving and embracing.

In 2004, I began an educational journey with a Minnesota college, pursuing a Master of Arts in Human Development. I set out to answer the question:

How do we create communities and lives out of the mix of healing, art, peace, nonviolence, sustainability, and social justice?

During my study, I was able to craft my own curriculum of classes and independent studies of my choosing. Within a “contract learning” structure, I allowed myself to be guided primarily by my curiosities and passions. This experience was a transformative one - taking me to places and fields of inquiry I had never explored.

And then I walked out of academia. After finishing all of the coursework, I left before finishing the final prescribed paper and colloquium. My decision was based on the honoring of the notion that “yet another degree or certification” did not serve me, and that these structures perpetuate divisions and “meritocracy” in our culture. I was also an Unschooler, pursuing my own inquiry in my own way, and to have the institution “sew me up” into their small box did not rest well with me. A final paper of 30 pages adhering to APA standards was, to me, remedial - and did not fit into the whole of my learning. I could share my learning only with the institution, or I could share it with the world. I chose the world.

I have included work and inquiry of all five of my contracts within the Human Development program in this site, as it will also serve as my ever-growing, ever-evolving portfolio of learning. Some of the work is in its original form, and some of it continues to transform and take new shape continually.

I now see learning as a life-long “craft” - a continuous and ever-transforming journey. In the pages of this web site, I will take you along with me on this journey of “unschooling” in my life. I also plan to include many resources to assist anyone in their own “unschooled path” of portfolio development, autodidactic learning, and personal transformation.

I came up with the metaphor of “A River Between” quite by accident when I was trying to provide a quick explanation of how my learning feels. What I came up with was this:

When the boulders of institutions begin to surround you - envelop you - yet no longer serve you - find a “river between” to guide you. Water from this river finds its path easily between and around these boulders. It erodes the rock walls, eventually transforming them as well. Life is nurtured in the waters of the river, as it continues its journey, eventually joining other rivers, and emptying into larger waters.

Come journey with me down this river!

Peace and Love,
Scott Schumacher