A teacher in independent schools for more than three decades and guide for her own family’s self-directed learning adventure, Diane Webber founded Shared Living and Learning in 2020.
The Backstory
For more than a decade, Diane was a classroom teacher in kindergarten through high school, developing curriculum and creating new, progressive program structures with and for young people. Those years included chairing an academic department at the high school level and developing cross-disciplinary coursework.
Stepping out of full-time teaching, Diane homeschooled her son and two daughters for fourteen years while facilitating the learning of other youth outside of school—independently and through Open Connections in Newtown Square,
PA.
Diane returned to the classroom in 2012 as a 5th/6th grade group teacher at The Miquon School, where she continued partnering with families and also mentored teachers new to progressive practice until 2020. A favorite piece of her teaching work was facilitating student-led travel, inviting youth as young as nine to plan trips together and to earn the funds for their adventures.
Our Philosophy
Shared Learning and Living views every person as a learner and a teacher, regardless of age and experience, and encourages every person to maintain as much agency and voice in their life and learning as possible. From the initial meeting through implementation, our goal is to keep the strengths and needs of the individual and the values and goals of the family at the center of the process, and to encourage the natural connection between life and learning. We never take or suggest a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Shared Learning and Living knows that content, which should be exciting and meaningful, is
secondary to developing sound and effective learning processes, habits, and practices that will last a lifetime. Therefore, we do not promote the learning of topics and skill by age level, but by interest and developmental appropriateness.
Through many years of work with young people of all ages in and out of school, we know that hands-on, real-life, and internally motivated learning is most effective.