CVC Day 6 - I made it!

Earlier today we hit our 18th school! This morning I saw Burlington College to finish out the CVC tour. In a way, Burlington stands alone in more than just the schedule of the tour. Burlington is a small college (only about 225 students) with a non-traditional student body. The school describes itself as having 'zero boxes' meaning that students usually really don't fit the mold. A new 'open spaces' curriculum was instituted this year where students follow a sequence of seminars and courses to try to both prepare them to be able to find work and navigate changes over their lifetime. There is an intentional focus on communications, writing, and critical thinking. Students start their education with an investigation, then move into the community, then a team based project, and then end in a final degree project. It seemed to me that Burlington is really the best fit for a student looking for a more non-traditional experience. For example, there is no dining hall or campus sports. There are many students at Burlington that do not attend right after high school and the experience here would be focused on study and exploration not on the full college experience. I wish our visit would have focused a little more on the woodworking campus that Burlington runs about an hour from the campus we saw. This program is small, but seems to be really unique and interesting for students interested in woodwork.

I'm tired, but this week in Vermont has really been a great experience to show me the truly WIDE range of options in this relatively small state. Thank you to the CVC for having me!