Be Your Own Aristotle

Or accidentally designing a week-long learning program after imagining one

Jun 08, 2026

Welcome to the Learning Lab, where we do all things learning! This week, I’m starting a new program I designed to take me all around my city and make me my own Aristotle. This is just the introduction, so stay tuned!

A couple I met last week told me they were trying to hire a tutor with a creative personality to do enriching activities with their teenage daughters. They wanted a modern Aristotle.

The job description read something like this:

Responsibilities:

Design a learning program covering the following topics: Math, Learning, Persuading, Programming, Observing, Conquering.
Execute the program in a way that is both engaging and has measurable results.

This is a dream role for someone who believes education should expand how young people think about themselves and what they can do.

It was a thought-provoking opportunity—one that got me thinking.

I do believe education can expand how young people think about themselves and what they can do. But what would that look like?

I know what it would look like for me. I love being out and about and learning from creating, so I imagine lots of that. I would go to the museum, to the park, and to the library.

I got so caught up in imagining a week-long learning program I actually designed one.

Whoops!

This week, I’m my own Aristotle.

Day 1: Learning

Location: Museum of Fine Arts

Activity: Research 3 paintings, visit them, re-create one of them, and write a report.

The point of this is to get out into the world and learn about something I like. Art inspires me, so I’m going to inhale the life force out of those paintings and breathe them into my own writing (hopefully).

Day 2: Programming

Location: MIT Campus

Activity: Design and launch a personal website for myself.

I have always been jealous of programmers for their ability to create something out of nothing but colorful letters on a black screen. I’ll use this learning opportunity to create a webpage I need anyway.

Day 3: Persuading

Location: Boston Public Library

Activity: Write a persuasive essay on natural philosophy, arguing it is better than science.

I do think it is better than science, and I’ve been meaning to make use of the library resources: The BPL has an original copy of Isaac Newton’s Principia, you can schedule to view. For free!

Day 4: Observing

Location: Mass Ventures, Cambridge

Activity: Have conversations with strangers! Listen to their problems and write them down.

Listening well is not taught in school or at home, but it’s a crucial skill to learn. Everything in life can be whittled down to a good conversation, so it’s worth practicing as much as possible.

Day 5: Nature

Location: Arnold Arboretum

Activity: Sit in nature and observe the world. Come up with explanations and write them in little stories.

Science is just an explanation of an observation. All the bells and whistles—it’s just looking at something with your eyeballs and thinking thoughts to come up with an explanation. Doing this for a bug’s colors or a rotted leaf is simple, but effective.

The last part of the plan is to publish.

Having fun while doing scary things is one of the pillars (Conquering, I believe it is), and so I’m happy to be sharing this with all of you.

And yes, I will actually be doing all of this. Fun and scary, remember?

If you’re interested in the full plan I put together, or following me on this journey, subscribe or meet me in the comments. I would love to chat!

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