
Corianda Shepherd | Creating a Worldschooling Community in Spain
About this episode
After her eight-year-old son was expelled from school in the UK, Corianda Shepherd and her partner Joel left behind a life that no longer worked. They moved to rural Spain, bought the first house they saw, and slowly built Shepherd’s Rest—a worldschooling community where families live together, learn in nature, and reject the idea that difference needs to be managed or corrected.
This episode is not just about homeschooling. It’s about what happens when the social structure becomes too rigid, when families are stretched thin, and when children who don’t fit are sidelined. We talk about creating a different rhythm, not as an escape, but as a deliberate response to a system that has forgotten its purpose.
Corianda shares how her sons began to thrive in a quieter environment, how a diagnosis doesn’t have to define a life, and why she believes family—not institutions—should be the foundation for raising children. Together, we reflect on how the box society offers has become too small, and what it takes to build something more human outside it.
🗓️ Recorded June 3rd, 2025. 📍 Åmarksgård, Lille Skendsved, Denmark
🔗 Connect with Coriandra and Shepherd’s Rest
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Podcast website: https://www.cecilieconrad.com/self-directed
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