The Sweet Spot: WorldSchool101
The Sweet Spot
- The spot on a bat or racket at which the makes the most effective contact.
- An optimum point or combination of factors or qualities.
- That elusive spot where family, career, health and happiness are in balance.
Charles Kramer is an accomplished producer who found early success editing The Osbournes, and over the past fifteen years he rose up to become co-executive producer on thirty-three series ranging from The Ultimate Fighter, to Street Outlaws. However, all that is changing. Charles is walking away from his demanding but lucrative career to seek a new sweet spot.
On June 19th, 2016, he and his wife Brenna, their daughter Kerala, age 7, and their son Julian, age 4, are leaving on a year long trip around the world, living in seventeen different countries and homeschooling their kids along the way.
When the Shift Happened—
On Memorial Day of last year, Charles was walking out the door for a family adventure at the beach when he got a call from his boss asking him to come in to work on a musical performance show — a show that he had worked on July 4th the year before. Charles had vowed then that he wouldn’t work another holiday away from his family, but he broke his promise to himself and went in, for no extra pay. He did the work, but something had changed; the pay and the excitement were no longer worth the sacrifices he was making. That night, after railing against his situation, his wife Brenna asked him, “What do you want to do? Quit your job and live in Spain?”
“Yes,” he said, and his life changed in that moment.
Although the start of his trip would be over a year away, simply committing to this new goal made him happier. He went into work the next day with a lightness so apparent that people remarked how different he seemed, and that lightness has stayed with him.
Charles and Brenna expanded their dream to a year of world travel with their two children. The amount of planning has been tremendous, with no guarantee of success — but TV production requires an amazing amount of work with no guarantee of success either.
The Schedule —
They depart June 19, 2016 and will visit seventeen countries, for three to four weeks each. Europe first — the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain. They then head towards the southern hemisphere as summer starts there. Africa in December — Morocco, South Africa, and then either Tanzania or Namibia. Then they head to South America and visit Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos. In April, they cross the Pacific and visit New Zealand, Bali, Thailand, and finish their trip with a month in Japan. They return to LAX on July 21, 2017.
Home, House, Mortgage, Bills —
They’re not giving up their home, but they are exchanging it. On sites like HomeExchange.com, they met people who have beautiful homes in remote locales who miss what they can get in a city like Los Angeles, so they got some amazing swaps. They had a huge garage sale and sold many of their belongings, and Charles is also selling his car.
Paying for Travel —
They booked inexpensive flights far in advance, through sites like Scott Keyes and scottscheapflights.com. They signed up for credit cards that gave bonus miles for joining and with every purchase, then paid them off, cancelled them, and signed up for more, earning enough miles for half their flights. They also have about 10 sponsors for their trip — products, tours, and travel sites that have also helped them afford this adventure. They also plan to mix it up; they may volunteer to work on an organic farm, or go camping, then splurge on a five star hotel.
Learning and School —
Just like there are communities of home schoolers and “unschoolers,” the Kramer family is now in the “world school” community. Both Kerala and Julian will have structured school time every morning for three to four hours, after which they’ll continue their lessons in the world. While regular school runs for six hours a day, it’s been shown that only 1/6 of that time is actual learning. They have a planned curriculum and gotten support from child development experts like Betsy Brown Braun. They are confident that Kerala will be ready for third grade and Julian will be ready for kindergarten when they return.
Earning Money along the Way —
Their trip will be televised (sort of). Charles will run an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to hire someone to help him shoot video and do overall production tasks throughout the trip. They will initially post clips to YouTube and grow a following on social media, while also writing a blog. Charles hopes to gain enough subscribers and sponsors to make money while traveling, and when he returns he hopes to get the funding to send another family on their own adventure next year, which would become “Season Two,” of an ongoing series…and new career?
What he’s Looking Forward to the Most —
Charles says that the two greatest regrets people have on their deathbeds is not spending time with their kids, and not traveling, and this accomplishes both. There also is no better time for his family to do this. If he waits another year or two, this window of opportunity will close. He also knows it won’t be easy, but he equates it to having a baby. It’s a lot work, it’s going to hurt like hell sometimes, but the end result will be something they will love forever.
I will keep you posted about The Kramer World Tour as they proceed.
His site is constantly being update, but check it out, subscribe for updates, catch their highs and lows and see their progress:
and
http://www.worldschool101.com/worldschool-blog.html
Here are some helpful links too:
http://www.edventuregirl.com/10-ways-world-schooling-has-ruined-my-childhood/