The point about insurance is not accurate. In some low-lying areas, these statements are accurate, but even in coastal areas it is far more common to have a finished 1st floor with the standard insurance rules. It all depends on the flood/evacuation zones.
His management is thoughtful! Plotters are cheap, but the entire chain of events leading to an effective sign being installed is almost certainly higher than this one guy spending a few hours on a sign.
Design Thinking is just solving problems (and creating new solutions) from the end-user's perspective. Some people are naturally good at it, but others need some structure to make it happen.
Waldorf is all about fostering imagination, so they try to limit anything that comes with a pre-defined set of ideas that tell you how to interact with it. A plastic firetruck already has an identity; an unfinished wood truck can be anything.
Swear jar is a great analogy. Also, that'll be $2.
It's a game mechanic that encourages people to be more thoughtful about how they think about a problem. Not perfect, like the swear jar, but it has some value in changing behavior.
I think the biggest factor in the success of those schools isn't any specific policy. It's the selection bias. These kids have at least one parent/guardian that cares enough to put in the minimal effort required to get the kid in a different school. Some charters require parent volunteers, which ups the bar again. What actually happens in school might not matter as much as having the home support you need to be successful.
May I ask how you are defining 'social network'? I'm guessing you and op have different pictures in your heads about what makes a social network, as opposed to a simple forum.
Glad to read this. I thought I might be the only one picking up on the irony here. I mean, come on. He JUST read about D-K, then demonstrates it in action.
I have seen D-K written about in the context of beginner-experts; people that don't have more knowledgeable peers to help them see the limitations of what they know (think one-man IT team in a small company, or angry drunk Uncle rambling on about politics in the recliner).
My observation is that D-K comes up in areas that people think are easy to understand (but are actually complex). Especially if the person comes from a domain with high perceived complexity. Example would be computer scientist discussing education or psychology... That seems to be ripe territory for D-K.