Schools Don't Just Fail the Kids Who Struggle. They Are Run by the Kids Who Didn't.
An open letter to every educator who loved school, written on behalf of those who didn't
The Joy of Learning
Founder of Washington's first outdoor Self-Directed Education center. I write for parents leaving conventional school and teachers burning out inside it. Subscribe to learn what's really happening to kids, and why there's a better way.
Live Last read · last published · next check
Latest posts
Schools Don’t Just Limit Unstructured Time for Kids. They Teach Children Their Hours Belong to Someone Else.
Time is the only thing you cannot make more of. Children who grow up never owning theirs become adults who never will either — and parents are running out of summers to do anything about it.
Schools Don't Just Fail to Teach Cooperation. They Teach Children That a Classmate's Success Is a Threat to Their Own.
The real lesson behind every gold star, every honor roll, and every ranked list of names on the wall
The Reason You Haven't Pulled Your Kids From School Has Nothing to Do With Money
You were told the alternative is too expensive. No one told you what conventional school actually costs, or who has been paying for it all along.
What If the Fight to Fix School Was Never the Right Fight?
Children do not need to be managed into becoming capable. Here is what happens when they are trusted instead.
For Most of Human History, No One Had to Teach a Child How to Learn
For most of human history, no child needed lessons in how to learn. Then an institution built a fence around something that used to belong to everyone, and you have been living inside it ever since.
The School System Isn't Broken. It Was Built This Way.
Every reform movement that has ever tried to fix conventional schooling accepted the premise that the institution was worth saving. That is exactly what it was designed to make them believe.
Why the Best Teachers Are Suffering the Most, and What the Research Actually Says
The most devoted teachers in America are also its most demoralized. Doris Santoro’s research reveals exactly why.
Your Child Was Born Burning to Figure Things Out. School Taught Them to Stop.
Inside Self-Directed Education centers, children learn everything school says it wants for them. The reason why will reframe everything.
Why I Built a Page on Our Website to Tell Some Parents We're Not Right for Them
Why I Built a Page on Our Website to Tell Parents We Might Not Be Right for Them