"For me, the concept of freedom without choice is an illusion. If you don't really have a choice, then you're not really free. At it's core, that's what I hope for my daughter."
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"Because, what I really want to do is: How do you take each individual kid, understand them well enough to discover what they desire, what they're interested in, what they find relevant. And how do you wrap those pieces in an engaging matter that encourages their curiosity and allows them to explore the world, gain knowledge and skills, and become fulfilled? If you can do that, and you can do that at scale--that is the toughest nut to solve I think."
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"But I feel like, jeez, isn’t it also a leap of faith if you send your child to a more traditional school, in which the risk there is that they might learn to hate learning? That they don't get to do things they care about, they just do things that they're asked to do? That they become really good unquestioning rule followers who think of themselves as human capital? That seems scarier to me."
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"So, I'm going to talk about her I think. I think where the system is falling short for a kid like my daughter is it doesn't give kids the chance to push themselves outside the boundaries of school. Her current high school doesn't give them opportunities to go out into the field to learn. Doesn't encourage them to really do a lot concurrent enrollment. The system still wants to contain the experience for the learner in that school or that environment. And that is a real challenge, because our world is not contained like that. And it used to be more contained, but it's not any more."
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I just don’t think any two students learn the same way, even identical twins. As an identical twin, Chris was always much better in numerical subjects and I actually was better in science and he was just a way better test taker. He was the first one done and he was the top of the class, and I would not be. Chris got better grades than me and typically in classes that had more tests he did a lot better. The grading system made it so that there is a very explicit comparison point between my brother and I.
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Read More“I think back to the one-on-one parent-teacher conferences that I had when I said, ‘Your child is reading below grade level, here are some flashcards you can do with him,’ instead of saying, ‘You know what? Your child is really compassionate. He always wants to help others and problem solve, and reading will come.’”
"A lot of people are angry in the world right now. I think a lot of it is that they are overwhelmed at how hard life is and they want someone with answers to solve their problems. If they had a deeper understanding of the complexities of human affairs and of their own souls, they would be at peace with their own complexities."
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