The Essential School Sucks, #24 of 50Theme Three: What It Means To Be EducatedWe move from self-directed learning to its outcome: critical thinking.Today I'll discuss one of the MOST IMPORTANT aspects of it: our persistent uncritical thought

23. Unenclosed Children

Jul 13th, 2022 1h 6m

The Essential School Sucks, #23 of 50Theme Three: What It Means To Be EducatedKerry McDonald is a home-educating mother of four, who holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University, where she studied education administration, planning, and social poli

22. Filling the Trough

Jul 8th, 2022 1h 37m

The Essential School Sucks, #22 of 50Theme Three: What It Means To Be EducatedScott Hambrick returns for a discussion on "how people learn and how we help them do that," as he aspires to be a more effective home-educator, Starting Strength

21. What It Means To Be Educated

Jul 4th, 2022 1h 16m

The Essential School Sucks, #21 of 50Theme Three: What It Means To Be EducatedToday's show is intended as a resource for listeners looking to share the ideas of alternative education and self directed learning with their friends and family, o

20. Don't Be Anyone's Useful Idiot

Jun 29th, 2022 1h 27m

The Essential School Sucks, #20 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesIn the previous episode you heard my first podcast with Zak from 2016. Today we'll fast-forward five years for updates on life

19. Succeeding Without Schooling

Jun 25th, 2022 1h 32m

The Essential School Sucks, #19 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesZak Slayback is an entrepreneur who writes, speaks and takes action on issues of education, innovation, and philosophy. He is

18. Learning Without Schooling

Jun 22nd, 2022 1h 36m

The Essential School Sucks, #18 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesToday, an Essential School Sucks compilation of two conversations with natural learning legends: Sandra Dodd and Pam Laricchia

17. Growing Without Schooling

Jun 20th, 2022 1h 19m

The Essential School Sucks, #17 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesPat Farenga is a leading unschooling advocate, and the father of three adult unschooled children. He worked closely with unsch

16. Here Is What's Possible Beyond Public School

Jun 18th, 2022 1h 30m

The Essential School Sucks, #16 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesFrom (#SchoolSucksAcrossAmerica - DAY SIX - OCT 20 - Harrisburg, PA)Tony Myers and I ask and answer questions with Circle Sch

15. Building Self-Directed Learning Communities

Jun 15th, 2022 1h 16m

The Essential School Sucks, #15 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesDiane Murphy taught in public schools for 30 years before she retired early to build BigFish, an innovative self-directed lear

14. The Hero's Journey For Teens

Jun 13th, 2022 1h 34m

The Essential School Sucks, #14 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives(but also for everyone else)Matt Beaudreau returns to map out a hero's journey for teens. We'll also discuss how students are

13. The Micro School Movement

Jun 11th, 2022 1h 10m

The Essential School Sucks, #13 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesKerry McDonald returns to discuss the growing Micro-School movement. What is a Micro-School and why should we be talking about

12. Purpose and Passion-Driven Education

Jun 9th, 2022 57m 46s

The Essential School Sucks, #12 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesConnor Boyack is a home-educating parent and the founder of the Libertas Institute. He joins me to discuss his book Passion-Dr

11. Setting Children Free (In An Age of Mass Panic)

Jun 8th, 2022 49m 7s

The Essential School Sucks, #11 of 50Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational AlternativesLenore Skenazy (http://www.freerangekids.com/) was one of the first people to sound the alarm on the dangers of safety. Now,

10. When Mainstream America Learned College Is A Scam

Jun 5th, 2022 1h 19m

The Essential School Sucks, #10 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolThis show concludes our first section of shows on the problem of institutional schooling. We're told the primary purpose of K-12 is get into a good college. S

9. Who Controls Our Children?

Jun 2nd, 2022 1h 19m

The Essential School Sucks, #9 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolThis final show - thoroughly remastered - about the problems of K-12 public schooling, is primarily focused on the recent dark history, Outcome-Based Education

8. The Anti-Gun Play

May 31st, 2022 1h 46m

The Essential School Sucks, #8 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolMarch 27, 2018 - This past weekend hundreds of thousands of ill-informed teenagers participated in a nationwide accidental fundraiser for the NRA called #March

7. The Schools of the Plague. The Plague of the Schools.

May 26th, 2022 58m 56s

The Essential School Sucks, #7 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolHow will the draconian "safety" measures from the past pandemic (or maybe a future pandemic) affect school children? These measures are new vectors for punishm

6. The State of the Schools. The Schools of The State.

May 24th, 2022 1h 18m

The Essential School Sucks, #6 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolThe story of mass public schooling: a shocking intrusion takes place, and then it becomes normalized, and then it becomes invisible, until another shocking int

5. How Schools Crush Creativity and Critical Thinking

May 22nd, 2022 1h 6m

The Essential School Sucks, #5 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolDr. Peter Gray was a research professor of psychology at Boston College, and author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Childr

4. School Has Robbed Young People of Their "Why"

May 20th, 2022 59m 36s

The Essential School Sucks, #4 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolIn 2019, teen anxiety and depression levels had reached startling new highs.Then 2020 happened.Dan Sanchez is the Director of Content at the Foundation for E

3. A Powerful Voice In the FIght For School Choice

May 18th, 2022 1h 2m

The Essential School Sucks, #3 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolCorey DeAngelis (https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey) is the director of school choice at Reason Foundation. He is also an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute.He

2. The Bi-Partisan Conspiracy Against Parents and Students

May 15th, 2022 1h 41m

The Essential School Sucks, # 2 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolSchool decision-making is moving further and further away from parental control, supervision, and awareness. And this is not a new problem; it's been graduall

1. The Teacher Who Stood Up and Spoke Out

May 12th, 2022 56m 55s

The Essential School Sucks, # 1 of 50Theme One: The Real Problems With Public SchoolA monologue about the courageous life and work of John Taylor Gatto, and the story of how he changed my life.How many teachers reluctantly acknowledge the fai

The Essential School Sucks - Introduction

May 11th, 2022 15m 18s

An introduction to the 50 most essential episodes - curated, categorized, and sequenced for a new audience.These shows will progress through five core topics (approximately 10 shows each)* The Real Problems With School* Leaving School and Fi