School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives

(but also for everyone else)

Plus much more on

Matt is an in-demand and provocative education speaker and consultant, and a personal development coach to people all around the world. He is also the founder of the Acton Academy in Placer, CA; Acton is a program of self-directed learning with over 100 locations around the world.

About Acton Academy Placer

Links to Matt:

MattBeaudreau.com

www.ActonAcademy.org

https://www.instagram.com/mattbeaudreau

https://www.facebook.com/mattbeaudreau

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-beaudreau-071a5b99/

The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo

Crypto Addresses:

DASH XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229
ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35
LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2
BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1U
BITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWS
ZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives

Kerry McDonald returns to discuss the growing Micro-School movement. What is a Micro-School and why should we be talking about them? (and why am I excited about a school?)

We'll also cover blended learning, the question of screen time for children, and a thriving micro-school network in Arizona Kerry recently profiled in Forbes Magazine. That article is called How Micro-School Networks Expand Learning Options

Kerry McDonald is a Senior Education Fellow at FEE and author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom. She is also an adjunct scholar at The Cato Institute and a regular Forbes contributor. Kerry has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children. You can check out her podcast LibertaED here.

Kerry's Book:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo

Crypto Addresses:

DASH XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229
ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35
LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2
BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1U
BITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWS
ZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4

Recurring Options:

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives

Connor Boyack is a home-educating parent and the founder of the Libertas Institute. He joins me to discuss his book Passion-Driven Education, which is definitely a nice companion piece for the School Sucks Podcast.

Discussed:

The Books:

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo

Crypto Addresses:

DASH XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229
ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35
LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2
BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1U
BITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWS
ZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives

Lenore Skenazy was one of the first people to sound the alarm on the dangers of safety. Now, two decades into the "century of the safe" - where safety is the trump card in almost every policy argument - we must recognize that letting go of overprotectiveness is an important step towards treating young people with more dignity.

2013: Lenore joins me to discuss the Free Range Kids movement, and strategies for reaching out to helicopter parents. We also explore the trends that have led to the panic, paranoia and over-protective nature of so many parents today.

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo

Crypto Addresses:

DASH XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229
ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35
LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2
BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1U
BITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWS
ZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

This 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. So in this installment we'll use a single news story about corruption to create a comprehensive argument against the content, culture, and cost of higher indoctrination.(for most people)

Scott Hambrick and I discuss the so-called biggest scandal in the history of higher education! But what will the public ultimately learn from the Operation Varsity Blues revelations? And what will change?

Scott is a home educating parent, entrepreneur, strength coach and the creator (Reader In Chief) of OnlineGreatBooks.com.

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo

Crypto Addresses:

DASH XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229
ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35
LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2
BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1U
BITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWS
ZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

This final show - thoroughly remastered - about the problems of K-12 public schooling, is primarily focused on the recent dark history, Outcome-Based Education, how it was applied to the children of the 90s, and how it has been "perfected" since then.

Original Notes: Today's show is a followup to the previous conversation with Dave Smith - a deeper level of exploration of the history of school, covering a longer period of time, and showing the progression of control over the public mind.

(Edited Audio from Brett on Free Man Beyond the Wall)

It's hard to pick just one.

A STORY OF INCREASING LEVERAGE OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGERS (AND BOILED FROGS)

1840s-1930s

"So a precedent is set, collectivism is ratcheted up at every stage

1930s-1970s

1980s-Present

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo;
Donate DASH
Donate ETHEREUM
Donate LITECOIN
Donate BITCOIN
Donate BITCOIN CASH
Donate ZCASH

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

March 27, 2018 - This past weekend hundreds of thousands of ill-informed teenagers participated in a nationwide accidental fundraiser for the NRA called #MarchForOurLives.

Thaddeus Russell returns to examine the bigger picture. We'll discuss the fetish-ization of children by both the left and the right. Other themes include politics as a performance on a stage, dangers of absolutist thinking, Manichaeism (the age-old religious idea of fighting the battle against the darkness on the side of the light, and the comfort and illusion of moral superiority that idea brings), why this phenomenon does NOT require "crisis actors," and the harnessing of teenage angst towards political ends.

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo;
Donate DASH
Donate ETHEREUM
Donate LITECOIN
Donate BITCOIN
Donate BITCOIN CASH
Donate ZCASH

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

How will the draconian "safety" measures from the past pandemic (or maybe a future pandemic) affect school children? These measures are new vectors for punishment and surveillance, and they will certainly remain in place beyond any health crisis.

Jay, The Honest Teacher returns almost exactly one year after our last conversation. I asked him to offer some up close and personal accounts (from students and from his observations) about how institutional schooling has become even more of a dystopian nightmare.

Unfortunately now more than ever, school continues to make good on its promise to mold children into "good" citizens. But is there a silver lining? Jay says yes.

The Honest Teacher:

Our Previous Conversations:

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo;
Donate DASH
Donate ETHEREUM
Donate LITECOIN
Donate BITCOIN
Donate BITCOIN CASH
Donate ZCASH

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

The story of mass public schooling: a shocking intrusion takes place, and then it becomes normalized, and then it becomes invisible, until another shocking intrusion takes place. And so on...

Dave Smith and I discuss a brief history of this intrusion into family and community life, and then we assess the condition of public school and college, as they were, heading into the pandemic (where they definitely didn't get any better).

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo;
Donate DASH
Donate ETHEREUM
Donate LITECOIN
Donate BITCOIN
Donate BITCOIN CASH
Donate ZCASH

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation

Theme One: The Real Problems With Public School

Dr. 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 Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Peter serves on the Organizing team for the Alliance of Self-Directed-Education. He also runs a blog on Psychology Today called Freedom to Learn, where he regularly explains and promotes self-directed education from a variety of angles.

Today Peter and I discuss creativity and critical thinking - two skills we agree are left underdeveloped (or even damaged) by public school and college.

On critical thinking, Peter has referenced studies and surveys that reveal about 50% of employers are dissatisfied with entry-level, college graduate employees (PayScale Inc.) and that college does little to improve higher level thinking (Academically Adrift: Limited Learning On College Campuses - 2011).

On creativity, Peter wrote a piece called As Children’s Freedom Has Declined, So Has Their Creativity. Peter informs us that there are actually quantitative studies, including the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, that show a marked decline in children's creative capacity since the 1980s. We discuss the causes of this decline in detail.

In part one we discussed the biological foundations of self-education. LISTEN HERE

School Sucks was one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college).

Your support keeps the show alive, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us continue to spread this important message further!

One-Time Donation Options:
Paypal/Venmo;
Donate DASH
Donate ETHEREUM
Donate LITECOIN
Donate BITCOIN
Donate BITCOIN CASH
Donate ZCASH

Recurring Options:

And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us

Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation