Too often simplistic arguments against educational change are that providing more opportunities for increased agency for young people (following their own questions, inquiries, cares etc) means less rigour, depth and intellectual stretch. Anyone who has been involved in these approaches in sustained ways knows that this isn’t the case. However, the myth persists. This week it is my great pleasure to be in conversation with Michael Strong who has had an extensive career in many different educational systems and approaches, but with a fascinating mix of classical practices such as Socratic Dialogue and entrepreneurial skills.

Michael Strong is one of the most experienced innovative school program designers in the U.S. He is the Founder/CEO of Socratic Experience (an online academy blending Classical and entrepreneurial education), Flourishing Adolescent Cultures Initiative at the University of Austin, and the Academy of Thought and Industry (ATI), a network of Montessori-aligned high schools with campuses in Austin, San Francisco, New York City, and St. Louis. His projects include Montessori secondary school program design for Montessori schools in San Antonio, Palo Alto, and Pleasanton, California prior to launching ATI. He also created The Winston Academy, where middle school students passed AP exams, and Moreno Valley High School, a Paideia charter high school in Angel Fire, New Mexico, ranked the 36th best public high school in the U.S. by Newsweek in its 3rd year of operation and continued to outperform other New Mexico high schools. 

He is the author of The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice and lead author of Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems. He introduced the expression “Startup Cities” in a 2013 Voice & Exit talk which has led to a vibrant “Startup Societies” movement around the world. He is also a co-founder of FLOW, Peace through Commerce, Conscious Capitalism, and Radical Social Entrepreneurs. He serves on the boards of Radical Social Entrepreneurs and Social Evolution. He is the only “Michael Strong” married to the powerful and beautiful Senegalese entrepreneur Magatte Wade.

Michael writes and can be found in the following places,

Substack: https://substack.com/@michaelstrong 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.strong.144/ 

X: @flowidealism - https://x.com/flowidealism 

LinkedIn: @michaelstrong1 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstrong1/