30 episodes
School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation SchoolSucksProject.com - Education Evolution
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- Education
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4.6 • 331 Ratings
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School Sucks is a podcast, You Tube channel, and web community empowering parents and self-directed learners.
For 12 years we've promoted freedom in education, and we've called out covert indoctrination.
We discuss:
+ educational alternatives like homeschooling and unschooling
+ career freedom without college
+ the principles of self-directed learning
+ the strategies of critical thinking/information literacy
+ the rewards of self-knowledge/personal development
This is NOT a show about school reform.
The schools will not improve.
Higher education will not improve.
The politics around these institutions will not improve.
Only we can improve.
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24. Thinking, Fast and Slow
The Essential School Sucks, #24 of 50
Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated
We 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 thoughts and feelings.
(November, 2016) What is wrong with John Oliver? What's wrong with Donald Trump? What's wrong the anti-Trump anti-reality protestors? What was wrong with me the other day when I suddenly felt impelled to hatch a conspiracy theory about Trump's election being part of a "larger plan" with little evidence? What's wrong with an alarming number of the interactions in School Sucks Facebook group lately?
Political thinking is often quick thinking.
Thinking quickly is an evolution-driven feature that was once necessary for our survival. But in a vastly more complex world than the one our species grew up in, this mode of thought is often dangerous and destructive. Look around.
Sometimes some people, even libertarians, use mental shortcuts to arrive at faulty conclusions, and then engage in a process of rationalization for those conclusions.
In short, we'll explore observations of the left and pro-Trump right over the last year with the valuable lessons from Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow. The goal is utilize examples of thinking errors to avoid making them ourselves, often without even noticing.
Get ALL episodes in this series: HERE
The Ideas Into Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally November 20th, 2016 As “[PODCAST #461] Speed and Politics (Part One) - Rules For Radicals"Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation -
23. Unenclosed Children
The Essential School Sucks, #23 of 50
Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated
Kerry McDonald is a home-educating mother of four, who holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University, where she studied education administration, planning, and social policy. She is a writer for Natural Mother Magazine, the Foundation for Economic Education, Forbes, and Intellectual Takeout. She is a founding member of AlternativesToSchool.com, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education. Her blog podcast is LiberatED.
She joins me today to discuss
her professional/academic education background
how she learned about and embraced self-directed learning
her current online projects
how education works in her home (and beyond), for each of her 4 children
promoting self-directed education
Benefits of Self-Directed Learning
her article "Cultivating An Unenclosed Childhood"
The Ideas Into Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally Released July 19th, 2017 As “[PODCAST #504] Unenclosed Children and Self-Directed Learning – With Kerry McDonald"Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation -
22. Filling the Trough
The Essential School Sucks, #22 of 50
Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated
Scott 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 coach, and leader at Online Great Books.
We begin our discussion with an exploration of the common learning theories practiced in public school and higher education, along with a cost/benefit analysis of each: behaviorism, cognitivism, and (social) constructivism. We also touch on connectivism and mindset theory.
In future conversation(s) we'll cover additional behaviors and practices that can greatly enhance both the learning and thing processes, including The 20-Hour Rule, the Six Thinking Hats, the Trivium Method, attributes of self-directed learning and strategies for critical thinking in everyday life.
The Ideas Into Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally Released July 9th, 2019 As “[PODCAST #619] Filling the Trough - With Scott Hambrick"Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation -
21. What It Means To Be Educated
The Essential School Sucks, #21 of 50
Theme Three: What It Means To Be Educated
Today'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, or with anyone wants to learn more about these subjects.
Blake Boles builds exciting alternatives to traditional school for self-directed young people. He runs the company Unschool Adventures and is the author of The Art of Self-Directed Learning, Better Than College, and College Without High School.
Blake and I discuss the path to more self directed learning
How to define the current school problem
Why Schooling is not the same as education
John Taylor Gatto's definition of real education
The attributes of an educated person
Self-Determination Theory and self directed learning
Promising developments in educational alternatives
How more people can gain access to alternative education
How parents improve their children's educational experience even if they can't take them out of public school
"An education is the capacity to author your own life instead of merely accepting the one handed to you." - Blake
The Ideas Into Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally Released March 25th, 2018 As “[PODCAST] #551: What It Means To Be Educated – Blake Boles"Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation -
20. Don't Be Anyone's Useful Idiot
The Essential School Sucks, #20 of 50
Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives
In the previous episode you heard my first podcast with Zak from 2016. Today we'll fast-forward five years for updates on life and career advice in times of increasing uncertainty and instability.
Favorite School Sucks neighbor Zak Slayback returns to offer some key 2021 updates to his past advice for young people at the beginning of their careers. Our previous conversation on this topic, called How High School Students Can Get Ahead In Their Careers [PODCAST #583], covered:
Why young people need to start personal websites while in high school, and how this website can work as a portfolio, showcase of personality, a canvas and as insurance
How to contact an existing expert in the area you want to go into, getting a better idea of how to get started
Methods of signaling and building a portfolio
growing your network of people who are a few steps ahead of you
We'll make some adjustment to previous advice, and discuss what advice still stands and why. We'll also look at the big picture of politics, society, tech, and the hellstorm that's certainly on its way. Sorry.
Additions include:
seriously ask yourself why you need to be on social media
how deep are your options? how fragile is your situation?
what consulting opportunities exist for you?
Zak Slayback is an entrepreneur who writes, speaks and takes action on issues of education, innovation, and philosophy. He is an Ivy League dropout and a founding team member of Praxis - an organization that creates apprenticeships for college-age people that lead directly to full-time jobs.
Learn more about Zak at ZakSlayback.com.
Zak is also one of the presenters in The Ideas Into Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally Released January 16th, 2021 “Plan B” With Zak Slayback [PODCAST #696]Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation -
19. Succeeding Without Schooling
The Essential School Sucks, #19 of 50
Theme Two: Leaving Institutional Schooling and Finding Educational Alternatives
Zak Slayback is an entrepreneur who writes, speaks and takes action on issues of education, innovation, and philosophy. He is an Ivy League dropout and a founding team member of Praxis - an organization that creates apprenticeships for college-age people that lead directly to full-time jobs.
Learn more about Zak at ZakSlayback.com.
Discussion:
the power and opportunity of apprenticeships
What's the difference between school and education?
career guidance (or lack thereof) in high school
The truth about college admissions
The Ivy League liability
deschooling
The Ideas In Action Summit
The downloadable version of The Ideas Into Action Summit is now available.
Use the coupon code independence to can get it for 30% off now until July 5th
Learn more here.
Our Partners
Get The Book For Free
Please Support School Sucks
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 XcZfPP6GZGVo9VKViNBVJZja5JVxZDB229ETHEREUM 0x3c5504CE3401C028832173506fa30BD4db4b7D35LITECOIN LKNp24f5wwvZ2QzeDbvxXgBxyVwi1yXnu2BITCOIN 1KhwY836cfSGCK5aaGFv8Q7PHMgghFJn1UBITCOIN CASH 1AmqLVxjw3Lp9KT5ckfvsqfN2Hn3B1hCWSZCASH t1by1ZGJ63LoLSjXy27ooJtipf4wMr7qbu4
Recurring Options:
Support Us On PATREONYou support our mission, and you want to help us continue to reach new people with our message and media. Your contribution helps us maintain presence, and to further build the legacy of School Sucks Project.
And please bookmark and use this link for your Amazon shopping: Shop With Us
Our Private Community:
Visit The Uni-iversity
Originally Released October 10th, 2016 as "[PODCAST] #454: Building A Credential Better Than the College Degree, With Zak Slayback"Support School Sucks: Higher Education For Self-Liberation
Customer Reviews
You’re not gone after all!
Brett this most recent episode “bi-partisan conspiracy against parents and students”, wow! It’s like I’ve just discovered you back in 2012 all over again!! For what it’s worth, I, one lowly listener of many, am a big fan of this prerecorded format, audio clips spliced in with your commentary in between. Golden!
Mr 🐝 A/V
Full disclaimer, I am his girlfriend: Brett, I listen to your show and listen up everyone - this shows content may still be available, but Brett’s been preparing for changes to this project and it will morph into something new. I can attest that this man is one of integrity, always working toward being the best person he can be to himself, to me, to the world. He’s dynamic and ever-experimenting. He’s also human like anyone else, but my goodness, if you want to follow a genuinely kind and knowledgeable person, I think you’ve come to one of those places - here. Join his community, support him on Patreon (only there can you get some of the best content he’s produced), and give him constructive feedback. Brett’s delivery is close to impeccable, with audio quality, tone, pace, articulation, and inflection. He’s easy to listen to and his lovable quirks come through on occasion. What a treasure it is to have met him here in Pittsburgh, PA USA and to see the work he does each and every day ✨
Thank you Brett!
I just found out about this podcast and listened to my first episode today. Wow, what a breathe of fresh air this podcast is. So glad I’m not the one thinking about these same topics of how to re-think “education”. Keep up the good work Brett! Definitely will be recommending this podcast.