How Schooling Stole Education from Young People
Growing Up Without Classrooms: The Lost Wisdom of Early Independence
When I discuss the problems with the school system, I’m not saying that learning isn’t precious. I adore learning. Despite spending my entire life in Latin America, I ranked among the world’s top 1% at 21, led teams of vice presidents by 23, and became a Chief Product Officer by 25—all through books, YouTube, and the freedom to pursue my interests. My issue is not with learning itself, but with the schooling system. This factory-like system fails to provide the environment, skills, and pathways most people need to become who they truly want to be.
Young people did not evolve to sit still at desks listening passively. In traditional societies, young men hunted their first deer at 12 or 13. Autonomy was expected. My Colombian father sewed jeans, made kites, and sold empanadas at 12, driven by opportunity and desire. In the U.S., historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and John Muir took on serious responsibilities around 13. Yet, by the early 20th century, we began to use the term "teenager," separating young people from any sense of autonomy. Modern wisdom claims that “young brains aren’t developed yet,” but early responsibility may build maturity.
When children took on real tasks early, problems such as dysfunction and suicide were less common. Kids learned to work for what they wanted and experienced success and failure, building resilience. Today, the rigid school structure robs many of these life lessons and a sense of purpose. In the U.S., teen suicides increase by 30% during the school year; 75% of teens say they’re unhappy, and 66% feel deeply disengaged. These are not just statistics—they represent stifled potential by an outdated system.
Real-world skills like building AI agents, marketing products, or simply being punctual matter. Yet, schools focus on a generic, standardized curriculum that ignores these skills. This rigidity demotivates autodidacts by overwhelming them with busywork and stops learners from discovering the joy of pursuing their true passions.
I’ve seen making learning one cares about optional flourish everywhere: in my school, in my own experience, and among Colombian university classmates who skipped classes to focus on projects that mattered to them—and escaped poverty thanks to this. Remove the obligation to be in classroom to learn, and resentment disappears. "Suddenly," people yearn to participate. Some folks are ready to take on forms of learning and responsibility at different times: for example, some may build businesses at 12, others at 19 (like me), others at 29, or maybe never. That's fine. Optional education is not chaos; it mirrors how life works. When you need something, you figure out how to get it. Flexibility lets each person pursue what truly leads them to their own goals.
Associating learning with school also causes one to forget that education occurs throughout life, during car rides, walks, or dinner conversations. Counting by twos or threes on supermarket drives becomes math practice for toddlers. Listening carefully to a spouse yields fresh insights—even for those convinced they know everything already. Add intentional practices (I literally run monthly seminars with my future wife), and now whatever you talk about becomes a space for imminent mutual discovery. When learning is woven into everyday life, the rigid classroom walls fade away.
Real Education Happens in Real Life
In an environment where curiosity thrives, anyone with time, internet, and a safe space can access specialized programs online that build essential skills much more effectively than a generic classroom. For instance, consider Math Academy for math enthusiasts,
’s short story analysis club for aspiring writers, and ’s CS Primer for future software engineers. Sure, many educational alternatives suck—I’m either calling them out regularly or helping the few willing to improve for their students do so through consulting. However, the sheer number of options means you can test them cheaply or for free, and moving between programs, tutors, or software is simple. The time spent switching is well worth it if it leads you to the program that truly fits you. If I know I can't follow a YouTube curriculum alone, I might join a cohort-based program with mentors and peers who keep me on track.Imagine if young people regularly explored adult-level ideas through books, documentaries, magazines, newspapers, and academic journals in business, religion, politics, literature, science, art, and history. Imagine the bigger, more immediate worlds they'd glimpse and how those worlds might inspire them to craft meaningful lives. Whether running a podcast, programming a video game, or launching a product on Gumroad, these real-world accomplishments tell any employer or judge more about who a young person truly is and who they want to become than any sterile school transcript ever could.
At my school, The Socratic Experience, where I serve as Chief Product Officer, we see firsthand the misery caused by traditional education. Our team asks children interested in our program, “What do you love? What ignites your spirit?” Many mention ambitions like raising funds at 13 or writing novels at 8; their eyes light up when they find out how we support their dreams. When our founder,
, says, “I love learning but I hate school,” you can see their hope reawaken. In contrast, students numbed by traditional schooling often escape into screens, social media, or fantasy worlds—just as I once did during boring school lectures. We work hard to help most of these students, and I remain committed to finding solutions for them all.Today's schools force kids into molds they never asked for, ignoring their innate urge to move, explore, challenge, and question. Traditional U.S. schooling demands 13 years of rigid curricula; Colombia imposes 10. Both classify kids by test scores, and the U.S. increasingly brands them with labels. Fidgeting children are ADD, emotional kids are depressed, and resistant ones suffer from Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Instead of blaming these kids, sending them to therapy, or throwing more "gamified learning" software at them, we should ask:
What kind of school would truly engage and fulfill them?
Building a system that taps into their genuine interests could dramatically reduce problems like substance abuse, anxiety, and disengagement.
Every day, I work towards a future where mainstream schooling becomes a relic of an era that sacrificed individuality for conformity. The path I’m building embraces a future where learning is pure joy, and every spark of curiosity is nurtured. In this new system, students will attend school not out of obligation but because it is a place where they can learn to become the people they aspire to be.
Yes, Nicolás! "Non scholae sed vitae" is a lie. Seneca actually wrote, "Non vitae, sed scholae discimus" -- "[in school] we learn not for life, but only for school."