School Is Not Enough

Children today lack the early, useful work that once built agency, and extended, rigid schooling is largely to blame. Leonardo da Vinci became Verrocchio's studio apprentice at 14, and Andrew Carnegie was a telegraph office boy at 13, both going off-script early. The argument is that the internet now enables self-directed mastery for motivated children, and that parents should supply materials, time and meaningful projects, such as a serious pastry practice that could be sold locally, rather than lemonade stands.