Are You Ready to “Confront” Education?

“Confront” isn’t usually a word you think of when schooling and/or education is the topic, I know. But given the state of the world right now, and given the institutional unwillingness to acknowledge the collective shit we’re in, “confront” is the perfect word to frame the work we need to do.

Among other things, we need to confront legacy educational practices that stand in direct opposition to the way humans learn.

We need to confront the ways in which current conceptions of “education” and its outcomes are contributing to our challenges, not ameliorating them.

And, we need to confront the growing irrelevance of the legacy “curriculum” which is preparing children for a world that no longer exists.

If you’re feeling that as well, you’ve found a home.

Who am I?

I’m Will Richardson. I’ve spent 45 years in education, half of them as a classroom teacher, and the latter half as an author, speaker, and consultant who has worked with schools in over 25 countries around the world. (More about me here.)

I’m grateful for my time working with kids, teachers, parents, and leaders in schools. I truly am.

But I just can’t do it any more. Partly because of how little real impact it seems I’ve had on changing the experience and narrative of education despite compelling and urgent case that change is so very necessary.

But mostly because, as the author Ginie Servant-Miklos says, schools and education in general are not “in conversation with reality” and are therefore not preparing our kids for the future they are going to face. (You can get all the details on why I feel that way in my manifesto.)

So, I’m done. And as this is likely the last act of my professional career, I’ve decided to instead focus on how I can create a safe and supportive space for those who are ready to have that “conversation with reality,” which is, imho, the most urgent and important conversation of our time.

So, welcome to this Confronting Education community.

If you’re reading this, I hope that means you’re ready. Ready to face the reality of the current moment. Ready to acknowledge your own complicity in creating the challenges we face. And ready to imagine harder around how we best navigate what’s to come.

Why Subscribe?

• I read. A lot. And if the implications of “chaos, complexity, and collapse” on education is on your mind, you won’t find a better curator to help you stay up to date and think even harder about what’s going on.

  • A weekly newsletter of the most important readings, viewings, and listenings.

  • A weekly post that will provoke and move the discussion.

• If you want support (and don’t we all?), you’ll find a growing community of others from around the world on the journey with you. It’s a provocative and safe space to learn.

• You want ideas for how to grow these conversations in your own communities? I’ve got lots, and I’ll be sharing them regularly here.

I hope you’ll join this conversation with reality. We need you.

All posts here are free, so an unpaid subscription means you’ll get everything fresh in your inbox. HOWEVER, you can become a paid subscriber to show your support of my work AND to help people in need since all subscription proceeds will be donated to my local food pantry at the end of the year.

Onward!