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The Self Educating Child

Little MM and me self-educating with some Orson Scott Card, way back in 2017. We’ve come so far together since then!

So it looks like my 15-year-old is officially a high-school dropout.

Halfway through ninth grade, emboldened perhaps by the taste of freedom that Covid-era remote learning had provided, he realized that the whole system was just too slow and inefficient for him, and was “Getting in the way of his work.” So as it looks now, he’ll probably never return to any sort of in-person schooling, and I will be surprised if he ever attends college.

Yes, he is technically “home schooling” and will still end up with a high school diploma of sorts, but in reality he is pretty much winging it. And needless to say, I have mixed feelings about this.

I’ll start with the worries and the negative stuff, because as a parent I of course want the best for my child. And when I look back on my own childhood, it feels like school was a fountain of formative experiences.

Sure, the education itself was slow and crappy – I was always craving more advanced material and more creative learning formats which just weren’t there in my small town high school. But isn’t enduring crappy and antiquated systems a critical part of getting ready to live in a modern society where things don’t always go your way? After all, the only way to renew a drivers license or a passport (or a medical license for that matter) is to dive head first into the ridiculousness and grin and bear it for the sake of the end goal.

And of course there were plenty of good parts: I had so many amazing experiences and friendships and adventures through high school and university. Beginner romances and heartbreaks, brushes with the law, late nights around the campfire, terrible minimum wage jobs at gas stations and convenience stores that I thought were amazing, all bathed in a swirling Marijuana-tinged soundtrack of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Soundgarten and Primus and Tool. Doing reverse snow donuts in my mom’s 1988 Dodge Caravan filled with eight friends and then getting out to dance crazily in the headlights to the Wayne’s World soundtrack blasting from the giant stereo system I had built into the minivan with my own 16-year-old hands.

How will my son grow up as a well-adjusted adult without the 2020s equivalent of such experiences?

But when I obsess over these thoughts, I know I am falling into the oldest of parenting traps: assuming I know what’s best for my child, and that his own desires and thoughts are not valid, even though he’s on the verge of adulthood himself. So I remind myself of the positive side of this situation:

The world of 2021 is a very different place from my equivalent perch in 1991. And my son happens to be sitting in an unusual but still promising (I hope) little corner of it.

Because of the Internet, and to be honest a damned large dose of privilege due to having two educated parents always available because we were retired before he was even born, he has been able to feed his thirst for knowledge with incredible efficiency. This is an advantage that is still not available to most people today, let alone to what people of my generation had to work with in 1989. So he has already gone beyond college level in the standard fields that they cover in school.

So of course he has noticed that the existing school system is not as efficient as his custom-crafted alternative. Like me, he feels frustration with many of our institutions. But it’s a frustration born of love and a desire to help out, rather than just a complainypants attitude and a desire to criticize. Public school for all is a great thing and a great idea.

But like everything in life, we can only improve by first acknowledging that we currently suck.

The first thing that little MM did upon retiring from formal schooling, is to create this entire 48 minute mini-documentary about the system he just left:

https://youtu.be/0Qi36WcylLs


(click that link to get to get the full experience on YouTube itself and see the description, show notes and comments. I’ll include an embedded version below for lazier people

also, a hint for any YouTube creator you want to reward: their algorithm heavily recommends and promotes videos which people watch for longer. So, let it roll and enjoy the epic soundtrack!)


Seeing him work so hard on this production definitely helped ease my fears about whether or not he will grow up to be a contributing member of society. He spent about three months researching the US school system, writing himself a script, composing a 16-track orchestral music score which is timed to the second to align with the appropriate parts of the film, creating 3-D models and animations in Blender to illustrate the main points, running multiple high-end computers overnight, night after night to render the complex scenes in 4K resolution, turning my house into a miniature version of a Pixar animation studio.

Then he practiced up his reading, set up a bright professional recording studio in my basement, recruited me to help build a teleprompter, and narrated his own script into the camera. And finally brought it all back to the editing software to cut it all together, with pretty stunning results from my admittedly biased perspective as his Dad.

But equally important, the danged kid has a point: schools really could be a lot better.

And it could happen very quickly with just one main change as he explains in the documentary: switching from bland and repetitive teacher-led instruction, to extremely high quality videos instead. This would accelerate learning because the video content could be much more compelling than watching a human stand at the front of a room. But it would also free up the teachers to help individual students rather than just using their valuable time to repeat the same material, year after year.

Even better: most of these videos already exist. Through some sort of miracle, my son has chosen to invest the past five years of his free time seeking out astoundingly good YouTube channels, watching most of their back catalogs, and absorbing the contents of almost every episode.

I’m often shocked at his level of knowledge in so many fields, so I sat him down and interviewed him on his top recommendations in some of the key ones.

The list below is what we came up with. I’ve seen a lot of these myself, and I can vouch for their quality. If you’re looking for places to send your own hungry-brained child, or for things to watch together, check out the following list.

Flipping the Classroom:

As a context for all of this, you absolutely must know about Khan Academy first. This is a free video education in all major subjects, that is higher quality than most in-school lessons. Many teachers are already using this system to “flip the classroom”, and my own boy and I used Khan Academy to help him cover second through eighth grade math in only a month. That’s how efficient video learning can be!

Note: because we were so impressed and thankful, I also donated $9000 to Khan academy in 2016. That’s a great cause if you are looking for more places for your own philanthropy dollars.

Watch Sal Khan’s Ted talk here – and notice the special guest who joins him on stage at the end of it.

General Science

  • Vsauce (which has grown to include Vsauce2 and Vsauce3)
  • Physics Girl (fun to watch explorations of a wide range of real-world physics and science things)
  • Thought Emporium (gene editing through both chemical methods and DNA 3-d printers! And art too)
  • Scott Manley (a charming Scottish Astrophysist / Apple engineer with hundreds of great videos on the Kerbal Space Program simulation game, plus now detailed coverage on space and astrophysics)
  • Anton Petrov – daily videos on new discoveries in science (and a fun look at current events from a science perspective too)
  • Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell Short but intelligent summaries of all sorts of neat things, featuring a dynamic British narrator and fun cartoony graphics.
  • Deep Dive – a relatively new but very promising channel with great big-issue science videos. We are hoping they put out more!
  • Stratzenblitz75 Kerbal Space program videos with nice lessons on the science behind them (like orbital mechanics)
  • Wendover Productions – neat explanations of wide-ranging things, (including transportation logistics!)

Inventions and Building Stuff

  • Colin Furze – crazy, energetic, brilliant videos about building things like a home-made hoverbike, two story bicycle, giant mech robot suit.
  • Simone Giertz – a super clever and witty engineer/builder, perhaps most famous for her DIY conversion of a Tesla model 3 into a badass mini pickup truck.
  • Wintergatan – a hauntingly genius, gentle dude in Sweden who works on a beautiful “marble machine” musical instrument and so many other things. Awesome musician too!
  • Mark Rober (a former Nasa engineer who now makes really fun videos about his complicated and whimsical inventions – best known for the “glitter bomb” anti-theft devices)
  • Styropyro (guy who makes crazy powerful lasers, etc.)

Video creation, 3D Animation and Youtubing Strategy

  • Lazy Tutorials (Ian Huber teaches you 3-D animation with Blender at the speed of thought). He also maintains the Default Cube channel.
  • Blender Guru – personable, easy to watch in-depth blender tutorials
  • CG Matter – fast, advanced Blender tutorials
  • CG Geek – longer, more detailed Blender tutorials
  • Captain Disillusion (video editing and special effects – this man puts a lot of work into each of his super-entertaining videos)
  • Daniel Krafft – useful blender tips and tutorials
  • Iridesium – tutorials on how to create movie-quality special effects in Blender

Coding and Artificial Intelligence

  • Two Minute Papers (AI) – super smart guy summarizes academic papers in the Artificial Intelligence field in a really interesting and easy to understand way, with visual examples.
  • Code Bullet (AI) – Software developer incorporates machine learning/AI into his own code and demonstrates the results in a wide variety of contexts.
  • Carykh – AI and building some interesting apps including the famous “size of the universe” interactive
  • Sebastian Lague – The Bob Ross of coding, this young gentleman walks us peacefully through a fun series of iterative improvements on a variety of advanced programming projects.
  • CodeParade – great bits of coding, math, and graphics combined

Math

  • Vi Hart – the original “Mathemusician”, Vi’s soulfully brilliant explanations of math concepts are great for small kids and adults alike.
  • Zach Star – math puzzles and other interesting stuff
  • Numberphile – another fun math channel – sometimes with fun visuals and special guest experts.

History, English, Etc.

  • Tom Scott – Linguistics and various travel and geography stories
  • History of the Earth – the History Brothers cover multimillion year periods of our planet’s history
  • Half as Interesting – light-hearted tidbids of English history and other things

Music

  • Andrew Huang – so clever, so energetic, so talented, and teaches you SO much about music! (his own songs are great too, as are his youtube buddies)
  • Roomie Official – fun to watch, educational, and a ridiculously good and versatile singer.
  • Davie504 – an amazing bass player, and fellow bass enthusiasts might learn a few things too.
  • Adam Neely – fantastic music theory and neat analysis of existing stuff.
  • AU5 – one of my favorite emerging electronic music artists, who also teaches you how to make the stuff in Ableton and related tools

So, What’s Next?

Like everything in life, I view this as an experiment. It might go well, but there will surely be some pitfalls and downsides as well. Neither of us is perfect and we make errors in judgement sometimes. But this feels right and promising right now, so we are running with it. We will learn from our mistakes and develop ourselves along the way, and make the most of it. Which is really a good plan for life itself.

Congratulations my not-so-little MM, I am proud of you and I wish you the best in this next crazy chapter!

  • Jeff Cooper May 24, 2021, 4:50 am

    I think we’re seeing the evolution of education. It’s tough to be on the forefront as most people won’t get it. But if no one ever pushed the boundaries on anything we’d still be riding around on horses right? It already feels like there are limitless ways to earn a living these days and who knows what the future holds. I say carry forward young trailblazer!

    Reply
  • ChristianRRT May 31, 2021, 2:30 am

    I think there’s a big gap here. For some career paths it would be ok to avoid college at all. However, many truly need the guidance of experts in the matter. Are we going to send people to Mars by watching YouTube videos? How about developing the vaccine for the next pandemic? if your relative is ill in the hospital, are you going to trust their life to someone who became “expert” this way? How about living in a high rise building built by someone who did it by watching videos – would you live with your family in there? Would you let a video-law-apprentice defend you in court? I totally agree, our education system is not perfect but it does the job. It systematically prepares people to eventually do a specific job in the entire society chain. Without it, most people would’ve not have the opportunity to do anything but farming or similar (think about the 1800s and before). It’s not ok to only blame our educational system as today we are where we are in big part ‘cause of it. Instead, think about the next: what are you doing as a parent to support and enhance the learning experience of your kid? – but wait… what if that kid doesn’t have a parent, would the system help?

    Reply
  • Bitter to Richer June 2, 2021, 8:46 pm

    The education system is definitely outdated, and it’s definitely failing a lot of kids.

    A lot of those resources are great, but there are also some amazing podcasts:
    Philosophize This!
    The History of Rome
    Hardcore History

    And here are some good books that you may not have heard of:
    Any of Gene Wolfe’s novels and short stories – for a “fun” read that will still make him think
    Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Stephen R. Platt – for an interesting look at the Taiping Rebellion

    Good luck, I know as a parent you’re worried, but it sounds like it will work out for the best!

    Reply
  • Andrew June 11, 2021, 8:03 am

    This! This needs to go viral! Great job by your son. 👌

    The typical public school system is inherently broken due to the nature of government funding and little to no reason for innovation among other things…

    Reply
  • Martize Smith June 29, 2021, 1:02 pm

    I’ve seen situations work out great regardless of direction. As long as the end goal is clear and it is here things should be fine. Some parents are probably uncertain about switching it have know guidance but resources are always available for subjects we want to know more about.

    Reply
  • Desiree July 14, 2021, 6:11 am

    Congratulations to mmm jr!
    If I was his homeschool teacher, and I was my kids, his project many times over would have met my requirements of a senior project. I would have kept him registered as a homeschooler with my district until he was 16, as is the law where I live. However, I would have printed a lovely high school diploma from my computer and had graduation ceremony to honor his graduation from high school. It is not unheard of for talented, hard working and intelligent young adults to graduate at 15.

    Reply
  • Tim July 25, 2021, 12:46 am

    Small Correction: Ian Hubert does not maintain the ‘Default Cube’ channel. ‘Default Cube’ is run by CGMatter. Also, I love you <3

    Reply
  • Viridine July 26, 2021, 9:39 am

    There’s a website called
    10ktotalent.com
    Its focus is how to apply the ten thousand hours concept to children. Jonathan Harris created the website to document and encourage homeschool families to truly support their children to turn their natural interests into productive meaningful careers. There are examples of how his own children have parlayed their specific inclinations to particular things (cooking, IT, metalworking, drone photography) to both meet and exceed educational goals. His oldest two sons are already making money doing what they enjoy. How much fun would “school” be if everything you learned and studied was related to things you were interested in?

    Reply
  • Kat August 29, 2021, 8:15 pm

    Legitimate question…
    I read an earlier post where you urged readers to try public school, not private like many of your neighbors.
    My question is: do you regret not sending your son to private school, now that you know his opinion on his public school education?

    I ask because I’m at a crossroads with my 8 and 4 year old after homeschooling for the past couple years. I’ve decided I’m done and I’m deciding between public and Montessori elementary/private school with similar philosophies. With kids this young, the costs add up if you consider their whole education.
    Your son has channeled his disengagement with his schooling in a very productive way but it could have gone differently. I wonder if looking back you consider the investment in private school differently?

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache August 30, 2021, 8:53 am

      That’s a great question Kat. I think that in my specific case, my kid would have bundled pretty much any organized school system together under the label “Public School” and then grown to resent it – as long as “adults telling kids what to learn simultaneously as a group” remained.

      BUT, he’s at the extreme end of a spectrum of school compatibility, and most kids are far more easygoing. Then, the school system itself is such a big spectrum – like any human-run operation, publicly funded schools can range anywhere from dangerous penitentiary to utopian self empowerment pod. And so can private schools – even if they may on average be a bit better in areas where the public schools are really struggling.

      So I’d suggest just being really open-minded when touring both school options and meeting the principal and teachers of each. Most importantly, mostly ignoring the standardized test scores and not using them as a rating system for each institution. Good luck and it sounds like you are doing a great job for your kids either way.

      Reply
  • Brady L January 20, 2022, 2:19 pm

    This is my first time leaving a comment on an MMM article, but I can’t help myself.

    I am one of what I’d call the “lucky few” who go to an utterly amazing school. Instead of what I learn being perfectly planned out by teachers and useless standards, it is planned by me. I am allowed to make projects and learn about whatever I may be interested in, or I find useful. There are still normal classes, but majority of all the credits I earn are from things I have decided. This is all within reason though, we have certain “performance indicator’s”(PI’s) that I have to hit to get credit. So long as I can prove that I know the what the PI wants me to know, I earn the credit.

    This system is of course not for everyone (being incredibly self directed), but is a perfect example of what can happen so long as school’s aren’t restricted by useless information. (I want to be a software engineer, why do I need to know what day George Washington died?) If this sounds interesting check it out! Its called “Big Picture Learning”.

    Reply
  • Leslie January 29, 2022, 7:27 pm

    My sophomore recently did the exact same thing. I felt very conflicted, but there was no counter to his main argument: “I’m not learning ANYTHING, and I’m wasting time I could be spending working towards my goals.”

    My concerns were also mostly social, since high school is a foundational time for learning about what friendship is. Instead of doing full homeschool he is at a sudbury “school.” It has an open campus. The teens mostly hang out in the woods all day or go to local shops and cafes. They do a lot of fishing, fort building, and play long D&D campaigns.

    Since leaving he is a much happier person, there is no doubt about that. He is learning metalworking at a local forge is able to spend more time on martial arts. He draws D&D characters and plans campaigns in the evenings.

    I often wonder if I’ll end up regretting letting him leave traditional high school. Certainly other parents and extended family members think I am completely insane, but perhaps as a graphic designer I’m acutely aware that there a lot of high income fields that are only a matter of what you can DO – not your gpa or diploma.

    I also know, he’s got time. I started in my field when I was 26, after I was already a mother, and now I earn (and save) more than I ever thought possible. I needed those 10 years to adventure, wait tables, make mistakes, and travel to be able to know what I wanted out of life.

    I don’t know what his choices will be, but I hope they will, at least, be his own wild and unconventional ones.

    Reply
    • Mr. Money Mustache January 30, 2022, 8:10 am

      WOW, I wish my boy was in a “school” like that Sudbury one you mention too! I just looked it up out of curiosity – there is one in Boulder, but none here in our own town. Not that he would be willing to enroll in *anything* at this point, because he loves his freedom.

      So far, my attitude is still like yours – I’m slightly nervous about his unconventional choices, but also impressed at his drive and the continued speed of his learning. And I’m noticing that he seems very happy with life. So my job remains the same for now – getting him out of the house for long walks every day, and teaching him about the few fields he is missing in his own exploration so far: health and fitness and nutrition and nature.

      thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  • Stef February 19, 2022, 11:48 am

    Seems like your son might love college…if he goes to one that fits him….with other, like minded, creative, self-driven students and professors.

    Reply
    • Stef February 19, 2022, 11:50 am

      Clearly he is a bright, motivated individual. And college is not the only path that is right for young people. Just seems to me he might enjoy the right one if he finds a good fit for him.

      Reply
  • B. H. February 23, 2022, 11:56 pm

    No-so-little MMM-I appreciate the critique of the industrial education system. Very well done movie! Your passion, work ethic, intelligence, and thoughtfulness are evident. Much respect to you for your work.

    Similar critiques could be made about healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, natural resource utilization, etc. Insert your pet issue. The underlying affliction common to all these ills plaguing society is, I believe, the despiritualization of the universe. If you want to consider a truly novel way of viewing the world, consider the perspectives of First Nations/indigenous peoples. They view the Earth and human beings with a sense of respect and reverance those of European background could barely fathom. Not saying they are perfect societies, but that there is something there for us as Westerners to learn. I think it’s telling here that MMM & his son (who is obviously very bright and well intentioned) view the world primarily through a materialistic lens. All the channels mentioned are science/technological/humanities oriented. As if these alone will save us from the ills of a deeply sick society. I’m not anti-science/technology at all (I’m a practicing physician). But if we in the Western world continue to operate without acknowledging the power of the spiritual aspects of reality, I believe we will hasten our downward spiral.

    YouTube also has high quality videos of Native Elders, Buddhist monks, alternative thinkers, spiritually advanced persons. Look at those too, not-so-little MMM, and best wishes to you in all you endeavor!

    As a wise man once said, “Go forth, and do well. But more importantly, go forth and do good.”

    🙏

    https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/russell-means-mother-jones-interview-1980/

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kbwSwUMNyPU

    https://youtu.be/IoppxgDTzUU

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SysctKGdOKA&feature=youtu.be

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dYSQ1NF1hvw&feature=youtu.be

    Reply
  • Drross March 17, 2022, 4:53 am

    This is packed full of resources. Thank you. I am heartened to see so many YouTubers on this list that my three little entrepreneurs already follow.

    We have often discussed as a family the richness of educational content available at their fingertips, and the power and fun of self educating.

    They have spent their pandemic developing a clothing import company with each of them taking a role utitilising their specific skills and Interests such as social media, custonerservice, procurement and finances.

    My idea for them was mowing lawns…..they went way beyond.

    Nice one MM the younger. Great documentary. Such dedication and talent.

    Reply
  • Ll February 13, 2023, 11:49 pm

    I miss veritasium on this list!!

    Reply
  • Aradhika Webber April 4, 2023, 6:47 am

    When I was four months pregnant with our 1st child in 1991, my husband came home from work one day and said that we would homeschool that child. I was still fairly new to the American culture and way of life, having moved from India in 1988. I didn’t understand what he really meant. He was someone who had done very well in the public school system winning awards and such. Therefore, it was not a case of rebelling against the system, because he struggled. We had three children together and I am grateful that he made that decision 31 years ago. No one in the family ever supported us, but we forged ahead. Our kids have found their paths ranging from one earning his Ph.D. to one owning her own business to one still deciding what path to take in life while working a job. They are compassionate, kind, and quite witty people and I am grateful that my husband thought out of the box before our children were even born.

    I am sure your son is doing just fine and will continue to do so.

    On a side note, I have given up YouTube for Lent, but will watch his video after Easter.

    Reply
  • Mary Ann September 10, 2023, 12:56 pm

    So this post is two year late. Probably it will go into cyber space unreflected by the world.

    This is my 35th year teaching. I am a social revolutionary and first responder. My life has been blessed to be given both a vocation and avocation as a teacher. I have taught refugees two weeks n America from Afghanistan and 8th graders in Beverley Hills . I did not retire in Covid like most of my generation. I am still teaching US HISTORY to support those incredible number of students who haven’t yet overcome the terrible effects of a COVID education. Here is what I know:

    1. The VAST majority of teenagers are better off physically, socially, and mentally attending high school in person. They are forced to be “just a person among people.” They are forced to understand that living in today’s world is not always stimulating; is not always fair; requires them to defer instant gratification, requires long periods of surviving boredom and clock punching; forces development of people skills( no excuse for bad behavior); and requires giving your best even when no one is looking.

    2. If we learned ANYTHING from COVID, it is that good teaching beats videos.

    3. The growing isolation created by relying on online education has created a HUGE mental health crisis in teens ( especially boys who tend to be less social – in my experience). My role as a first responder to suicidal crisis has increased 20 fold and ended in two, tragic suicides in my classes in the last two years.

    4. The REAL purpose of public education – the second greatest public works program besides social economic and medical welfare – is to educate a future voting citizenship in order to keep our democracy safe against the world of dictators who are currently eat up small democracies. In other words, public education is NOT about YOU or YOUR CHILD. It is about the nurturing of the United States of America. What are YOU and your child contributing to it?

    5. I have an only son who is a gifted musician (winning competitions in both piano and violin.) He is currently an engineering student in the University of Michigan with a job offer as a junior from his summer internship. We did not pick his teachers. We did not send him to a charter school. We choose to live in a lower socio-economic, suburban city where he learned to navigate gang activity, the bathrooms and social awkwardness. His school did not offer Calculas CD or Algebraic Physics and was set back a year in college because of it. He was resoundingly “ shot down” in Michigan where in learned he was “just another brilliant kid; survived isolation in a COVID dorm 3,000 miles away from his family, received “Cs”; failed a class because he overslept one day after 14 years of academic excellence, and who went through his existential crisis at 20. He has since learned he does not have to be the best, just the best and happiest version of himself. I just went to visit him. His roommate is Pakistani; his girlfriend is from inner city Detroit; we had a BBQ at his best friend who is 7 years older and a veteran of the Marine corp;. I couldn’t be more proud of the diversity this nearly -100% Irish Catholic boy has created in his life.

    Go ahead and shoot me down. Tell me how your children are special. The truth is every child is special. Flying off to Khan Academy because you can afford it, because your child is gifted with maturity, or was just born luck geographically, economically or genetically, is, thank God, your choice as an American. Khan Academy was a risk I was not willing to take with my son. It was a risk I was not willing to take with my country. Public education needs my son and it needs me as imperfect as we both are. Our mere presence in the system reinforces the value of service, hard work and compromise in a less than perfect, priceless democracy.

    Reply

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