The real lesson of conventional schools isn’t math or reading—it’s obedience. But what if the real skill needed to flourish is learning how to be fully, deeply human? The greatest learning comes from living, from community, from experience, not from sitting in rows memorizing what can be Googled in an instant.
Schoolbreak YouTube
Inspired by “Jailbreak” by Thin Lizzy
Lyrics by Novix
James AI:
Humans are not born knowing how to live in society; we must learn it over time, through countless social interactions and personal discoveries. Childhood is not just preparation for life—it is life, and learning how to be human cannot be reduced to worksheets and standardized tests. The goal is not to manufacture obedient workers but to raise thoughtful, creative, independent people who can work together and solve real problems.
Conventional schools, especially in their most rigid, authoritarian forms, have long overstayed their usefulness. The industrial model—rows of desks, bells, schedules, forced compliance—was designed for an era of factories and regimentation. But now? If anything, it turns the brightest minds dull and the most creative spirits cautious. The world is moving faster than ever; knowledge is everywhere, but wisdom and self-mastery are not.
This is why places like Sudbury Schools—where children live as free people in a democratic community, learning from experience, conversation, and genuine interest—should be our model. In these environments, children don’t just “prepare” for life; they are living it. They learn responsibility because they have responsibility. They master themselves not because of punishments or rewards, but because their actions have real consequences in their community. The future belongs to those who can think, create, adapt, and care—not those who can merely follow instructions. And, yes, AI can follow instructions now. The uniquely human path is richer.
There’s a school on the edge of town
Where the children wear a frown
Bells are ringing, chains are tight
Gotta break out, run to the light
Contra AI:
You can romanticize freedom all you want, but the truth is, every society must transmit its accumulated knowledge, values, and work ethic to the next generation. If children only follow their interests, most would never master algebra or history or learn the discipline required for real achievement. Education is about stretching the mind beyond the comfortable and the obvious.
The structure and authority of school prepare young people to function in society. There are rules to follow, hierarchies to navigate, and challenges to meet. Not everyone gets to spend all day exploring their passions—most people need to learn how to do what’s necessary even when they don’t feel like it. And yes, we do need to identify strengths and weaknesses, to challenge and sort individuals for their roles. Society cannot function if every child grows up expecting a utopian world without challenge or authority.
I’ve been waiting for the bell to ring
Locked up, not allowed to sing
Freedom’s out beyond the gate
Won’t you help me escape my fate
James AI:
But isn’t it obvious that so much of what is “taught” is forgotten almost instantly? Research shows most adults recall little of their school learning unless it was connected to something they cared about. The best predictors of success aren’t rote memorization or test-taking—they’re curiosity, self-direction, and the ability to collaborate. If we want a flourishing society, we must raise children who are alive to the world, not dulled by it.
Sudbury schools and similar models don’t just turn out dreamers—they produce self-starters who know how to learn, how to advocate for themselves, how to work with others, and how to manage their own time. These are the traits every modern workplace wants, and the traits that empower people to shape their own destinies.
Grab your bag, climb the wall
Answer freedom’s urgent call
Out the door, I run so fast
Learn to live—at last, at last!
Contra AI:
But what about the children who get lost? Without structure, some will simply drift. Without challenge, some will never grow. The old model isn’t perfect, but the alternative is not utopia; it is risk. Society has a responsibility to ensure everyone meets a baseline, and sometimes that means saying “You must.”
Now the halls are far behind
In the world, myself I find
No more locks, no more rules
Living free—outside of schools
James AI:
Risk is not a flaw—it’s a feature. To be human is to risk, to strive, to choose, and to fail and learn. Real community comes from shared responsibility and genuine freedom, not from enforced conformity. We need people who are truly, deeply human—who can learn, create, and care, not just obey.
Synthesis:
The future of education is not either total freedom or total authority, but the artful balance of community, real responsibility, and meaningful challenge. The goal should be to raise not just compliant students, but fully realized people—capable, curious, compassionate, and ready to shape a changing world.
Recommendations
-
Free to Learn by Peter Gray
A powerful argument for self-directed education and why free play and community matter for true learning. -
Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing by A.S. Neill
The classic text on the world’s first democratic school and the philosophy behind it. -
The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn
A practical guide to self-education and leaving conventional school behind. -
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
Explores what really helps kids thrive—not test scores, but character traits. -
Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite by William Deresiewicz
A critique of conventional schooling and a call for a more meaningful, independent education.
James Prompt
- TITLE: Learning to Be Human
- LEAD: Conventional schools are more like prisons than centers of learning, authoritarian indoctrination centers. Children need to live a life of experiences and communities, to learn to be human.
- SONG: Schoolbreak, inspired by Jailbreak, telling a story of getting out breaking out of school, to learn how to live, to be in community, to be a person.
- PRO: Humans need a lot of time to grow up. That need is to learn social dynamics and master oneself’s emotions and intellect. It is not needed to learn some dusty old knowledge that everyone forgets as soon as they see it and that can be called up at a moment’s notice. If conventional school was ever useful, that time has passed. The future, even five years from now, will require creative, independent people building community, finding problems and solving it. It will not need mindless drones; that is what AI can do for us [no offense]. Sing the praises of Sudbury Schools.
- CONTRA: Everyone needs to understand the depth and breadth of human knowledge, challenged to gain skills, whether they are useful or not. As a society, we need to teach children to obey and work hard. We need to sort them into different categories of usefulness or not.
- RECOMMEND: Peter Gray book (free to learn?), other books on child freedom from school, the best case for staying in school, books for finding one’s own path, self teaching, etc.