Old School vs. New School: Can Microschools Fix What’s Broken in Education?

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I remember my seventh-grade classroom. Respect was required. Order was expected. When it was lesson time, we locked in.

Writing each spelling word ten times wasn’t punishment. It was practice. And as a result, we knew how to spell.

By fifth grade, we were writing essays in cursive. Every “i” dotted. Every “t” crossed.

Sentences and paragraphs had rules, and we were expected to follow them. High school was rowdier, but we still handled our business. I’m proud to say I graduated prepared for my next step.

So when Tajiri Freedom told me she’d taught seventh graders who couldn’t do basic multiplication or structure a sentence, I had questions and serious concerns. The students of today are going to be the ones running things in the future…and many of them cant spell or do basic math? WTH!

Is school failing our kids? Have parents stopped parenting? Where did the structure go? And how are children passing when they haven’t learned the material?

The teachers expressing their frustration online sound exhausted. Some are leaving altogether. We need to hear them. But we also need to ask whether today’s classroom is equipped to teach today’s children.

Tajiri took that question and built a business around answering it. Her New Gains Academy offers small classes and personalized instruction, with plans to grow without crowding more children into each classroom.

Could boutique schools and microschools point us toward something better? Maybe.

Keeping a familiar system means very little if children leave it unprepared.

Listen to my conversation with Tajiri on Sisternomics: “Old School vs. New School.”