Have you ever stopped to consider how much of what we believe about learning is shaped not by truth, but by tradition?
Have you ever wondered how much kids would do on their own if they never saw the inside of a classroom—if maybe they would still develop into fully functional, well-formed adults with useful skills and sharp minds?
When you think about it, all systemized education really does is take something that humans are naturally wired to do, (learn) and wraps it in layers of bureaucracy, credentialism, and dependency… until we forget that learning is something that happens whether there exists a formal apparatus to compel it or not.
Until we think that it actually can’t happen unless that formal apparatus is there.
Kids are born curious.
They’re natural problem-solvers.
They ask questions constantly, experiment boldly, and find joy in discovery. But all of that can be dulled—and often is—by a system that values obedience over exploration and standardization over creativity.
Now contrast that with this:
I recently heard about a young man who started selling honey at one of our first Children's Entrepreneur Market events years ago. He was just a kid with a few beehives and a willingness to try. Today? He’s 18, has made over $100,000 in revenue, employs his siblings and friends, donates to charity, and even mentors other young entrepreneurs.
This kid didn’t learn to do all that from a textbook or a classroom. He learned it by doing.
It reminds me a lot of The Tuttle Twins and Their Spectacular Show Business.
Did you know that Ethan and Emily are entrepreneurs? In this story, they buy an old theater, and with the help of their parents and grandma, they learn all about competition, risk, reward, and the grit it takes to make it as a real-life entrepreneur.
This is the kind of thing that happens when kids are given space to be capable—when we stop assuming they need someone with some type of government-issued credential to “teach” them everything, and instead give them opportunities to figure things out.
Think about how absurd it would be if we truly believed babies couldn’t walk without a classroom and a curriculum. But isn’t that what we’ve come to accept about so many other things?
The truth is: kids don’t need to be rigidly instructed in order to learn. What they need is inspiration, opportunity, and the freedom to try.
It’s time to stop pretending that education only happens in rows of desks and is only measured with standardized tests.
Kids deserve the freedom to run on their own two feet.
They learned how to walk on their own.
Maybe we should let them show us what else they can do.
— Connor
