Hey everyone!

This week we're diving into:

• What education should truly give our kids

• Reads on the factory-model system and its legacy

• And tools to keep kids learning independently

Let's jump in!

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The Real Purpose of Education

Today I’m sharing key lessons from Noam Chomsky’s video “The Purpose of Education.” Chomsky’s ideas are bold, honest, and deeply relevant for every parent, teacher, and homeschooler.

Let’s break it down.

1. Two Opposite Views of Education

Chomsky says there are two big ideas about what education should be:

a) Education as Freedom

This idea comes from the Enlightenment. It says the highest goal of life is to ask questions, explore, and create.
In this view, the purpose of education is to help you learn how to learn.

• You explore the knowledge of the past

• You take what matters to you

• You go further and create something new

• You grow as a thinker

Here, the learner leads the journey.

b) Education as Indoctrination

The second idea is the opposite. It sees education as a way to control young people.

• Follow orders

• Don’t question

• Accept the system

• Fit into the framework

• Become obedient

• Don’t shake any structures of power

Many education policies today push in this direction.

2. Schools Choose Control Over Curiosity

Chomsky explains that after the activism of the 1960s, many leaders felt society had become “too democratic.”
Young people were asking too many questions.
So schools were pushed to “get control back.”

This is why we see:

• Teaching to the test

• Strict curriculum

• Focus on obedience

• Less room for exploration

• Students trapped in debt

• Schools pushing job training over creativity

The goal becomes:
Pass the test. Follow the system. Stay in line.

Not
Discover, create, question, explore.

3. Real Learning Comes from Curiosity, Not Tests

Chomsky tells a powerful story:

A 6th-grade student went to her teacher after class, excited about something she learned.
She asked for more resources so she could explore it.

The teacher felt forced to say:
“I’m sorry… you can’t. You need to study for the national exam.”

The child’s curiosity had to wait… because the test came first.

This happens everywhere.

Chomsky says:
Tests are not the problem, using them as the goal is the problem.

Tests can help teachers see what’s working.
But they should never replace real learning.

A famous MIT professor once told his students:
“It doesn’t matter what we cover. It matters what you discover.”

This is what education should be.

4. Technology Helps Only When You Know What You’re Looking For

Chomsky says the internet is like a hammer.
It can build or destroy.

Technology is useful only when:

• You know what you’re searching for

• You have a basic understanding

• You can question your assumptions

If not, the internet becomes a place of random facts with no meaning.
This is why children need guidance, not just access.

5. The Goal of Education: Creating Better Human Beings

Chomsky asks a simple question:

Do we want people who just increase GDP?
Or do we want free, creative, independent thinkers?

Education, in its true form, should:

• Build character

• Grow imagination

• Encourage exploration

• Teach children to question

• Help them discover what matters

• Connect them to great ideas of the past

• Give them the confidence to think on their own

This is how we create better human beings, not just workers.

6. The Heart of Education: Learning How to Learn

The final message is clear:

Education should prepare children to learn on their own—for life.

Not to memorize.
Not to repeat.
Not to jump over hurdles.

But to:

• Explore

• Question

• Think

• Discover

• Create

• Learn independently

Because that is what real education is about.

The Bottom Line

Education should help you learn how to learn.

Not just for school. For your whole life.

You won't always have a teacher. You won't always have assignments.

But you'll always need to learn new things. Solve new problems. Think for yourself.

That's what real education gives you.

Final Thought

Chomsky's message is clear: education is a choice we make every day.

As parents and educators, we can either follow the system that values control... Or we can create spaces where children's curiosity is protected and encouraged.

If we want a generation of free, confident, and creative thinkers, we must choose an education rooted in discovery, not obedience.

🛠️ Tools & Resources

Heritage History
A collection of downloadable study programs that bring history to life through classic books, biographies, myths, and legends from around the world..

Khan Academy Courses
Explore free art lessons that blend visual creativity with structured learning. Perfect for students from elementary to high school.

An Insider’s Guide to Successful Science Fair Projects
Make your child’s next science fair project a success with this easy, parent-friendly guide packed with practical tips and planning help.

Super Star Worksheets
Find ready-to-use printable worksheets for every subject. From math and science to Spanish and geography designed for young homeschoolers.

Math Without Borders
Give your teen a solid high school math foundation with expert-taught digital lessons that align with trusted Foerster and Chakerian textbooks.

🧠 Food for Thought

For over a hundred years, schools have worked like factories, not like places for curious young minds. Every child has to learn the same things, in the same way, at the same speed. But children aren't machines on an assembly line. They're all different.

Our schools reward children who sit quietly and follow rules. They punish children who think differently or ask too many questions. Learning should be exciting and fun. Instead, many children just try to get through the day.

Our children deserve better. They deserve schools that see what makes each of them special. They deserve teachers who help them grow in their own way. Every child has a spark inside them. Schools should help that spark grow, not try to make every child exactly the same.

Read more on this:

• Our outdated factory style schooling fails to prepare young people for real life and needs to shift toward independence, resilience, and practical skills.

• A quick read on how the factory style school system began, why it once worked, and why it now fails children in today’s creative, fast changing world.

Until Next Week,

Hippo