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On the flight to D.C. this morning, I started reading "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling" by John Taylor Gatto.

In the forward, by Zachary Slayback, were these words:

"Your iPhone contains access to the entire annals of human knowledge for less than the price of a textbook at Harvard. You are six circles removed from any expert on the face of the planet and can contact them instantly with an email. You can create a business in an hour and launch a website in 15 minutes, all for less than the price of an hour of class at Penn."

It felt like deja vu because I'd just said the same thing to Sam last night. He's wrapping up 6th grade this week, and I'm already hammering him about not going to college right after high school.

Thankfully, he gets it.

At least, for now, he gets it, but it's in middle school where the high school to college to job working for the man indoctrination really kicks in.

Unpopular opinion amongst most of my peers: the American education system is broken, and for the majority of attendees, college is a bunch of bullshit.

Want proof? Look to the national conversation about college debt forgiveness.

If college for the masses were worth a shit, then we wouldn't be having that conversation.

And look, I'm not opposed to any of my kids going to college, but I'm opposed to the idea that they have to.

That they can't be successful otherwise.

That notion is also a bunch of bullshit.

Last night, Sam said, "It seems like there might be better ways to learn things."

BINGO!

But there's more to it than that.

Back in the book's forward, Slayback goes on to say, "It has never been easier for somebody to create opportunities for themselves - there's no need to wait for permission from deans or employers."

If there's anything I want my kids to internalize, that's it right there.

I spent so much of my life waiting for someone's permission to do what I wanted.

I was past 40 - possibly more than halfway through my turn at life on Earth - before I realized I didn't have to wait on anyone to tell me it was OK.

Nobody does!

If you want to do something, do it.

You don't need to ask permission.

You don't need approval from anyone.

It's your life.

Go do what you want.