I can’t think of a more important concept to advocate for than democratic education: where all humans regardless of age are empowered with decisions over their educational pursuits as well as the running of their educational lives within an environment that is organized on the principles of participatory democracy. One would think that in a so-called democratic nation, that this would be a no-brainer. The fact that democratic states have systems of mass schooling dedicated to principles of authoritarianism and coercion as well as behaviour modification and numeric ranking is hypocritical to say the least – I prefer to use the word “vile.” That we accept the institutional assumptions about such a system of education provides evidence of the success of the indoctrination through the model. Such a model does not serve democratic principles but rather it serves the structure of State Capitalism where most corporations are hierarchical institutions and employees are expected to conform and are appropriately ranked either through position, remuneration, or both.

As I stated before, I have no interest in modifying the existing structure – my interest lies in dismantling it. In 2003, I helped to found The Beach School in Toronto – a school based on principles of self-directed learning and democratic governance established by Sudbury Valley School in 1968. For me, this is the structure of education that a democratic nation should be providing its citizens. Since the State is not providing one, I felt a responsibility to try and help create one and continue to volunteer my time to its continuing existence.