99. How to Question School Without Losing Relationships

Have you ever found yourself questioning the school system, only to worry about what your family, friends or the teachers in your life might think? For many parents, stepping away from conventional education isn't just about making different choices for their own children. It also changes how they see the world around them. Conversations about school can suddenly feel loaded, especially when the people we love have dedicated their lives to teaching or hold very different beliefs about education. In this episode, we examine how to question educational systems without losing empathy for the people within them. We talk about the difference between criticizing a system and criticizing the humans working inside it, why many of us become more binary in our thinking at the beginning of our deschooling journey, and how curiosity and relationship can create more meaningful conversations than trying to convince others. We explore: • Why conversations about school often become deeply personal • The difference between criticizing systems and criticizing people • Why empathy matters when discussing education • How to navigate family relationships when your views on schooling differ • Supporting children to make their own educational choices—even if that includes school Wondering what keeps shaping your reactions when parenting gets hard? → Discover Your Parenting Archetype Have a parenting, homeschooling, or unschooling question? Send it to us and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter: → Dear Sari & Becka → Follow us on Instagram and come hang out with us between episodes. → Check out our website and explore more of our work, resources, and support. Radical Learning Talks was named the #2 Democratic Education Podcast to Listen to in 2026 by FeedSpot. See the full list