The world is spiraling toward ecological collapse, social disintegration, and spiritual desolation — the so-called polycrisis. Across history, many thinkers — both Western and Eastern — have raised profound critiques of the way education alienates human beings from their true nature. In this article, we turn our attention to some of the towering voices from the Western tradition — who, across centuries, recognized the silent war being waged against the human spirit in the name of “learning.” Each, in their own way, offered not only a withering critique of the factory-school model but also a luminous vision for what education could be: an act of liberation, a return to life. We must deschool the world, reclaim the Earth, and awaken the children — before there is no world left for them to inherit.
Neev Community for Self Inquiry & Sustainability 