“I don’t want a nation of thinkers … I want a nation of workers.” — John D. Rockefeller Public education was never designed to cultivate leaders—it was built to manufacture obedient workers. Here’s my story: I went to a Catholic school from K–8, and looking back, it was significantly better for my long-term growth than the public high school I attended afterward. (I graduated with a 3.6 GPA without even trying). Fast forward to my last business, I ran fundraisers for schools across LA, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. I helped raise over $300,000 for school programs. It was fulfilling work, and I met some incredible teachers who genuinely cared. But the system itself? Especially in California? It’s a joke when it comes to preparing kids for real life. Some of the high schools I worked with had literacy rates around 40% and graduation rates barely above 60%. What’s ironic is that I used to hate school. (Fun fact, I never read a book from cover to cover in all of school- shoutout sparknotes). And now, I spend nearly every day reading, researching, and writing. But here’s the difference. In school, we were forced to read and write about things we had zero interest in. Now, I read and write about what fascinates me. I follow my curiosity. I choose my path. Something public education never allowed space for—and something it desperately lacks. Now I firmly believe that great people can evolve from public school, however: Public school doesn’t teach creativity, it doesn’t teach critical thinking, and they don’t teach independence. Like H. L. Mencken said: “The aim of public education … is to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level … to put down dissent and originality.” We don’t need more obedient citizens. We need free thinkers. We need creators. We need people who can solve problems, ask better questions, and challenge broken systems. And until schools stop treating kids like products on a conveyor belt—we’ll keep getting the same results.