How to raise creators, not consumers

School teaches kids to be consumers, but meaning comes through creativity.

The average hunter-gatherer didn’t have time to worry about the “meaning” of his life. When life was hard, finding meaning was easy: secure the next meal; don't get eaten; survive.

Now, with material needs met, we are tasked with creating meaning in our own lives without any natural urgency. When life is easy, finding meaning is hard. People default to what seems obvious: consuming more stuff, seeking comfort through consumption, signaling our wealth to others. In terms of leading a happy life, that’s an objectively terrible strategy. Yet, that’s most people’s life mission. 

For our kids to have a more meaningful life than we did, they need to ask better questions: what matters to me? How do I make money? How many resources do I need to be happy (how much is enough)? How do I manage my time and money? What do I value above all else? How do I create value for others so that I’m useful and accepted? 

Traditional schools do absolutely nothing to address these central questions. But we can’t afford to ignore them. It’s time to change how we raise our kids. 

We could frame this problem like this: consumerism is coming for our children (like snakes once did long ago) unless we do something to prepare them. 

We need to raise kids to find meaning in creating, not consuming—bringing something new into existence by their own efforts, rather than merely consuming the creations of others. 

Why creation is the meaning of life

“Creator” isn’t the same as an artist. A great plumber is a creator, as well as a great novelist. Each provides genuine value by being a master of their craft. Each mastered their craft by immersing in their process, and not by overvaluing outcomes. Journey > destination.

People get their positive emotions from moving toward (not getting) a meaningful goal. Without a meaningful goal, you get no positive emotions. No wonder so many people are depressed. 

Creation, on the other hand, is an endless well of passion and growth.

People who chase fame, money, and status above all else, for example, are doomed to crushing disappointment even if they reach their pinnacle. However, creation is an ever-expanding horizon. You can always create more happiness, joy, love, opportunity, and beauty for others. Creation is an “infinite game.” Status is a finite game. 

To give our kids a meaningful life, we need to raise them to be creators, not consumers. 

First, it’s important to understand why everyone is so obsessed with consumption. How did we get here? 

Traditional schools train consumers

From an early age, kids are trained to consume information and spit it back up on a test. In return, they receive a grade. How they get the grade doesn't matter–they could cheat, steal, or commit something to rote memory–as long as they pass the test, they get the reward. 

Kids are encouraged to do whatever they can to get the highest possible grade. If they could get the A for no work at all, they would. Thanks to that, very few kids maintain a sense of creation during their time in the classroom. They become reward-seeking and disconnected from what matters - the journey. 

Traditional schooling often crushes kids’ natural ability to create. Instead of being rewarded for creation, they are rewarded for “hard work” they would rather not be doing. They see the grade, not the process, as the reward. They live for the destination, not the journey. That’s why so many people work to be rewarded with a letter grade (and, when they grow up, replace the work with a hated job and the golden star with consumption) instead of working to create something valuable. 

Traditional schools doom kids to a lifetime of seeking outcomes at the cost of being a true creator. 

That’s a loss that we can’t accept. 

How to train creators

Many of us are clinging to what traditional schools taught us: Focus on outcomes. Don’t take too many risks. Follow the rules. 

Let’s free our kids to a more meaningful future. 

Creators enjoy the process for the process’s sake. They know what they value and do not sacrifice that for any external reward. Creators master a game that provides value to people they love or respect. They figure out how to make a good living from the creation process. They value time over status and wealth. 

Training kids to be this way is easier than it sounds: kids are born with many of these skills. Traditional schools use a good portion of their allotted 17,000 hours to train the love of creation out of them. Simply avoiding that is a huge step in the right direction. Sure, they need guidance. But there are resources everywhere. The more they can learn from people who are already true creators, the more they will embody the spirit of a creator. 

The only cure for consumerism (and resulting despair) is to raise a generation of true creators. 

Start with your kid.

Share this newsletter with other parents, and the next generation will save the world from financed (24% APR) Amazon shopping sprees.

Thanks for reading,

Taylor + the rebelEducator Team

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P.S.

Here’s what we’re looking at:

More States Are Mandating Kindergarten. Here Are 3 Reasons Why That’s A Bad Idea.

This Twitter thread

This conversation with a teacher who leaf school to start her own micro-school

Quotes we’re pondering:

"We are educating people out of their creative capacities… I believe this passionately, that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it." — Sir Ken Robinson 

"All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” ― Rumi, The Essential Rumi