School Sucks Project self-knowledge, self-education, self-mastery

May, 2019

• 29 May

  Bro, Do You Even Get Things Done? – Brett On Barbell Logic Podcast [PODCAST #613]

  

  Scott Hambrick and Matt Reynolds are entrepreneurs, Starting Strength coaches, and the team behind Barbell-Logic.com. While Barbell Logic primarily focuses on strength training, Scott and Matt also dig into various self-improvement topics; we recently collaborated on an old School Sucks favorite - David Allen's Getting Things Done. I will discuss how my use of GTD has changed since I first implemented it in 2013, including what I have added and subtracted. Matt has has taken a similar approach. We'll also discuss the importance of doing (and occasionally redoing) a "brain dump," the basic GTD workflow, how GTD helps us be more present with ourselves and the people we care about, the importance of context (time and place for work) and ...

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• 22 May

  A Professor’s Fight Against Call-Out Culture – With Duke Pesta [PODCAST #612]

  

  Dr. Duke Pesta is an English Professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and the Academic Director of FreedomProject Education. Frustrated with "call-out culture" and the misguided efforts to shield young ADULTS from upsetting ideas, Dr. Pesta issued a contract to his students at the beginning of this school year. The highlights: - “In this course, we study literature from cultures that existed before you were born,” reads the contract's Statement of Purpose reads. “Their world is not our world. Their beliefs may not be our beliefs. No one asks you to believe or endorse any premise, attitude, precept, theology, political system, or ideology contained in these books or expressed in class. Nor will you ever lose points or be ...

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• 13 May

  Toxic Profession – Why This Is Jonathan Carroll’s Last Month of Teaching [PODCAST #611]

  

  My guest today is Jonathan Carroll, a history teacher and a 20-year veteran of Florida's public schools. Jonathan's recent viral Facebook resignation post has made national news, and has inspired messages of appreciation from educators around the world. In his April 30th post he says that teaching has become a "toxic profession" because of numerous factors, several of which we've discussed on School Sucks for many years. While the point of this conversation is connection, and to let Jonathan tell his story long-form, I did need to ask if the compulsory nature of schooling could have produced anything other than toxic outcomes for far too many students and teachers. Special thanks to Jonathan for his commitment, courage to speak out, ...

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• 7 May

  UNeducation? – Defending Families Against Globalist Indoctrination and Other Top-Down Intrusions [PODCAST #610]

  

  Pam Lucashu is a home-educating parent and the Legislative Liaison for The Education of Christian Homeschoolers of CT. Because much of our recent content has been devoted to exciting and revolutionary educational alternatives, I wanted to spotlight Pam as an exemplar of the often forgotten people who are doing the less glamorous work of defending children and families from incursions from state legislatures and beyond. Some examples: In 2015 Pam worked with parental and homeschool rights advocates to form the CT Parental Rights Coalition to respond to the Sandy Hook Commission Report. The commission made recommendations to further regulate home education, using the false pretext that Adam Lanza had been homeschooled. Pam is also an outspoken critic of UN/UNESCO designs ...

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November, 2018

• 19 November

  [BONUS] The Discomfort Zone 5 – How To Escape Your…Comfort Zone

  

  The first time we've brought on a guest - our friend Nick is visiting Pittsburgh. He has lived in Keene, NH for his entire life and has worked at the same company throughout his whole career. He's in a real comfort zone and getting restless. Andrew and I help him decide if he's ready for a new adventcha! Where should he go? What should he seek? Where will he end up? I share the benefits, revelations, and challenges of my recent travel experience. Andrew used to be a truck driver, and he has some painful memories of being on the road. Also, lots of things aren't going well right now! Related PostsPre-Show 8-30-12Tags: travel, a/v

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• 9 November

  [BONUS] THE DISCOMFORT ZONE 4 – The Interrogation

  

  The best and most uncomfortable meeting yet. - Brett and Andrew have a fight. - Brett: Social fatigue, paranoia, alienation, feeling interrogated. Then an epiphany. - Andrew: Productivity jack-offery isn't working. What has to sacrificed for success? - Procrastinating by not prioritizing. Related PostsShit Has Gone Too Far (Bonus Content Preview)Tags: bonus, a/vHacky Sack 8-24-13Tags: a/vPre-Show 7-26-12Tags: a/vPre-Show 8-2-12Tags: a/vPre-Show 7-19-12Tags: a/v

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• 1 November

  [BONUS] Lessons From My Communication Failures and Successes – The Contra Cruise

  

  This is audio of my two presentations on the Contra Cruise, including a speech, an impromptu workshop and an Ask Me Anything. My speech was written as the cruise progressed and it was delivered in two parts on Thursday and Saturday. It was assembled from thoughts and feelings I gathered from the dinner conversations I had over the week, and it covered a set of experiences, mostly related to the crucial communication of libertarian ideas, that I felt would be useful for the attendees. Topics Include: Thinking Fast and Slow, Emotions are a means of discovery, the Trump election mystery solved, people overwhelmed by information, blowing up the bridges of connection, getting people to say yes vs getting them to ...

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October, 2018

• 16 October

  [BONUS] THE DISCOMFORT ZONE – Hug the Cactus

  

  (AUDIO, 89 MINUTES) In this series, we will build upon and grow our strengths, highlight and improve our weaknesses, diversify and increase our personal and professional skill sets. This ongoing saga will be an open discussion allowing us to question each other's actions to help ensure we are taking the best possible steps to keep us on track achieve our goals. Format: 1. Success: How did each of us "punch the world in the dick" (working title) this week? Greatest achievements. 2. Accountability - Did we take each other's advice from the previous session? How did it work out? 3. "Greatest Discomforts" - What is our biggest challenge/frustration/emotional weight this week? Discussion 4. Action Items - We give each other ...

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