As a kid who was suspended constantly, but is now a teacher, I want to comment on this story. And no, this woman is not a terrible mother. Traditional schools, especially high-performers like Success Academy, often have a "zero-tolerance" policy for behavior The schools and teachers place the rights of the classroom above than the rights of the individual BUT, this is not the only way. Before we discuss what's coming next, enabled by AI, let's discuss why schools like Success have such strict policies. A zero-tolerance approach helps the school focus on instruction and on serving the 80-90% of students who are more obedient or conscientious. A single "disruptive" child (like I was) will legitimately hold back the rest of the classroom. It is unfair to force those 80% of kids who are quietly working to watch as a frustrated teacher reprimands the trouble-maker. Watching the teacher's frustration grow, directed at their classmates, reinforces an adversarial relationship between the teachers and students. The cultural effects have an impact far beyond the 4-5min lost to the interaction. Given this, Success Academy is behaving in a moral and rational way; if your job is to help give kids an amazing education in a classroom of ~25:1 using traditional classroom techniques, you must accept this "zero-tolerance" policy. BUT, this is not the only way. I work in schools where I meet students like this constantly. They are wonderful kids who have an anti-authority streak. They have a greater sense of independence and are often some of the most courageous leaders in their class. The same traits that make them potential leaders is the trait that forces them to rail against the rigid school structure that ignores individuality. In the last 5 years, a new technology has emerged that will allow us to change the structure of our schools to work for all students, rather than just those who don't have trouble sitting still or listening to instructions. We do not need one teacher in the front of the class leading students along a group-assignment anymore. Kids can now have significantly more choice in what they learn, largely because AI can take unstructured data and turn it into structured data. That change alone will help kids like me to participate better in school, because they won't have to rebel when they feel the lesson is "stupid" or "pointless". They can simply do something else. As this technology emerges, it also means that the physical structure of classrooms can change. We don't need desks in rows facing the front. Classrooms and schools can start to mimic great work environments like libraries or well-designed offices with chairs and couches and desks. Teachers can stop worrying about making sure that every student is writing down sentences to the same question at the same time, and instead can start worrying about whether the student is intellectually engaged, whether they feel excited for their lives, whether they have confidence in their abilities, and whether they know how to work on teams alongside other kids. Success is a great school network, and I am very glad it exists. I hope to build a school for those other 20% of kids like me who don't fit into the traditional system. Once this school exists, I think we'll find all kids prefer more independence, creativity, and collaboration. And I think we'll find our workforce is remarkably more competent in this new age.