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[](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/) # [Future of Education](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/) Subscribe Sign in # ASK ME ANYTHING \#26: “How can I help my brilliant-but-bored son until Alpha opens in my city?” ### Is your kid brilliant but bored? Don't worry. You're far from powerless. [](https://substack.com/@futureofeducation) [MacKenzie Price](https://substack.com/@futureofeducation) Feb 26, 2026 7 6 Share *every thursday, I answer frequently-asked parent questions via essay. send me a question and subscribe so you don’t miss the answer:* First of all, I have so much empathy for this question, because this is exactly where I once was. My two daughters were the brightest of kids…but they were hopelessly bored at school. (When people ask me, “What made you start your own school?” that’s a core part of my philosophy: because I couldn’t stand to see my kids drowning in boredom any longer.) That said, I know not everyone can afford to pull their kid from their current school. So there are a few things I would encourage you to do. ### **1\. Scan the horizon.** Before you resign yourself to “this is just how school is,” look around. Microschools are popping up everywhere. Hybrid models. Acton Academies. In the past, many of these options would be considered…janky. Granted, some of them are. But many aren’t. And many folks (maybe you being one of them) are starting to wake up to the reality that traditional school is actually the *least* effective path in preparing your kid for the future. In other words, **taking a leap of fath is starting to look less dangerous and more like an investment in your kid’s future.** I want to encourage you. You absolutely can find high-quality alternative education options near you. Maybe a pod of Montessori families working out of someone’s kitchen. Maybe a mastery-based microschool that meets in the local church basement. Look around. Start conversations. Ask questions. Hear parent testimonials. And if you can’t find anything worth taking the leap for, then who knows? Maybe it’s time for you to start your own school. There could be 15 families in your area looking for the same solution. Maybe they’re just waiting for someone like you to bring it to life. ### **2\. Pack their afternoons with fuel.** When my girls were bored at school, after-school hours became sacred ground. I made sure to pack their afternoons with all the fun, creative, brain-stimulating activities they probably weren’t getting during the school day. We started science clubs at our kitchen table. I’d invite neighborhood kids over and we’d run experiments. Some days that meant baking blueberry muffins and talking about chemical reactions. Other days it meant recreating something we saw online that probably required more safety goggles than we owned. Sometimes, I would invite experts over. I’d find a parent who had deep expertise in a particular subject, then ask them to come teach a lesson or run an experiment for the kids. I’m a firm believer that most life skills are built in this process of *doing*. Studies show that humans only absorb 5% of lecture material. And guess what? Your kid’s entire day consists of back-to-back lectures. While you may not be able to pull them from school, you *can* turn their home life into a practice of doing, building, and creating. ### **3\. Follow** ***their*** **obsession, not the neighborhood’s.** Make sure you’re connecting your kid with the things they truly have a passion for, not just what everybody else is doing. I think most parents fall victim to this in some way. For example, my oldest daughter did one season of soccer. It’s what all her friends in the neighborhood were doing, so it felt like the natural next step, right? To fit in with the tribe? Well, she totally hated it. But instead of trying to get her to stick with it (because that’s what “everyone else” was doing), I let her quit after one season. And I’m so glad I did. Because then she found something that she was actually passionate about. I have a friend whose daughter loved horses and archery. Random combo, right? She’s now nationally ranked in horseback archery. I didn’t even know that was a sport. The point is this: brilliance blooms in specificity. ### **4\. Hack the system.** When my daughter became obsessed with the Revolutionary War in second grade (thanks to a book from her grandmother), I asked her school if she could do a project on it. They said no. So I kept asking. Eventually, we negotiated ten minutes. A whopping ten minutes for her to present to her class. I was frustrated, to say the least. My point is: if school pushes back on your kid’s learning, then you can be extra intentional about ensuring they learn outside of school. I feel like parents forget they can learn alongside their kids — that it’s actually *more fun* for their kids when they do. For example, Youtube is a goldmine. You can watch experiments together. Engineering challenges. History breakdowns. Art tutorials. Then reflect: - “How would we build that differently?” - “What would happen if we changed this variable?” - “Could we try it ourselves?” There are plenty of great apps out there where your kid can double-up on math, reading, or whatever subject they’re interested in. The goal is to help that really brilliant kid of yours keep their brilliance *sharp* by learning things they’re excited about. *** **All this to say: if your kid is brilliant but bored, you aren’t powerless.** You don’t have to pull them from school to breathe life into their education. You can absolutely control the environment of their home life: protecting their curiosity, feeding their specificity, and creating pockets of depth. Focus on what they’re actually excited about and dive deep, together. *thanks for reading! send this essay to someone who needs to read it:* [Share](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share) 7 6 Share Previous #### Discussion about this post Comments Restacks [](https://substack.com/profile/42475601-meri-aaron-walker?utm_source=comment) [Meri Aaron Walker](https://substack.com/profile/42475601-meri-aaron-walker?utm_source=substack-feed-item) [1d](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help/comment/220109048 "Feb 26, 2026, 5:19 PM") Liked by MacKenzie Price More please!!! as a lifelong alternative educator. I’m cheering out loud for your post. It’s none of my business to script what you write about here so it might sound incredibly intrusive for me to say what I’m going to say – please write more stories about what you’re doing day by day with your kids. You’re so right on and people don’t know they can just do this… Give them a picture they can imagine stepping into and copying you. [Reply]() [Share]() [3 replies](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help/comment/220109048) [](https://substack.com/profile/10447397-magus?utm_source=comment) [Magus](https://substack.com/profile/10447397-magus?utm_source=substack-feed-item) [1d](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help/comment/220293124 "Feb 27, 2026, 12:46 AM") Singapore is on the cutting edge of tech, ai, and has some of the highest Pisa scores on the planet, hyper competitive educational landscape. An Alpha School here would thrive and the govt is VERY helpful and ease of business very high. An Alpha Singapore would be highly prestigious and frankly far less hard probably than opening one in many US states. Come to Singapore\! [Reply]() [Share]() [4 more comments...](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help/comments) Top Latest Discussions No posts ### Ready for more? © 2026 MacKenzie Price · [Privacy](https://substack.com/privacy) ∙ [Terms](https://substack.com/tos) ∙ [Collection notice](https://substack.com/ccpa#personal-data-collected) [Start your Substack](https://substack.com/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer) [Get the app](https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button) [Substack](https://substack.com/) is the home for great culture This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please [turn on JavaScript](https://enable-javascript.com/) or unblock scripts

First of all, I have so much empathy for this question, because this is exactly where I once was. My two daughters were the brightest of kids…but they were hopelessly bored at school. (When people ask me, “What made you start your own school?” that’s a core part of my philosophy: because I couldn’t stand to see my kids drowning in boredom any longer.) That said, I know not everyone can afford to pull their kid from their current school. So there are a few things I would encourage you to do. Before you resign yourself to “this is just how school is,” look around. Microschools are popping up everywhere. Hybrid models. Acton Academies. In the past, many of these options would be considered…janky. Granted, some of them are. But many aren’t. And many folks (maybe you being one of them) are starting to wake up to the reality that traditional school is actually the *least* effective path in preparing your kid for the future. In other words, **taking a leap of fath is starting to look less dangerous and more like an investment in your kid’s future.** I want to encourage you. You absolutely can find high-quality alternative education options near you. Maybe a pod of Montessori families working out of someone’s kitchen. Maybe a mastery-based microschool that meets in the local church basement. Look around. Start conversations. Ask questions. Hear parent testimonials. And if you can’t find anything worth taking the leap for, then who knows? Maybe it’s time for you to start your own school. There could be 15 families in your area looking for the same solution. Maybe they’re just waiting for someone like you to bring it to life. When my girls were bored at school, after-school hours became sacred ground. I made sure to pack their afternoons with all the fun, creative, brain-stimulating activities they probably weren’t getting during the school day. We started science clubs at our kitchen table. I’d invite neighborhood kids over and we’d run experiments. Some days that meant baking blueberry muffins and talking about chemical reactions. Other days it meant recreating something we saw online that probably required more safety goggles than we owned. Sometimes, I would invite experts over. I’d find a parent who had deep expertise in a particular subject, then ask them to come teach a lesson or run an experiment for the kids. I’m a firm believer that most life skills are built in this process of *doing*. Studies show that humans only absorb 5% of lecture material. And guess what? Your kid’s entire day consists of back-to-back lectures. While you may not be able to pull them from school, you *can* turn their home life into a practice of doing, building, and creating. Make sure you’re connecting your kid with the things they truly have a passion for, not just what everybody else is doing. I think most parents fall victim to this in some way. For example, my oldest daughter did one season of soccer. It’s what all her friends in the neighborhood were doing, so it felt like the natural next step, right? To fit in with the tribe? Well, she totally hated it. But instead of trying to get her to stick with it (because that’s what “everyone else” was doing), I let her quit after one season. And I’m so glad I did. Because then she found something that she was actually passionate about. I have a friend whose daughter loved horses and archery. Random combo, right? She’s now nationally ranked in horseback archery. I didn’t even know that was a sport. The point is this: brilliance blooms in specificity. When my daughter became obsessed with the Revolutionary War in second grade (thanks to a book from her grandmother), I asked her school if she could do a project on it. They said no. So I kept asking. Eventually, we negotiated ten minutes. A whopping ten minutes for her to present to her class. I was frustrated, to say the least. My point is: if school pushes back on your kid’s learning, then you can be extra intentional about ensuring they learn outside of school. I feel like parents forget they can learn alongside their kids — that it’s actually *more fun* for their kids when they do. For example, Youtube is a goldmine. You can watch experiments together. Engineering challenges. History breakdowns. Art tutorials. Then reflect: - “How would we build that differently?” - “What would happen if we changed this variable?” - “Could we try it ourselves?” There are plenty of great apps out there where your kid can double-up on math, reading, or whatever subject they’re interested in. The goal is to help that really brilliant kid of yours keep their brilliance *sharp* by learning things they’re excited about. **All this to say: if your kid is brilliant but bored, you aren’t powerless.** You don’t have to pull them from school to breathe life into their education. You can absolutely control the environment of their home life: protecting their curiosity, feeding their specificity, and creating pockets of depth. Focus on what they’re actually excited about and dive deep, together. *thanks for reading! send this essay to someone who needs to read it:* [Share](https://futureofeducation.substack.com/p/ask-me-anything-26-how-can-i-help?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share)