Provocations First Edition: Transforming Reality to Realize Interdependence and Human Unity
This is the introduction to Provocations, a new education magazine from Breaking the Paradigm. The full publication is available to paid subscribers- thank you for supporting our work!
The education revolution will not be funded, publicized, or supported by the elite and powerful.
For much of my early career, I hoped that legacy institutions claiming to care about education, social change, and equity would push forward in creating revolutionary education—education that would not only impact individuals but radically transform society. Despite conversation in popular discourse about democratic norms, equity, and the importance of education, we still have a system that perpetuates social reproduction. This is partially due to legacy institutions replicating the status quo.
Education currently is not a tool of liberation but a mechanism used by the powerful to maintain their dominance and subjugate others.
I founded Breaking the Paradigm out of deep frustration—a frustration with a system that claims to care about educational change but scoffs at any serious proposal for transformation.
A pivotal moment in my career, which crystalized this passion for true change, came during my time in graduate school. In the midst of the pandemic, we were asked to write policy briefs that would make a real impact on education. Having worked in two West Philadelphia public schools leading a literacy program, I saw firsthand how the system failed the majority of students. Students were trapped in an environment of compliance and control, with no agency or possibility for self-determination. They were verbally, emotionally, and sometimes physically abused by their teachers. By the time they reached my literacy sessions, many were so disregulated and traumatized that often, the most we could do was help them calm down before returning them to emotionally unsafe classrooms.
This system was broken long before COVID, and the pandemic only exacerbated the problem.
My solution? Radically transform public education in Philadelphia under the Montessori model, toddler through grade 12, across the entire city.
I developed a plan, researched other districts that had implemented similar changes, and saw the positive results. Education rooted in human development and liberation could be a powerful aid to life.
The response from my professor? “Isn’t that just an early childhood method? You should move on to something serious.” In the face of a crisis where already marginalized children were being abandoned, any deviation from the status quo was deemed unserious. This moment stayed with me as I moved into Montessori and progressive education.
After leaving graduate school, I discovered a wealth of literature, research, and dialogue that had only been introduced to me superficially in academia. While many of my professors influenced my outlook—introducing me to critical pedagogy and the idea that education’s purpose is liberation—those explorations did not go far enough. It remained theoretical, confined to the academy.
Fast forward to 2024. Frustrated by the lack of writing on education that reflected my values and work, I started Breaking the Paradigm. I wanted to create a space for transformational conversations—conversations that wouldn’t just satisfy those in power but would make a difference for real students, real communities, and educators taking risks to create change. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. People have said, “This is needed.” “I can’t find this anywhere else.”
And yet, the positive response to the first year of this blog and podcast meant I needed to go deeper.
We must always make ourselves uncomfortable. We must be provoked to make change.
Even those of us on the path toward education as liberation are works in progress. Writing Breaking the Paradigm and co-hosting the podcast has challenged my perceptions and practices, making me a better educator and leader. I knew we needed more provocation—not applause, but discomfort. We need to examine the core aspects of our practice, our identities, and our roles in this work. That’s how meaningful change happens.
We cannot wait around at conferences, applauding each other for platitudes and broad generalizations. We must drill down to the specifics, question the underlying realities of our system, and seek day in and day out to change it.
As we release this edition of Provocations, I see it as a full-circle moment—a chance to bring together some of the best thinkers and doers in education today, to share new ideas, provoke discomfort, and challenge perceptions.
This is not something I could have done alone. Over the past four months, the contributors to this inaugural edition of Provocations have worked tirelessly to build unique perspectives and contribute meaningful work to a global conversation about radical education and societal change. I want to deeply thank each of them for their work.
I also want to thank my Co-Founder, Co-Host, and Co-Conspirator, Kelly Jonelis, who has helped me take this magazine from a late night idea to a full fledged publication. And finally, I would like to thank Ilhaam Ladha, our Media and Content Specialist, who has worked extensively behind the scenes to arrange our podcasts and design this publication. Without our team of three, this work would not be in front of you today. I am extremely proud of what we’ve created and I know this is just the beginning. This publication represents the bar we will continue to raise. We will continue to provoke, to look beyond easy answers, and to challenge ideas that make us question ourselves and our practices.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that liberatory education must intersect with all social justice movements. While this collection is profound, there is much not discussed here—not by omission, but because of limited space. This includes the critical fight for climate justice, social justice, and liberation and freedom from oppression and colonization in places like Palestine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and across the globe.
We are all free when everyone is free. This magazine hopes to contribute in some small way to that conversation- to consider education as a lever for radical, social change.
