Jonathan Haidt

So I think we have to really double down on that. Community is not going to happen naturally the way it used to. And we have to be more deliberate.

So I think we have to really double down on that. Community is not going to happen naturally the way it used to. And we have to be more deliberate.

Which ideas made you vibrate?

Which ideas made you vibrate?

Okay. So this is our second program at Let Grow. Again, it's so simple. It's called the Let Grow Experience. Okay. Here's all it is. It's made for schools, but you can do it by yourself at home. So imagine you've got an elementary school, and imagine that you say all the third graders are going to do the Let Grow experience. You give them a piece of paper with instructions. They take it home.

Okay. So this is our second program at Let Grow. Again, it's so simple. It's called the Let Grow Experience. Okay. Here's all it is. It's made for schools, but you can do it by yourself at home. So imagine you've got an elementary school, and imagine that you say all the third graders are going to do the Let Grow experience. You give them a piece of paper with instructions. They take it home.

It says work with your parents to pick something that you think you can do by yourself that you've never done before. You're going to do it with your parents' permission, but without your parents. Let me give them some examples. Like maybe you think that you have a dog and you've never walked it by yourself. You know, you're eight years old. You've never been like around the block with the dog.

It says work with your parents to pick something that you think you can do by yourself that you've never done before. You're going to do it with your parents' permission, but without your parents. Let me give them some examples. Like maybe you think that you have a dog and you've never walked it by yourself. You know, you're eight years old. You've never been like around the block with the dog.

But mama, I think I can do that.

But mama, I think I can do that.

Look, if it takes that to let you do it, do it. Start that way. Or make breakfast for the family. Because one of the things that happened around 2011 is teenagers began much more likely to agree with the statement, my life feels useless. Our kids, they feel useless. All they do is consume content. They don't do anything. And so the let grow experience is do something new, useful.

Look, if it takes that to let you do it, do it. Start that way. Or make breakfast for the family. Because one of the things that happened around 2011 is teenagers began much more likely to agree with the statement, my life feels useless. Our kids, they feel useless. All they do is consume content. They don't do anything. And so the let grow experience is do something new, useful.

And two amazing things happen. The first is, let's say you send your kid out, there's a store three blocks away, your eight or nine year old can go get a quart of milk and come back. The first thing is they are jumping up and down when they return. They are so excited. They did something. And the key is that it's a little scary at first, because they've never done it before.

And two amazing things happen. The first is, let's say you send your kid out, there's a store three blocks away, your eight or nine year old can go get a quart of milk and come back. The first thing is they are jumping up and down when they return. They are so excited. They did something. And the key is that it's a little scary at first, because they've never done it before.

But that's how we get over our fears. You get over your fears by experiencing a stimulus. Nothing bad happens. And then the next time, you have less fear. So the kids are changed, and the kids have a sense of competence and capability. But the unexpected effect, or maybe actually this was planned by Lenore and others who invented it, is the parents' fear goes down.

But that's how we get over our fears. You get over your fears by experiencing a stimulus. Nothing bad happens. And then the next time, you have less fear. So the kids are changed, and the kids have a sense of competence and capability. But the unexpected effect, or maybe actually this was planned by Lenore and others who invented it, is the parents' fear goes down.

Because the first time we had, my wife and I, the first time we let our son walk to school. I tell this story in the book. We only let our son walk to school in fourth grade when he was nine because we were friends with Lenore Skenazy. No kids were walking to school at nine, even at 10, even fifth grade. In New York City, it starts more at sixth grade. But we were a little early on it.

Because the first time we had, my wife and I, the first time we let our son walk to school. I tell this story in the book. We only let our son walk to school in fourth grade when he was nine because we were friends with Lenore Skenazy. No kids were walking to school at nine, even at 10, even fifth grade. In New York City, it starts more at sixth grade. But we were a little early on it.

But the first time we did, it was terrifying. And, you know, we tracked him. We gave him my old iPhone because we didn't know any better. And we tracked him. And we were like, oh, my God, is he going to make it? And we're watching it. Wait, he must – he's at 7th Avenue. But that's a really complicated intersection.

But the first time we did, it was terrifying. And, you know, we tracked him. We gave him my old iPhone because we didn't know any better. And we tracked him. And we were like, oh, my God, is he going to make it? And we're watching it. Wait, he must – he's at 7th Avenue. But that's a really complicated intersection.