Education in a Time of Meta-Crisis: Waldorf, Wise Parenting & The Dangers of the TESCREAL Worldview | Brad Kershner

Brad Kershner is an educator, independent scholar, and Head of School at Kimberton Waldorf School. He is co-founder of The Reconstitution Project, a meta-political think tank, and author of "Understanding Educational Complexity: Integrating Practices and Perspectives for 21st Century Leadership." Alongside his work in education, Brad collaborates with thought leaders and spiritual teachers around the world, developing wisdom-based responses to planetary problems.In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore how Brad became an educator and the Waldorf approach to education, the fundamental principles of child development, and the state of emotions and mental health in young people today.We get into Jonathan Haidt's research on the negative impact of social media on children, debate the parenting philosophy of Taking Children Seriously, and reflect on navigating screen time through the lens of Aaron Stupple's "The Sovereign Child."Brad argues that before you can help children solve a problem, you first need to understand it — a principle that carries into meta-crisis sensemaking and the limits of rational optimism, navigating politics and polarization, and developing a wise relationship with technology and artificial intelligence.We also explore what lies beyond the TESCREAL worldview and what it means to integrate wisdom with power, the big questions and disagreements running through the metamodern and liminal spaces, why materialism may be a less true view than idealism, flipping what we think we can and cannot know, and the role of meditation and contemplation — including why it matters to introduce these practices early in life.🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗Subscribe to Brad's Substack Listen to Brad's lectures on YouTube Connect with Brad on Twitter Kimberton Waldorf School Waldorf Education Rudolf Steiner The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt Taking Children Seriously Naval Ravikant and Aaron Stupple on Tim Ferriss The Sovereign Child — Aaron Stupple The Rational Optimist — Matt Ridley Iain McGilchrist TESCREAL🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️0:00 - Intro2:05 - Becoming an educator and the Waldorf approach to education7:47 - Fundamental principles of child development17:52 - Emotions and mental health in young people24:36 - Haidt's research on the negative impact of social media on children26:39 - Debating the parenting approach of Taking Children Seriously35:22 - Navigating screen time via "The Sovereign Child" by Aaron Stupple49:14 - Before you can help children solve a problem, you need to understand it55:27 - Meta-crisis sensemaking and the limits of rational optimism59:25 - Navigating politics and polarization1:17:40 - Developing a wise relationship with technology and artificial intelligence1:22:49 - Beyond the TESCREAL worldview — integrating wisdom and power1:30:12 - The big questions and disagreements in the metamodern and liminal spaces1:36:49 - Why materialism is a less true view than idealism1:40:53 - Flipping what we think we can and cannot know1:44:20 - The role of meditation and contemplation1:49:50 - The importance of emphasizing meditation early in life1:53:27 - Connect with Brad's work*Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional