Ep42 Todd Ormiston—How to Raise Resilient Kids When the World Keeps Selling Them Outcomes Over Character

What if the biggest gift you could give your child is the chance to fail safely, in public, and get back up? In this episode of Pressures of Privilege, host Diana Oehrli sits down with Todd Ormiston, executive director of North Country School and Camp Tree Tops in Lake Placid, New York, a place Diana attended as a child, alongside three generations of her family before her. Todd grew up on a farm in the Catskills, spent nearly three decades running elite ski academies that produced Olympians, and then chose something different: a school built on ruggedness, resourcefulness, and resilience instead of rankings and transcripts. Together, they show you how to raise children who find meaning in process instead of chasing outcomes, why autonomy and consequence teach more than advice ever could, and what happens when kids are handed real responsibility instead of protection from failure. They get into barn chores before breakfast, letters home instead of screens, and why a nine-year-old feeding a pig learns something no classroom can teach. If you've ever wondered whether giving your child everything is quietly taking something away, this episode was made for you. Chapters (00:00:00) - Seeking Privilege: The Fight for Students(00:02:10) - Camp Treetops: A Day in the Life(00:07:10) - What Keeps the Camp School Together?(00:08:36) - The 3 R's of Rival Training(00:14:25) - In the Elevator With Parents(00:15:46) - Camp Treetops: Where Everything Clicks(00:18:37) - Adolescence and the Right Stuff(00:24:05) - Camp and School(00:30:05) - North Country School and Camp Treetops(00:34:19) - Autonomy and Motivation(00:40:24) - The role of learners in the community(00:41:15) - North Country School: What kind of families attend the school?(00:51:37) - Camp Treetops(00:53:40) - A message from North Country School's Principal(00:55:22) - How to Manage Your Wealth