Reimagining Higher Education & The Gap Year with Abby Falik of The Flight School
What if the pressure to achieve is actually holding our kids back? In this powerful conversation, we sit down with futurist and founder Abby Falik to unpack the radical rethinking education desperately needs—and what she’s building to replace it.
In this episode:
Despite her degrees from Stanford (where she’s now a Visiting Fellow) and Harvard Business School (where she now serves on the Advisory Board), she also knows: the learning that matters most has little to do with formal schooling.
Having co-created The Flight School, Abby’s work challenges everything we thought we knew about learning, success, and identity. She argues that curiosity, agency, and real-world experience matter more than grades, and that we need to rethink how young people transition into adulthood.
This episode is a must-listen for any parent, educator, or student questioning the current system—and ready to build what comes next.
Key Takeaways:
The traditional education system is overdue for a radical redesign.
Curiosity and self-direction are more powerful than external achievement.
The Flight School reimagines post-high school as a rebellious rite of passage.
Experiential learning often beats classroom learning.
Students need space to discover who they are, not just what they can do.
Mental health and identity formation must be prioritized over test scores.
Higher education must evolve to remain relevant and accessible.
Parents can shift focus from grades to growth by honoring their child’s interests.
We need to ask: What is all this education for?
A supportive community is essential to any meaningful learning journey.
🎧 Listen now to discover why the learning that matters most rarely happens in a classroom—and how to help the next generation lead with wisdom, courage, and purpose.
