The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway Schools Are Teaching Kids the Wrong Things — with Ted Dintersmith
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Apr 2, 2026 
Ted Dintersmith, education advocate, author, and former VC, makes the case that schools are built for the wrong century. He gets into why test-score obsession falls flat, why math class misses real life, and how boredom widens class divides. They also dig into the K-12 gender gap, capstone projects, career learning, and why AI belongs in the classroom.
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School Math Misses The Math Adults Actually Use
- Ted Dintersmith says schools devote roughly 2,500 hours to hand-calculation skills adults rarely use, while ignoring estimation, optimization, and algorithms.
- He argues the useful math is more creative and nuanced, which is exactly why it gets excluded from multiple-choice testing.
Open Ended Work Can Narrow School Inequality
- Ted Dintersmith says school inequality is reinforced by property-tax funding and by boring instruction that affluent families can offset with tutors and pressure.
- He found open-ended projects often flip the script: micromanaged wealthy kids freeze, while poorer kids rise when work feels meaningful.
The Gender Gap Starts With Early School Signals
- Ted Dintersmith says early testing punishes boys' slower developmental pace, creating a self-reinforcing message that they are weaker students.
- He argues girls win the school game but both sexes lose when compliance gets rewarded and creativity gets squeezed out.
