"Participating in the Confronting Education workshop with Will has been transformational — a real gift. It's changed the way I look at what we do in my school and what we might be able to do moving forward. If you're ready to confront the hard questions of our time and step into courageous work, this is the space."
Seven-Session Online Workshop
Confronting
Education
In a time of complexity, chaos, and collapse
Join a global cohort of educators in a deep inquiry into this unique and challenging moment — building the collective capacity to face what's happening in our schools and our world, with honesty, maturity, and imagination.
Cohort #6 — Starts September 2026
The Starting Point
“Part of us already knows we are in a huge mess, but because we do not know what to do or how to sit with this knowledge, we tend to avoid thinking about it. We prefer to avoid facing the facts out of fear that we will feel groundless and overwhelmed with anxiety and grief. However, unless we find a way to face this systemic shit together and learn to compost it collaboratively and to transform it into new soil, we will drown in it collectively.”
— Vanessa Andreotti, Hospicing Modernity
It’s time we faced reality.
The world our schools were built for is ending. Climate disruption, political instability, biodiversity loss, accelerating technology and more are transforming every assumption beneath education. We can’t keep preparing students for a future that no longer exists.
If we’re being honest, traditional forms of schooling and education are complicit in creating and adding to the very big, and in some cases existential, challenges we currently face. Schools have been unable (or unwilling?) to evolve, deciding instead to hold on to status quo thinking and practices.
What is the purpose of schooling today? How do we be honest with our students and our communities about the realities we now face? How do we take care of ourselves in this moment of huge transition? And how do we do the “relational repair” required to navigate this predicament as best we can?
These are the types of questions that animate the discussions in this seven-session series that builds our collective capacity to rethink the purpose and experience of education in a time of complexity and increasingly likely collapse.
For those ready to meet this moment with courage and care, this workshop is an invitation to face what’s coming together: to build the emotional, relational, and imaginative capacities all of us will need to lead and teach in times of collapse and possibility.
Read the Confronting Education Manifesto →This workshop is for you
If any of this
sounds familiar…
You sense the enormity of the changes we're going through and want to understand this moment more deeply.
You've been looking for a safe space to unpack your discomfort with the world and with the state of education.
You want to engage colleagues, parents, and students in these critical conversations about the future of education.
You're ready to face the realities of our challenges and imagine harder for the future we want to build.
You want to build your capacity to navigate complexity and lead others in that work, personally and professionally.
You're looking for tools and strategies for your own well-being as you navigate the growing challenges in education.
You want to keep showing up for young people with integrity, even as you doubt that tweaks to the current system will be enough.
The Seven Sessions
Themes that build on
each other
We meet live on Zoom every other week — 90-minute sessions followed by 30 minutes of optional informal discussion. Recordings available. Weekly curated resources between sessions.
01
A Profoundly Changing World
New contexts and new challenges — setting the stage for honest inquiry.
02
Confronting Education
Denials and hard truths about schools — naming what we've been avoiding.
03
Why School?
Seeking value, redefining success — what is education actually for?
04
Becoming Future Serious
First steps toward building a school that takes the future seriously.
05
Imagining Harder
Creating "irresistible futures" for education — dreaming with intention.
06
What's Next?
Practical strategies for moving the work forward in your community.
07
Looking Within
Personal health and self-care for the journey ahead.
How It Works
A live, community-driven experience
- All sessions live on Zoom90-minute facilitated sessions with Will + 30 minutes of optional informal discussion.
- Sessions recordedCan't make every session? No problem. All recordings are available for participants.
- Weekly curated resourcesReadings, podcasts, and prompts between sessions to keep inquiry alive.
- Online community spaceConnect with fellow educators — deepen discussions and build your network.
- Regular Office HoursInformal gatherings with Will for conversation and connection between sessions.
- Global cohortParticipants from across the world, spanning every role in education.
Cohort #5 — Summer 2026
Starts June 23, 2026
- Session 1 — June 23
- Session 2 — June 30
- Session 3 — July 7
- Session 4 — July 14
- Session 5 — July 21
- Session 6 — July 28
- Session 7 — August 4
The “Confronting Education” workshop is where every educator, every school, every school system should begin their journey to create schools that are good for kids, good for communities, and good for the Earth.
Learn More
Hear from Will about
why this work can't wait
In this short video, Will Richardson explains what the Confronting Education workshop is, why he created it, and who it’s for. If you’re on the fence about whether this is the right space for you, start here.
What Participants Are Saying
Words from educators
who've been there
"I have found resources, connections and most importantly a language to express my deep unease with the present imaginary of schools and all that happens in them, in these workshops. I recommend them highly to anyone who has felt that whole-scale improvement of schools has been a complete and utter failure."
"The experience meaningfully reshaped how I think about education, leadership, relationships, and the ways I navigate situations both professionally and personally. I left each session feeling inspired, reflective, and incredibly appreciative of the learning community that was created."
"This workshop provides a thought-provoking experience and a regular respite to 'imagine harder.' I am so grateful for Will's facilitative efforts to create a space for us to dream big about the future of education for the children and communities we serve."
"Will is a harbinger of the realities that are facing education and humanity. He has been able to gather cohorts of experienced educators and provide a space to talk about the alarming problems we are seeing every day. He's created a support group as well as an engine of loving, intelligent and mature educators who might just change the world. I am thankful to be a part of this group."
"Will Richardson's workshop 'Confronting Education', contains incredibly rich material for all teachers, as it explores the disconnect between the meta-crisis we are enduring, and education. I have attended a myriad of professional development sessions in my 33 year teaching career and this series of workshops is by far the best I have ever attended."
Investment
Accessible to everyone
called to do this work
To "confront education" in this moment of deep uncertainty should be possible for anyone called to do so, regardless of financial means. Our trust-based, sliding-scale pricing invites you to reflect honestly on your circumstances and contribute in a way that feels both accessible and generous.
Supporter Level
$295 USD
For those navigating financial hardship, economic precarity, or unfavorable currency exchange. No explanation necessary. We trust you to choose this if it aligns with your current reality.
Sustainer Level
$395 USD
For those with stable income and the ability to meet basic needs comfortably. Supports your access while contributing to the workshop's sustainability.
Advocate Level
$495 USD
For those with financial security who can invest beyond their own participation. Reflects the actual cost of running the workshop and helps subsidize access for others.
Equity Fund & Scholarships — If finances remain a significant barrier, you're welcome to apply for a scholarship through our Equity Fund. These funds are limited and distributed with care. The application process is brief and based on trust, not proof.
Click here to apply.
Group Discounts — Contact Will directly for pricing on groups of five or more: will@futureserious.school
Click here to apply.
Group Discounts — Contact Will directly for pricing on groups of five or more: will@futureserious.school
Cohort #6 — September 2026
Get notified when
registration opens
Join the list and be the first to know when spots open for Cohort #6.
You're on the list.
We'll be in touch when Cohort #6 registration opens. Keep an eye on your inbox — and thank you for being part of this.
About the Facilitator
Will Richardson
Classroom Educator · 22 years
Author · 6 books
200,000+ copies sold
HundrED CHANGEMAKER
3x TEDx Speaker
Provocateur
A former public school educator of 22 years, Will has spent the last 18 years developing an international reputation as a leading thinker and writer about how educators and school communities must reimagine their purpose and outcomes to meet a moment increasingly filled with existential challenges and growing complexity.
He has given keynote speeches, led sessions, and provided coaching in over 30 countries on 6 continents, authored six books that have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, and delivered TEDx Talks in New York, Melbourne, and Vancouver.
A former member of the George Lucas Education Foundation, he has co-founded three organizations dedicated to building capacity in educators and parents, most recently The Big Questions Institute with Homa Tavangar.
Recently named one of 100 global "Changemakers in Education" by HundrED, and one of the Top 5 "Edupreneurs to Follow" by Forbes.
Will and his wife Wendy live in rural New Jersey and have two adult children who are changemakers in their own right.
Cohort #6 — September 2026
Stop looking away.
Join us.
This is an existential moment in the world. There's no way to sugarcoat it. Education is at a critical juncture — and it's high time we who care about it start to face it together.
Questions? Email will@futureserious.school