Watch Video Here: https://www.prageru.com/video/will-erika-donalds-and-dr-pano-kanelos-set-a-new-standard-for-american

In a thought-provoking discussion hosted by PragerU, CEO Marissa Streit is joined by Erika Donalds, the founder of OptimaEd, and Dr. Pano Kanelos, the founding president of the University of Austin. Together, they offer a sobering but hopeful analysis of America’s failing education system—and provide a compelling vision for its reinvention. The conversation goes far beyond critique; it outlines tangible solutions for parents, educators, and reformers who are ready to rebuild a broken system from the ground up.

The Education Crisis: Not Just Declining Scores, But Fading Purpose

America’s education system, particularly K–12 public schools and mainstream universities, is suffering from more than poor test results. As Erika Donalds and Dr. Kanelos note, the crisis is philosophical and structural. The goals of education have shifted from knowledge and inquiry to ideology and conformity. Public schools are increasingly driven by bureaucratic control, labor union influence, and federal overreach. Meanwhile, universities—once proud beacons of intellectual diversity—are now often rigid spaces where ideological orthodoxy is rewarded and dissent is punished.

Marissa Streit sets the tone by asking the fundamental question: Can the system be repaired, or is it too deeply compromised? Donalds and Kanelos argue that while pockets of excellence still exist, a broad, top-down overhaul is unlikely to work. What is needed is a bottom-up movement rooted in parental empowerment, institutional innovation, and a re-embrace of timeless educational values.

School Choice: Giving Power Back to Parents

Erika Donalds makes a strong case for school choice as a foundational solution. Through her work with OptimaEd, Donalds has become a national leader in advancing education options that prioritize students over systems. She explains that in a system where dollars follow institutions, not students, public schools lack incentive to improve. Parents are often trapped—unable to move their children from underperforming or ideologically rigid schools because of where they live.

By contrast, school choice policies—vouchers, charter schools, education savings accounts, and micro-schools—break this monopoly. They shift power to families, forcing schools to compete on quality, transparency, and responsiveness. Donalds emphasizes that this isn’t about destroying public education, but saving it through competition. Schools that don’t meet families’ academic or moral expectations should lose the privilege of serving them.

The University of Austin: A New Model for Higher Learning

Turning to the college level, Dr. Pano Kanelos shares the origin story of the University of Austin, a new institution created to revive the foundational values of higher education: truth-seeking, open inquiry, and academic freedom. Frustrated with the ideological uniformity at many traditional universities, Kanelos and other leading intellectuals launched this bold project to provide a haven for heterodox thinking.

Unlike legacy institutions where faculty often self-censor and students are taught what to think rather than how to think, the University of Austin embraces intellectual discomfort and civil debate. Kanelos notes that when students are challenged by diverse ideas, they grow—not just academically, but morally and emotionally. The goal is to produce not just knowledgeable graduates, but wise and virtuous citizens.

Classical Education: Returning to the Roots of Learning

Both Donalds and Kanelos champion classical education as a powerful antidote to the current crisis. Rather than training students for activism or indoctrinating them into identity politics, classical education focuses on the development of reason, virtue, and a shared cultural heritage. It engages students with great works of literature, history, philosophy, and science—encouraging them to grapple with enduring human questions.

Donalds, whose OptimaEd schools embrace this model, describes how classical education teaches children not what to think, but how to think. It is rooted in the belief that young minds flourish when exposed to timeless truths and rigorous thinking. In a time when many schools focus on ephemeral trends and political agendas, classical education provides moral and intellectual anchors.

Education Entrepreneurship: Reinventing Learning from the Outside In

The conversation also delves into the rise of educational entrepreneurship. As trust in traditional institutions wanes, parents and innovators create alternatives—hybrid schools, virtual academies, homeschool co-ops, and direct-to-family curriculum providers. This bottom-up innovation is one of the most hopeful signs in the current landscape.

Erika Donalds points out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents got their first unfiltered look at what their children were learning and didn’t like what they saw. This sparked a nationwide wave of interest in alternative education models. Platforms like PragerU Kids and ventures like Optima Classical Academy’s VR classrooms are stepping in to meet that demand.

Conclusion: Why We Must Not Wait to Act

The PragerU discussion makes one-point crystal clear: the old system will not fix itself. Entrenched interests, ideological capture, and bureaucratic inertia make reform from within nearly impossible. The solution is not to abandon education but to rebuild it—school by school, parent by parent, idea by idea.

As Marissa Streit, Erika Donalds, and Dr. Pano Kanelos demonstrate, this work is already underway. The future of education doesn’t belong to government monopolies or ivory tower elites. It belongs to families, innovators, and all who believe that education should be rooted in truth, excellence, and liberty.

If you care about your child’s mind, future, and freedom, now is the time to act.