Dr. Susan Blum Talks Schoolishness, Alienated Education, & the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Dr. Susan D. Blum, a cultural, linguistic, and psychological anthropologist and author of Schoolishness: Alienated Education and Authentic, Joyful Learning. Our conversation centers on a powerful concept that captures much of what constrains contemporary education: schoolishness. Drawing on thinkers from Marx to the Buddha, from school-aged children to sociolinguists, Susan's work reveals how the seemingly natural structures of institutional education are not only artificial but actively work against the joy and meaning that make learning worthwhile.

Key Concepts from the Episode:

Schoolishness and Alienation

• Understanding schoolishness as packaged learning, uniformity, arbitrary forms, predetermined time, and delayed rewards
• Recognizing how alienated labor in school means students trade meaningless tasks for credentials rather than engaging in authentic learning
• Examining ten dimensions of schooling that contribute to alienation (including space, time, assessment, etc.)
• Contrasting alienated education with authentic, joyful learning that happens naturally everywhere

The Naturalization of School Structures

• How institutional forms become "naturalized" and seem inevitable despite being historical constructs
• The survivorship bias of educators who succeeded at the "school game" and now perpetuate its structures
• Understanding that grades, classrooms, and standardized curricula are not universal or timeless features of learning
• Recognizing that learning to walk, talk, and engage with the world happens without curriculum, grades, or coercion

Ungrading Practices & Communities

• The role of social media and digital networks in building communities of practice around alternative approaches
• How the ungrading movement demonstrates organic, educator-led change despite institutional inertia
• The importance of generous knowledge-sharing and making work public so others can adapt it
• Finding colleagues and collaborators across institutions when local support isn't available

Susan's work offers both devastating critique and hopeful possibility. While she acknowledges the massive structural constraints facing educators—particularly contingent faculty with limited time and security—she also demonstrates how networked communities and committed collaboration can support meaningful change. Her approach to working with colleagues emphasizes meeting people where they are, rather than imposing solutions, and offering alternatives when existing practices aren't working, rather than demanding revolution.

For educators feeling trapped by institutional constraints yet hungry for something more authentic, this episode validates both the struggle and the possibility of change. It offers permission to question what seems inevitable while providing concrete examples of how others have created learning experiences that honor both student agency and genuine intellectual engagement.

Check out Susan's work:

• Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest to Learn with Authentic Pride
• Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (editor)
• Dr. Susan D. Blum's Website & Substack