Kids Like To Work — Matt Bateman, Teacher & Philosopher

Here are the top 10 key takeaways from Matt Bateman's conversation with Paul Millerd about education, work, and raising children who can thrive in an uncertain world.

1. Children naturally want to work and help

Children possess an innate desire to engage in meaningful work from a very young age. This natural inclination manifests as early as infancy, when babies spend extended periods learning to grab toys from their mobiles. The effort they put forth represents genuine work in its purest form. As children grow, this drive evolves into wanting to help with household tasks like filling dishwashers or throwing wood into fires.

This natural work ethic differs fundamentally from adult perceptions of work as unpleasant. Children don't yet carry the learned pathologies that make work feel burdensome. They approach tasks with genuine enthusiasm and persistence. When parents allow children to engage in real activities with patience, it builds confidence and establishes the foundation that effort can be worthwhile.

The key insight is that work itself isn't naturally unpleasant but naturally effortful. Children understand this instinctively and embrace the challenge. Creating environments where children can engage in meaningful work helps them develop a healthy relationship with effort throughout their lives.

2. Traditional schooling creates harmful scripts about work and achievement

The educational system inadvertently teaches children that things should come easily and that grades matter more than learning. Students who excel without effort often develop the false belief that worthwhile activities shouldn't require struggle. This creates significant problems when they encounter real challenges in college or their careers. The system rewards performance over genuine understanding and engagement.

Schools claim to be value-neutral but actually embed powerful value systems into their structure. The implicit message becomes that academic achievement and test scores determine worth. Students learn to optimize for grades rather than knowledge or personal growth. This approach creates a cynical stance toward learning where the goal becomes achieving the highest grade with minimal effort.

Many students develop strategies to game the system rather than engage authentically with material. This pattern continues into adulthood, creating individuals who struggle with genuine effort and meaningful work. The institutional focus on standardized measures undermines the natural curiosity and work ethic that children possess.

3. Work should be defined as effortful pursuit of self-chosen purposes

True work involves two essential components: effort and purpose. The individual must have a genuine goal they're trying to achieve, whether washing dishes or building something complex. The effort component means the activity requires energy and persistence to complete. This definition separates work from mere activity or entertainment.

The crucial element is self-direction in choosing the goal. When people set their own objectives, work becomes meaningful rather than burdensome. This contrasts sharply with externally imposed tasks that feel like drudgery. The combination of personal investment and effortful pursuit creates the conditions for genuine satisfaction and growth.

This framework applies across all types of activities, from creative pursuits to manual labor. A barista can demonstrate high agency in their work just as much as an entrepreneur. The distinction lies not in the type of work but in the individual's relationship to their chosen purposes and their willingness to invest effort in achieving them.

4. All work has inherent dignity regardless of social status

Society creates artificial hierarchies that label certain jobs as more valuable than others. This ranking system devalues essential work like gas station attendants or repair technicians while elevating only a narrow range of professional careers. The message that only certain types of work have dignity damages both individuals and society. People begin to resent necessary work that doesn't fit elite categories.

The "creative class" mentality perpetuates these harmful distinctions. It suggests that only certain types of intellectual or artistic work deserve respect. This perspective ignores the reality that all productive work contributes value to society. Gas station attendants provide essential services that people genuinely need. Their contribution has the same moral weight as any professional job.

Parents and educators need to model respect for all forms of honest work. Teaching children that manual labor or service jobs lack dignity sets them up for unhealthy relationships with work throughout their lives. When people understand that dignity comes from contributing value rather than from status markers, they can find meaning in whatever work they choose to pursue.

5. Early childhood education matters less than the final years of high school

The conventional wisdom that educational choices made in elementary school determine future success is fundamentally incorrect. College admissions officers don't examine elementary school transcripts or care about early educational approaches. The only period that significantly impacts college acceptance is the final year or two of high school. This realization should liberate parents from feeling locked into specific educational paths from age five.

Standardized test scores and high school transcripts form the primary basis for college admissions decisions. Students can achieve excellent results through non-traditional educational paths and still access elite universities. The key is designing an effective exit strategy during the teenage years rather than optimizing every educational decision from early childhood.

This perspective allows families to prioritize child development and authentic learning during the elementary years. Parents can choose educational approaches based on what genuinely serves their child's growth rather than what they think will impress admissions committees fifteen years later. The flexibility this creates enables more thoughtful and responsive educational choices.

6. Modern technology creates both opportunities and challenges for learning

Digital natives from the millennial generation had to understand technology at a fundamental level to use it effectively. They learned about network architecture, coding, and system design through necessity. Today's children interact with much more intuitive interfaces that work like magic. This shift creates both benefits and potential problems for deep understanding.

The seamless nature of modern technology means children can become highly proficient users without understanding underlying principles. A three-year-old can navigate an iPhone expertly but may never wonder how the device actually functions. This contrasts with earlier generations who had to develop technical literacy to accomplish basic tasks online.

The question becomes whether understanding technology's foundations matters for digital citizenship. Parents need to decide if they want their children to view technology as mysterious magic or as comprehensible human-made systems. Encouraging curiosity about how things work, whether digital systems or mechanical devices, helps children develop industrial literacy that serves them throughout life.

7. Values education cannot be avoided in any educational system

Every educational environment teaches values whether it acknowledges this reality or not. Schools that claim to focus purely on academic subjects like math still embed powerful value systems into their practices. The structure of grades, competition, and standardization communicates what society considers important. Students absorb these messages about worth, success, and human value.

Traditional schooling often teaches that status games and academic achievement matter most. Students learn to optimize for external validation rather than internal satisfaction or genuine contribution. This implicit curriculum shapes character development just as powerfully as any explicit moral instruction. The problem isn't that values are being taught but that the wrong values are being reinforced.

Conscious educators must acknowledge their role in character formation and choose their values deliberately. The four core values Bateman advocates are work, knowledge, agency, and humanism. These provide a framework for raising children who can think independently, contribute meaningfully, and maintain their humanity in an increasingly complex world.

8. High agency can be developed regardless of career choice

Agency represents the capacity to direct one's own life and make independent decisions. This quality transcends specific career paths or social positions. A barista can demonstrate high agency by taking ownership of their work and making thoughtful choices about their life direction. The key lies in internal orientation rather than external circumstances.

High agency individuals don't simply react to their environment but actively shape their experiences. They take responsibility for their choices and work toward goals they've personally chosen. This mindset applies equally to entrepreneurs, teachers, tradspeople, or any other role. The common thread is self-direction rather than passive acceptance of circumstances.

Developing agency requires practice making decisions and experiencing their consequences. Children need opportunities to choose their own projects and see them through to completion. This builds the internal capacity for self-governance that serves them regardless of what career path they eventually pursue.

9. Montessori education provides a framework for authentic human development

Montessori methods recognize children's natural desire to engage in meaningful work and provide environments that support this inclination. The approach gives children tremendous freedom within carefully prepared environments. This combination allows natural learning instincts to flourish while providing necessary structure and guidance.

The pedagogy treats children as capable individuals rather than empty vessels to be filled with information. Students choose their own activities and work at their own pace on projects that genuinely interest them. This develops internal motivation and authentic engagement rather than compliance-based learning. The role of the teacher shifts from director to guide and facilitator.

Quality implementation requires extensive teacher training and philosophical understanding. Teachers must genuinely believe in children's capabilities and resist the urge to control every aspect of the learning process. When properly executed, Montessori environments produce students who are self-directed, confident, and intrinsically motivated to learn and contribute.

10. Parents should focus on character development over institutional pathways

The most important question parents can ask is what kind of adult they're trying to help their child become. This perspective shifts focus from institutional achievements to character development and human flourishing. Rather than optimizing for college acceptance or career status, families can prioritize the development of wisdom, integrity, and authentic engagement with life.

Character-focused parenting recognizes that external achievements follow naturally from internal development. Children who develop strong work ethics, genuine curiosity, and personal agency will find ways to succeed regardless of their specific educational path. The goal becomes raising humans who can think independently and contribute meaningfully to the world.

This approach requires parents to examine their own values and resist societal pressure to follow predetermined scripts. It means choosing educational and life experiences based on what serves the child's authentic development rather than what impresses others. The result is children who are better prepared for the complexities and uncertainties of adult life.