Not if we can help it
Published June 28, 2026 · 2:59 · 5,332 views
About This Video
Van Neistat turned his backyard into an electrician class for five boys, then made the case for the pod school his wife Isabel built. He says up front he isn't getting paid and isn't selling anything. It's an ad for the solution to school sucks.
A pod school is a group of families who hire instructors to privately educate their kids. The roster Van names runs from Mandarin and STEM to ceramics, drums, surfing, and electricity. Fantastic for the kids. Brutal on the parents running the logistics, which is the reason Isabel built Bower, spelled like power, the platform that handles the scheduling and coordination. He compares it to Uber, instructors and students instead of drivers and passengers. The idea is to bypass the failing American school system by putting competent professionals with school kids.
The stakes are personal. They nearly left Los Angeles last year, their favorite home so far, not because of the fires but because of the fires and the schools. Their son tested two grades above his level after one year of educating privately. Over a single weekend, five boys aged five to nine each wired a working electrical system, no screens. A security process weeds out the weirdos. Education, Van says, is one of the institutions we have to rebuild.
What Van Uses: Bower (educateprivately.com), the pod-school platform Isabel built to connect families with vetted instructors.
Related: the full Long-Form Episode 2 this clip is cut from, Escaping the L.A. Fires, and more on fatherhood.
FAQ
What is a pod school?
A small group of families who pool resources to hire instructors and privately educate their children together, outside the traditional school system. Van's pod covers everything from reading and arithmetic to ceramics, surfing, and electricity.
What is Bower?
A platform Isabel Donaldson built to run pod schools: it connects parents to each other and to vetted instructors and handles the scheduling and coordination. Van compares it to Uber for education. The site is educateprivately.com.
Is this video sponsored?
No. Van states in the clip that he isn't getting paid and isn't asking anyone to buy anything. Isabel, his wife, built the platform.
Transcript
We used Isabel's platform to create an electrician class for five maniac boys and over the weekend it happened. This is sort of an ad but I ain't getting paid and I ain't asking you to buy nothing. It's an ad for the solution to school sucks. We very nearly left Los Angeles last year, our favorite home so
far, not because of the fires but because of the fires and the schools. The schools here are terrible but we didn't want to move so Isabel and some other families started what's called a pod school and this is what a pod school is. A group of families hire instructors to privately educate their kids. Mandarin instructor, robot instructor,
STEM instructor, reading, writing, arithmetic instructor, aka teacher, ceramics instructor, drums instructor, surfing instructor, electricity instructor, you get the idea. Fantastic for the kids but running the logistics of a pod school nearly killed Isabel and the other parents so Isabel built Bauer,
spelled like power, a platform that connects parents to each other and to instructors and does all of the coordination, scheduling, etc. Bauer is the tool you use to build your school. Bauer is super thorough, it has dozens of features and customizable services. It's sort of like Uber but instead of drivers and
passengers Bauer has instructors and students and it puts them together. Uh it's a platform for education [music] and activities. You can find and organize summer camps on Bauer. You can put your yoga school on Bauer. The idea behind Bauer is to bypass and hopefully influence the failing American
educational system by mixing competent professionals with school kids. Our son tested two grades above his level after one year of educating privately, Bowers built it needs to be populated. So, check it out, play with it, sign up, recommend it to people with kids or to professionals with a knack for teaching
or anyone with an independent school or activity center. Don't worry, there's a security process that weeds out the weirdos. A lot of you in my audience are pioneers and education is one of the institutions we need to rebuild. A group of 5 to 9-year-olds each built their own working electrical systems in my
backyard over the weekend without using screens. Link in [music] the description. Thank you, audience. See how this video fits into the full episode here. The Patreon is how you get in touch with me and contains the alternate universe to this channel.
Products & Tools Mentioned
- Bower (educateprivately.com) essential — Isabel's pod-school platform; the whole clip is an unpaid plug ("I ain't getting paid")
People Referenced
Isabel