Schools and families still rely on 20th-century rules for a world that’s moving at 21st-century speed. Esther Wojcicki believes there’s a better way.
For decades, legendary educator and journalist Esther Wojcicki has watched a painful reality unfold. Even as technology accelerates, opportunity gaps widen, and mental health struggles among young people climb, the core models guiding how we teach and parent have barely moved. “The world is a very different place now,” she says, “and we don’t have to answer all the questions perfectly the way we did before. Creativity and the ability to think are more important than the ability to memorize and regurgitate.”
Wojcicki would know. Often called the “godmother of Silicon Valley,” she raised three highly successful daughters, built one of the largest journalism programs in the United States, and helped hundreds of students become entrepreneurs. Her conclusion is simple and bold — traditional education and parenting models aren’t designed for the world our kids are growing up in. And unless we change course, we’ll keep seeing the same outcomes: stress, anxiety, dependence, and a lack of real-world readiness.
Recently, Wojcicki joined Singularity University’s The Discussion Series to explore one of the most urgent questions in modern parenting and education: why the systems we rely on are breaking down and what it will take to raise independent thinkers in a world defined by rapid change.
The Problem With the Old Playbook
Wojcicki says the issue starts with a culture of control. In many schools, teachers are still evaluated primarily on whether they can maintain silence and order. “The most important thing teachers learn is how to take control of the class,” she explains. “Even if you have one or two students who are not paying attention, you get docked.” That focus becomes a quiet message: compliance matters more than curiosity.
Parents face similar pressure. Helicopter parenting, once seen as supportive, is now linked to soaring rates of anxiety and depression among college students. “What that does is send a psychological message that you can’t do it by yourself,” she says. “Those kids get to college, and they don’t think they can do it.”
The numbers back her up. Nearly half of U.S. first-year college students report clinical levels of anxiety or depression. Kids are achieving on paper, but struggling in life.
TRICK, The Framework Built for a New Era
In her bestselling books Moonshots in Education and How to Raise Successful People, Wojcicki breaks down the approach she has used in her classroom and home. The acronym, TRICK, stands for Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness. Each piece works together to build confident, capable human beings able to navigate an unpredictable world.
Trust
Everything begins here. Wojcicki trusted her daughters to swim at one year old, make their own breakfast, and later apply to college on their own. She trusted classrooms of 70 to 100 teenagers to run peer-to-peer learning projects. “By trusting them, the byproduct is that they begin to trust themselves.”
Kids who aren’t trusted struggle later. Kids who are trusted grow capable.
Respect
Instead of correcting or criticizing every idea, she listened. “Every mistake is a learning opportunity,” she says. That space to revise without shame is what encourages students to take risks.
Independence
Independence builds resilience, yet in many U.S. states, it’s now illegal for children under 10 or 11 to walk to school alone. Wojcicki argues this widespread fear limits development. “What kind of independence is that?”
Collaboration
Rules don’t have to be dictated. They can be co-created. Wojcicki’s favorite example comes from her 6-year-old granddaughter. After discussing morning struggles, the child decided on her own bedtime. “She now puts herself to bed every night at nine,” Wojcicki says, laughing. “She tells her mother what to do.”
Kindness
The final piece is the most powerful. Kids won’t remember every word you said, but they’ll never forget how they felt. “You want your children to feel like you’re always on their side.”
Why TRICK Works When Traditional Systems Don’t
The TRICK framework flips the conventional hierarchy. Instead of adults controlling outcomes, children learn to manage themselves. Instead of memorizing content, they practice thinking, solving, and iterating.
This shift is especially important as AI reshapes the workforce. The skills that can’t be automated — creativity, collaboration, adaptability — are precisely the ones the TRICK approach strengthens.
Wojcicki’s students weren’t just well-behaved. They thrived. They trusted their own judgment, supported peers, and took real ownership of their learning. “My experience shows that if you form a cohesive community, people work better,” she says. “They feel better, and they’re more effective.”
The Screen-Time Question, and Why It Starts With Parents
One of the biggest modern parenting challenges is screens. Wojcicki doesn’t mince words. “Forty percent of two-year-olds in the U.S. have their own device,” she says. “Parents who can’t or don’t want to babysit give them a phone or an iPad. You’re solving a problem for one afternoon, but creating a lifetime of other problems.”
Breaking the cycle is difficult, but she believes families can regain control. She’s now working with Google on a screen-time solution, though details aren’t yet public. Her guidance for parents today: embrace the discomfort. Let kids be kids in restaurants. Let them be active instead of silent. “Stop worrying about what everybody thinks about you.”
Can TRICK Work for Corporate Teams?
The short answer is yes. As companies move faster and become more cross-functional, leaders can’t rely on control or micromanagement. Trust and collaboration become performance drivers.
Wojcicki says the responsibility sits squarely on leaders. “It’s the responsibility of the leader to trust. If that leader doesn’t do it, you run into high-stress problems across the company.” Employees who feel trusted are more confident, more creative, and more willing to take initiative.
Her classroom model mirrors high-functioning teams — autonomy within a shared mission, peer accountability, psychological safety, and kindness as a cultural norm. For organizations navigating innovation, hybrid work, and constant change, TRICK isn’t soft. It’s strategic.
A Framework Built for the Future
Parents and school systems won’t flip overnight. Communities rooted in high-pressure or perfectionist cultures may need conversations, experimentation, and patience. But the payoff is worth it. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” Wojcicki says, “but kids understand pretty quickly when you trust them and treat them with respect.”
Traditional systems were built for a world of predictable pathways and clear hierarchies. Today’s world rewards something different — adaptability, resilience, curiosity, independence. TRICK isn’t just a parenting model or a teaching method. It’s a blueprint for developing human beings who can thrive in uncertainty.
Singularity University continues to explore frameworks like this through its global learning experiences, offering pathways for leaders, educators, and innovators to navigate the future with more confidence. Learn more about upcoming programs and events here.
