A morning at the AltSchool, an education startup that Silicon Valley is crazy about

"Our experience from school prepared us for a more predictable life," Ventilla said.

But now, he says kids need to learn how to understand themselves at an early age so they can adapt to whatever the world turns out to be when they join society.

He described successful AltSchool students as those who can "advocate for themselves and those around them," be conscientious contributors to the classroom, possess empathy and seek agency.