Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.For students ready to uncover the hidden battles for their attention and independence, Weapons of Mass Communication offers a university- level exploration of propaganda, media manipulation, and the secret war for your mind. Centered on critical media analysis and propaganda deconstruction, this course strengthens analytical thinking while fostering media literacy and intentional decision- making in our tech-saturated world. This course teaches students to make choices on purpose and is ideal for curious minds who love uncovering conspiracies that can be proven true. Through hands-on document analysis, media deconstruction, and critical discussions led by a neurodivergent educator with formal media training, students will expand their understanding of how propaganda shapes society across all time periods.
For students ready to uncover the hidden battles for their attention and independence, Weapons of Mass Communication offers a university-level exploration of propaganda, media manipulation, and the secret war for your mind. Centered on critical media analysis and propaganda deconstruction, this course strengthens analytical thinking while fostering media literacy and intentional decision-making in our tech-saturated world.
Each weekly session blends collaborative media investigation with structured authority analysis. Students examine primary and secondary sources from the Bronze Age to TikTok, decode hidden messages in everything from classical paintings to modern algorithms, and support each other in developing sophisticated pattern recognition skills. They explore how corporations, governments, and institutions embed messages to influence thoughts and behaviors, learning to move through media worlds with intentionality and purpose.
This course helps students to make choices on purpose, and it is ideal for curious minds who love uncovering conspiracies that can be proven true. Through hands-on document analysis, media deconstruction, and critical discussions led by a neurodivergent educator with formal media training, students expand their understanding of how propaganda shapes society across all time periods.
By the end of the course, your student will have mastered advanced media literacy and propaganda analysis techniques, developed critical thinking skills to resist manipulation and think independently, built an understanding of how authority systems use communication to influence behavior, and gained tools to move through modern media worlds with intentionality and awareness.
If your student is ready to take apart the systems trying to control their thoughts and wants to move through the world with greater awareness and purpose, Weapons of Mass Communication is their gateway to media independence and critical consciousness.
Parents consistently tell us that the confidence their child builds in this course carries into school presentations, social situations, and everyday life. It builds vocal expression, body awareness, and the ability to stand in front of an audience without anxiety. That kind of self-assurance is something no textbook can teach.
For kids who feel like they have to mask or hold back in other settings, this course gives them permission to be expressive, creative, and fully themselves. The entire experience happens in a supportive environment where every kid gets to shine. Parents watch their child come alive in ways they have not seen before.
YSA is a UC-registered online publisher and WASC-accredited Supplementary Education Center, which means our courses can count toward official college credit requirements. State schools can recognize the courses your student takes here, adding real legitimacy to your homeschooling journey or building on top of your student's existing transcript. That opens up two ways to enroll: For Credit -- Your student earns official, accredited credit toward their transcript. For-credit students complete weekly assignments that build toward their transcript grade. Outside-of-class work ranges from 1-2 hours per week. Perfect for families who want documentation that reflects what their child is actually capable of -- to show the world how brilliant they are. For Enrichment -- Your student takes the very same course purely for the love of learning. No grades, no outside-of-class work, no credit attached. Just the content, the community, and the growth. Same course. Same mentor. Same experience in class. You choose what fits your family.
If you homeschool, this works seamlessly. If your student attends another school full time, we create a report card and transcript that we share with you, and you share with the school. It is up to your primary school to accept it and add it to your student's official transcript.
Build vocal expression, body awareness, and stage presence in a low-pressure environment where the mentor models everything first 
Develop the confidence to perform, present, and express themselves in front of others without anxiety or self-consciousness 
Experience the full creative process from character development to performance, building teamwork and collaboration skills naturally 
Grow in self-expression and emotional intelligence in a safe, inclusive space where every student gets to shine 
Amy Bechtol is a neurodivergent individual, educator, and activist. Six years ago she thought it would be fun to volunteer teach for a week as a break from entertainment design work, and accidentally found her passion. Amy has worked in neurodivergent and twice-exceptional education ever since, covering a wide breadth of topics from the humanities, to the sciences, to the visual arts. Her background as an entertainment designer and storyteller informs her teaching practices, finding ways to make content relevant to human experiences. Amy loves getting to work with her students, who often share a neurology similar to her own, connecting them to curriculum in a way that is meaningful, novel, and fun. Utilizing a strength-based, talent-focused model, Amy seeks to engage learners by allowing them to connect their best, most authentic selves to the material. She believes that a state of growth is the natural state of a human mind, and it is the purpose of a classroom to facilitate that process, and allow it to be a joyful one. When not embroiled in the world of education she likes to indulge in her autistic special interests, which include working on her small farm in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, identifying wild plants and animals, reading thick books, making art, and sometimes, even playing some video games.
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
Parents don't just see happier kids. They see sharper thinking, stronger friendships, and a child who actually wants to log on.
★★★★★
"Amy taught my son to spot how ads and headlines try to manipulate him. He fact-checks his own feed now and calls out spin at the dinner table."
Lorena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter looks at media completely differently after this course. Amy showed her how persuasion, propaganda, and framing actually work."
Preston M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy taught my son to spot how ads and headlines try to manipulate him. He fact-checks his own feed now and calls out spin at the dinner table."
Lorena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter looks at media completely differently after this course. Amy showed her how persuasion, propaganda, and framing actually work."
Preston M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy gives my son the tools to question what he sees online instead of just believing it. In this era that skill is priceless."
Ingrid M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter asks who made a message and why before she trusts it. Amy built that instinct in her, and it shows everywhere."
Damaris M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy gives my son the tools to question what he sees online instead of just believing it. In this era that skill is priceless."
Ingrid M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter asks who made a message and why before she trusts it. Amy built that instinct in her, and it shows everywhere."
Damaris M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy connects media literacy to the videos and posts my son actually watches. He notices the persuasion techniques on his own now."
Callum M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy taught my daughter to read between the lines of the news. She dissects bias and rhetoric like a journalist, and she is thirteen."
Selena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy connects media literacy to the videos and posts my son actually watches. He notices the persuasion techniques on his own now."
Callum M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy taught my daughter to read between the lines of the news. She dissects bias and rhetoric like a journalist, and she is thirteen."
Selena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy taught my son to spot how ads and headlines try to manipulate him. He fact-checks his own feed now and calls out spin at the dinner table."
Lorena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter looks at media completely differently after this course. Amy showed her how persuasion, propaganda, and framing actually work."
Preston M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy gives my son the tools to question what he sees online instead of just believing it. In this era that skill is priceless."
Ingrid M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter asks who made a message and why before she trusts it. Amy built that instinct in her, and it shows everywhere."
Damaris M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy connects media literacy to the videos and posts my son actually watches. He notices the persuasion techniques on his own now."
Callum M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Amy taught my daughter to read between the lines of the news. She dissects bias and rhetoric like a journalist, and she is thirteen."
Selena M.
YSA parent
If you’re not 100% in love with the course, you have options depending on how you enrolled:
You can switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit or get a credit to use toward a future course.
You can either get credit toward a future course, switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit, or stop all future payments after a 30-day processing period.
No risk. No stress. Just the learning and belonging you have been looking for.
We can offer this because we know what we do works for thousands of other families. Kids become more self-confident. They find their people. And families tell us this is the place where their student finally feels welcome. We know it will work for your family, too.
All-Access Passes have separate terms and conditions. Please see the All-Access Pass pages.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway... to qualify for the satisfaction guarantee policy, you have to actually attend the classes. This is not a cancellation policy. It’s a satisfaction guarantee. You can’t be satisfied or dissatisfied if you don’t attend.
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that offers one-of-a-kind, engaging enrichment courses and community for 5-18-year-old bright, quirky kids to empower them to develop their strengths, make like-minded friends, cultivate life skills, build confidence, and feel great about themselves under the loving care of expert mentors. description2: >- Picture a place where your child fits in, is celebrated, mentored, and loves learning the unique content their beautiful brain craves. That happens every day at YSA for over 1,200+ families, and it can happen for your family, too.
WASC Accredited · 1,200+ Families · 93% Re-Enroll · 47+ States, 17 Countries, 6 Continents
Learn more about YSAQUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COURSE
Everything you need to know before enrolling your child.
Most online classes put 20-30 kids in a room with a teacher who reads slides. At YSA, your child joins a group of 8 or fewer students who think like they do, led by a mentor who was often once just like them. Cameras are optional. The content is chosen by passion, not grade level. And 93% of families re-enroll - because kids who have never liked school before fight to log on to YSA.
Yes. YSA families join from 47+ states and 17 countries across 6 continents. All you need is an internet connection. We schedule sections across multiple time zones so families worldwide can find a time that works.
Weapons of Mass Communication meets once per week for 50 minutes, every week from August through December. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of up to 8 students and the same mentor all semester long. Same friends, same mentor, a new challenge every week.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. If your student should be aged up or aged down, contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. When a kid is engaged in a course they chose, with a mentor who gets them and peers who share their interests, the screen disappears. They're not on a screen. They're with their people. Parents tell us their children fight to log on to YSA.
If your child isn't loving a course by the end of the first week, swap into a different course. Same semester. No questions. Not the right fit within the first month? We'll stop payments, switch courses, or issue credit toward any future course. The credit never expires. And you keep every bonus you've received. Over 93% of YSA families don't just stay. They add more courses.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable. Our mentors engage every student equally, cameras on or off.
No. If you're here, you're in the right place. We don't require paperwork, evaluations, or labels. Whether your child has been formally identified as gifted or twice-exceptional, whether you suspect it but haven't pursued testing, or whether you just know your kid's brain works differently and nothing else has fit, they're welcome here.
Yes. YSA is an approved vendor with 10+ state ESA programs including Arizona ESA, Utah Fits All, ClassWallet, My Tech High, Florida Step Up, and others. Enroll directly to secure your child's spot, submit the invoice to your ESA, and your payment method is refunded when funds transfer. Many families pay zero out of pocket.
Click "See Available Times" on this page, pick the section that fits your schedule, and your child's spot is secured immediately. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite.
Right now, a kid who thinks like your kid is in a course they chose, with a mentor who was once just like them, surrounded by friends who don't think they're weird... they think they're interesting.
Your child is one click from finding out what that feels like.
A good internet connection and a can do attitude!