When Dominique Paloma Bible talks about choice, her eyes light up. Choice, she insists, is at the core of education. Not worksheets, not tests, not standardized curriculum — but the power to choose.
That belief has shaped her life, from the moment she dropped out of high school to the creation of her Brooklyn-based education initiative, Off Da Beaten Path.
Bible was born in Brazil and moved to Brooklyn when she was 8. Her family settled in Bay Ridge, where she attended several schools. One thing she discovered: traditional education never fit.
“Dropping out was incredibly important to my journey as an educator, ironically,” Bible told Brooklyn Paper. “It’s through making those decisions that we exercise our power. Without power, it doesn’t matter what we learn — we’re not going to use it.”
That choice set her on an unconventional path, tutoring students preparing for their GEDs in East New York. She recalled being struck by an attitude shift she hadn’t seen in the traditional schools she attended.
“It just felt completely different,” she said. “People were choosing to be there. They were choosing to go. And that choice made all the difference.”
Bible went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in community education from Goddard College. By 2020, a former student approached her with an unusual request, asking if she’d serve as a talent manager. That student eventually became Off Da Beaten Path’s first learner.
“I must’ve said yes,” Bible laughed. “Because we’re here today.”
Since then, Off Da Beaten Path has worked with 36 learners of all ages around the world. The program is self-directed, built on one-on-one mentorship. Learners set their own goals, and Off Da Beaten Path helps guide them.
Though the program has expanded globally, Brooklyn remains its heart. Bible has mentored students she met at neighborhood festivals, collaborated with homeschoolers in Bay Ridge and drawn on Brooklyn Public Library resources for learners as far away as South Africa. She even celebrated a learner’s birthday at Coney Island.
“Brooklyn is my home in a big way,” Bible said. “It’s tattooed on my body.”
But building an educational model in New York City isn’t easy. The city’s stimulation and cost of living often weigh on her.
“Sometimes I’ll be doing a meeting and it’s loud outside, or a homeless person puts their foot on my phone,” she said. “And I show up to the meeting more tired than I would be somewhere quieter.”
She insisted the challenges also carry advantages. “The sheer number of options and resources is overwhelming. For someone who loves choice, I couldn’t live anywhere better.”
It’s also what makes Brooklyn fertile ground for her mission. “The abundance of diversity is good for evolution,” Bible said. “There’s so much weird here that if you’re basic, that’s the weird thing.”
“What Off Da Beaten Path yearns to solve is learned helplessness,” she added, citing the work of psychologist Martin Seligman. “It’s dangerous. It’s associated with depression, anxiety, bullying, debt and even suicide. And yet we’re giving kids worksheets and telling them where to sit and how to breathe. We’re stealing their time to exercise their power.”
Her approach has already changed educational trajectories. She recalled a learner who wanted to study breakdancing, so they spent four months working on the basics. While untraditional, the learner credited Bible with “teaching him how to learn.”
She still remembers his mother tearing up afterward. “It’s such a weight off parents’ shoulders. They just want to know their kid is okay, independent and joyful.”
Another learner, an 8-year-old in South Africa, learned to read through playing Roblox with Bible. “We read everything on the screen,” she said. “Over time, she started asking, ‘How do I spell this?’” Bible said the girl would later be at the top of her class in reading.
Again, she emphasized the power of choice. “Nothing else can happen without it. Power through choice is everything.”
She envisions Off Da Beaten Path growing in every direction, from seasonal pop-up museums for learners and community members to wellness plans and planners tailored for neurodivergent learners.
“The purpose is to go take the road you need to take, in the way you need to take it, with the person you need to take it with,” she said.
For now, the organization remains small, with just a handful of additional educators. But Bible is still planning for expansion. “It’s tough to transfer what we do,” she admitted. “But I’ve been preparing for it since the beginning.”
