Yeah the things school doesn’t teach us will be of most importance.
- Information synthesis
- Adaptability
- Agency and self development
- Social skills. Like real social skills— talking, meeting people, working together etc
- Creative problem solving
We put them in a group called 21 century skills and give a lesson on it here-and-there, but these traits are essentially what makes us humans, more than an operator of / in a machine. Literally and metaphorically.
I think something closer to the classical (pre-industrial) education model would be a better fit for this age. In addition to the three Rs, students need to explore the foundational ideas that have built the world in which they live (justice, ethics, civic responsibility) and to learn to navigate good ideas from bad (critical thinking). I run regular classes for homeschooling teens (including our home educated daughter) where we unpack the texts and ideas of the ancient world. It’s fantastic and I’m not sure how many students in school have similar opportunities.
I was also homeschooled with a classical style education that included the study of ancient philosophy, Latin, and logic; there are tons of resources online for this type of learning. The curriculum I used involved reading primary sources and listening to lectures.
Also, having the essential soft skills that make us human, combined with basic AI knowledge, could help us apply this technology to solve or lessen problems in poverty, political systems, healthcare, climate change etc. It’s the combo of humans and machines that will be magical if we can modernize education!
By sheer coincidence, I have a piece coming out tomorrow about how we learn. In my case, it’s through the lens of bees & beekeeping. And the ways in which the “how to” only gives us a portion of the big picture.
Humanity needs to reconnect with embodied learning, intuition, purpose, community learning, joy, art, and generative dialogue. Teaching beyond individual skill-building and knowledge acquisition requires a mindset shift and an evolution of practice.
You may enjoy the writing of Hilary Cottam who examined the outdated nature of the UK welfare system designed in another time. She shows that weaving relationships back into the system can be a powerful means to delivering wellbeing. She’s recently written about the future of work. A like-minded soul!
She’s published two books: “Radical Help” & “The Work We Need”. The latter is only out in the UK until next year. But I think that’s home for you. I trust London has some excellent local book shops to support.
And my piece on learning is out today. As mentioned, some parallels and perpendiculars with what you’re exploring.
What if , overnight, the information is not anymore free and AI will be just for a tiny fraction of the society? ... only the high priests of Egypt knew how to read and had access to the information stored in Alexandria. Information through Internet and AI is disseminated in a biased way, more for people who pay a small amount ( mostly in the West and developed parts of Asia) and zero info to those who don't pay ( say ... SubSaharan Africa). What if starting tomorrow 1 GB will cost you $1000 ?
We'll go back to books and the prussian system. The only escape.
Hmmm, how realistic was, in 2006, to have Trump in the White House? Never subestimate the capacity of humans to harm themselves. A nuclear war with Russia will throw us right back to the times when the prussian educational system was devised. So, no electric power, never mind internet. I say Russia and not China because the russian leadership demonstrated complete disregard to human life since tzarist times. Communist China may not be far behind. In the case of a full blown nuclear confrontation we will go back to " Egyptian high priests" model, in this case living in underground shelters for many months if not years. Some of them will still know some coding and will probably be sheltered with the other "high priests" just to maintain the life support systems in the bunkers.
Yes, is absolutely possible.
What was the likelihood in 1900 that thirty years later in, 1930 to have humans dropping dead on streets due to starvation? Zero food! Covid showed us that a supermarket can be emptied to nothing in less than two hours and goods be back on the shelves after a long period of time. Yeah, I do believe that 1 GB can be sold for $1000 if enough malevolence is present in the current procurement chain.
I’d say many education systems still function on the passive listening basis from what I’ve seen over the last few months as I’m looking at how to build a school. The schools that dedicate class time to problem-solving are far and few in between.
That shows a problem I expect will plague us for decades to come, sure, it’s possible or it will soon be to educate more in the tutoring style which consistently shows better results but propagation of solutions is slow in large bureaucratic systems unless there’s a real crisis. It’s like in many healthcare systems. We’ve got ways to record notes and organise patient files that could save so much time but I know of major hospitals in Australia that legit use a paper-based system. Paper!
I’d also say that AI presents a great opportunity but also danger. It’s still necessary in my view to ‘load’ declarative knowledge into people’s minds because how would you even know how and what to ask if you have no basics to draw upon. Finding a balance between how much and what to use AI will be quite a task.
Thanks for writing this Alex. It’s a worthy topic well-deserving of attention!
I agree, we’ve got a hell of a task ahead of us but I’m hopeful that with people like yourself who are committed to a different way of thinking that we have some hope!
There are certainly schools (generally private with high price tags and limited enrollments) that do this very well today. Many of the soft skills that are being resurrected in this AI age of thinking, are taught through the current modalities of education. A well run english class can teach very good social skills. It would be hard to be great at information synthesis and problem solving without understanding math at a decently high level. There are many skills that are going to be valued, that are still best taught through core subjects. Schools need to evolve to teach more of it, and learn from the schools that are already doing this well.
Yes you're right, there are plenty of forward thinking schools. I actually had a conversation with someone recently who is setting up her own school which I thought was very cool!
But yes unfortunately it's not the norm and we need it to be!
It would be hard to generalize across entire schools, or even across a type of school. I would say that if you looked at Montessori schools, you would find some forward thinking educators. I would also look at New England prep schools which are thought of as Ivy League boot camps, but atleast Northfield Mount Hermon especially looks to educate much more than just the mind. Top universities in the UK also breakdown the college experience much different than in the USA where they allow students to check out a range of different topics while not focused on purely test scores. There are certainly academics over there who break the traditional mold.
while this was a good read, its crazy how we (still) try to paint global trends with the broad strokes of exclusively Western history
free universal education, setting of standards, assessment, etc took many different forms around the world before colonialism flattened everything. so while the “years of nothing” might indeed be useful to illustrate how education needs to evolve, appreciating the past, alternative models outside the West would not only be more truthful, it could point us to ways the evolution could take…maybe even outside the box of careers? just a thought.
Enjoyable read on understanding where we came from and where we're going. We're truly living through what feels like the biggest shift in human innovation/change.
Good write!
Yeah the things school doesn’t teach us will be of most importance.
- Information synthesis
- Adaptability
- Agency and self development
- Social skills. Like real social skills— talking, meeting people, working together etc
- Creative problem solving
We put them in a group called 21 century skills and give a lesson on it here-and-there, but these traits are essentially what makes us humans, more than an operator of / in a machine. Literally and metaphorically.
Thanks Joris, you're absolutely right. I think we need to move to a place where this is really the core of what is taught at school.
I think something closer to the classical (pre-industrial) education model would be a better fit for this age. In addition to the three Rs, students need to explore the foundational ideas that have built the world in which they live (justice, ethics, civic responsibility) and to learn to navigate good ideas from bad (critical thinking). I run regular classes for homeschooling teens (including our home educated daughter) where we unpack the texts and ideas of the ancient world. It’s fantastic and I’m not sure how many students in school have similar opportunities.
Really interesting. Can you suggest any resources where I could learn more about this model?
Would love to hear more about your experience homeschooling.
I was also homeschooled with a classical style education that included the study of ancient philosophy, Latin, and logic; there are tons of resources online for this type of learning. The curriculum I used involved reading primary sources and listening to lectures.
I think the Wikipedia overview of classical education is pretty good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education
We don’t do Greek or Latin ourselves, but are investigating the big ideas and discussions emerging from the ancient world and its subsequent philosophical tradition. Here’s a link to the series I’m running this term for home educated teens https://events.humanitix.com/copy-of-the-thought-workshop-ancient-philosophy-texts-series-for-home-educated-teens
AI is powerful, yes, but:
It doesn’t eliminate poverty.
It doesn’t replace political systems.
It doesn’t reach all regions equally.
It doesn’t teach ethics, empathy, or humanity.
I agree. This is a useful way to think about what we should be teaching in schools.
Also, having the essential soft skills that make us human, combined with basic AI knowledge, could help us apply this technology to solve or lessen problems in poverty, political systems, healthcare, climate change etc. It’s the combo of humans and machines that will be magical if we can modernize education!
By sheer coincidence, I have a piece coming out tomorrow about how we learn. In my case, it’s through the lens of bees & beekeeping. And the ways in which the “how to” only gives us a portion of the big picture.
Humanity needs to reconnect with embodied learning, intuition, purpose, community learning, joy, art, and generative dialogue. Teaching beyond individual skill-building and knowledge acquisition requires a mindset shift and an evolution of practice.
You may enjoy the writing of Hilary Cottam who examined the outdated nature of the UK welfare system designed in another time. She shows that weaving relationships back into the system can be a powerful means to delivering wellbeing. She’s recently written about the future of work. A like-minded soul!
Oh nice! This sounds like a really fascinating piece :))
Hilary's work sounds interesting. Where can I find it?
She’s published two books: “Radical Help” & “The Work We Need”. The latter is only out in the UK until next year. But I think that’s home for you. I trust London has some excellent local book shops to support.
And my piece on learning is out today. As mentioned, some parallels and perpendiculars with what you’re exploring.
https://atlanticbeecompany.substack.com/p/how-we-learn
What if , overnight, the information is not anymore free and AI will be just for a tiny fraction of the society? ... only the high priests of Egypt knew how to read and had access to the information stored in Alexandria. Information through Internet and AI is disseminated in a biased way, more for people who pay a small amount ( mostly in the West and developed parts of Asia) and zero info to those who don't pay ( say ... SubSaharan Africa). What if starting tomorrow 1 GB will cost you $1000 ?
We'll go back to books and the prussian system. The only escape.
Do you think that this is a genuinely realistic possibility?
Hmmm, how realistic was, in 2006, to have Trump in the White House? Never subestimate the capacity of humans to harm themselves. A nuclear war with Russia will throw us right back to the times when the prussian educational system was devised. So, no electric power, never mind internet. I say Russia and not China because the russian leadership demonstrated complete disregard to human life since tzarist times. Communist China may not be far behind. In the case of a full blown nuclear confrontation we will go back to " Egyptian high priests" model, in this case living in underground shelters for many months if not years. Some of them will still know some coding and will probably be sheltered with the other "high priests" just to maintain the life support systems in the bunkers.
Yes, is absolutely possible.
What was the likelihood in 1900 that thirty years later in, 1930 to have humans dropping dead on streets due to starvation? Zero food! Covid showed us that a supermarket can be emptied to nothing in less than two hours and goods be back on the shelves after a long period of time. Yeah, I do believe that 1 GB can be sold for $1000 if enough malevolence is present in the current procurement chain.
Fair enough! Some good points here but I don't see it happening personally :))
Agree. I didn't say it will happen. The scary thing is that there is a very slim chance it may happen. 1% vs 99%. For what's at stake, 1% is enormous.
I’d say many education systems still function on the passive listening basis from what I’ve seen over the last few months as I’m looking at how to build a school. The schools that dedicate class time to problem-solving are far and few in between.
That shows a problem I expect will plague us for decades to come, sure, it’s possible or it will soon be to educate more in the tutoring style which consistently shows better results but propagation of solutions is slow in large bureaucratic systems unless there’s a real crisis. It’s like in many healthcare systems. We’ve got ways to record notes and organise patient files that could save so much time but I know of major hospitals in Australia that legit use a paper-based system. Paper!
I’d also say that AI presents a great opportunity but also danger. It’s still necessary in my view to ‘load’ declarative knowledge into people’s minds because how would you even know how and what to ask if you have no basics to draw upon. Finding a balance between how much and what to use AI will be quite a task.
Thanks for writing this Alex. It’s a worthy topic well-deserving of attention!
Some really fascinating points here Anna.
I agree, we’ve got a hell of a task ahead of us but I’m hopeful that with people like yourself who are committed to a different way of thinking that we have some hope!
The biggest problem with education is there’s little incentive to change.
Give it 5 years and we’ll see
There are certainly schools (generally private with high price tags and limited enrollments) that do this very well today. Many of the soft skills that are being resurrected in this AI age of thinking, are taught through the current modalities of education. A well run english class can teach very good social skills. It would be hard to be great at information synthesis and problem solving without understanding math at a decently high level. There are many skills that are going to be valued, that are still best taught through core subjects. Schools need to evolve to teach more of it, and learn from the schools that are already doing this well.
Yes you're right, there are plenty of forward thinking schools. I actually had a conversation with someone recently who is setting up her own school which I thought was very cool!
But yes unfortunately it's not the norm and we need it to be!
Hey Casey,
I’m curious what schools/ institutions you refer to. I’m researching it at the moment and your input might help!
It would be hard to generalize across entire schools, or even across a type of school. I would say that if you looked at Montessori schools, you would find some forward thinking educators. I would also look at New England prep schools which are thought of as Ivy League boot camps, but atleast Northfield Mount Hermon especially looks to educate much more than just the mind. Top universities in the UK also breakdown the college experience much different than in the USA where they allow students to check out a range of different topics while not focused on purely test scores. There are certainly academics over there who break the traditional mold.
while this was a good read, its crazy how we (still) try to paint global trends with the broad strokes of exclusively Western history
free universal education, setting of standards, assessment, etc took many different forms around the world before colonialism flattened everything. so while the “years of nothing” might indeed be useful to illustrate how education needs to evolve, appreciating the past, alternative models outside the West would not only be more truthful, it could point us to ways the evolution could take…maybe even outside the box of careers? just a thought.
Enjoyable read on understanding where we came from and where we're going. We're truly living through what feels like the biggest shift in human innovation/change.
👍