Post-Covid, many public schools in the United States are at a crossroads. Math and reading comprehension skills are down; teachers are overworked and underpaid; and students are just checked out. We have finally hit a point where the traditional model of public education -- teaching to the test, teaching to the average, living in fear of lawsuits brought by parents, every student learning more or less the same thing -- is just running out of road. There will come an inflection point very soon when AI displaces many of the jobs students are being prepared for and the skills that they need -- critical thinking, analysis, management and leadership -- will be in short supply.
Obviously the way we approach education applies to everyone, but given that three quarters of k-12 teachers in US identify as female, it has an outsize impact on women. So how can these teachers, who mostly work extremely hard in challenging conditions for far too little money, start making change using AI? And how can AI be used more broadly to update education and make sure kids are set up for success?
One interesting example is the Texas Alpha School. Students spend two hours a day on core skills like reading, writing, and basic math, and then the rest of the time on social-emotional skills and self-driven, AI powered passion projects. Teachers guide, mentor, manage the classroom, and teach the core skills. The idea of doing self directed work and using an expert as a mentor and guide is nothing new -- hello Oxford University -- but the incorporation of technology can get it to scale.
When I bring this idea up, there are two main arguments that come back. The first goes something like "this is great for top students who are self-directed, but most kids aren't." That statement radically underestimates most kids; most of them are self-directed under the right circumstances. They might not be self-directed to learn literature or calculus, but they might be super self-directed to learn carpentry or welding or design. Allowing them to pursue passions once they've learned the basics will engage them much more.
The second argument is about students with special needs. For some with profound disabilities, this model likely won't work, and they'll need other services. But for higher functioning kids on the spectrum, this is a dream come true, being able to focus on their interests for hours at a time. Kids who would have struggled because they didn't want to sit through hours long lectures on topics that didn't interest them will thrive in this environment.
Unfortunately we are still set up as a test-based system overall, and this will require a huge shift towards analyzing Capstone presentations. But in the long term, this will pay off, as we have a workforce that will be able to work with AI and move the ball forward. The worst thing we can do for the next generation is to keep things as they are.