Operating a Modern Learning System: Launching From the Conventional Model
Building on Tradition
I am grateful for the education public schools provided me throughout my life. Nothing man-made is perfect yet it has enabled us to reach our current point. However, as technology creates new lifestyles, we must build new systems to integrate with the new frontiers we are uncovering. For this reason, let’s discuss ideas on how we can operate a new public education system while honoring the systems and schools of our past.
I’ve mentioned previously that the IDEA law of 1975 is when Americans established the current educational infrastructure we have today, which incorporates accommodations and modifications for scholars with disabilities. After that, it would take another 21 years for the next upgrade to take place with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This law allowed anyone to enter the communications business. It also created what is called the E-rate program (formerly the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund). This meant the internet was more accessible to educators and scholars. Gradually, researching online and collaborating across the country became a game changer in academic learning. Now, with the advent of AI and smart devices we are ready for the next significant upgrade to our education system.
This upgrade will come in how we express well being and mastery. Fortunately, we have an abundance of assessment tools to measure competency in literacy, mathematics, fitness and to some extent EQ. What we don’t have, is a willingness to pair structured, organized learning with uncontrollable, dare I say, avant garde spaces for education. I use the word uncontrollable because learning by its very nature is wild, unpredictable, free, continuous and never ending.
Allow me to describe one of countless variations to operating a modern learning system. Let us begin with language.
INSTEAD OF:
School, we say base, hub or headquarters
Classroom , we say forge, dojo, or arena
Teacher, we say educator, coach, learning producer (or adult’s name)
Student, we say scholar, learner, (or child’s name)
Next we consider the physical layout.
INSTEAD OF:
Rectangular, boxy buildings, we build a large geodesic dome
Dull hallways and claustrophobic rooms, we build smaller geodesic domes
Spaces blocked off from nature, we unite indoor & outdoor spaces for nature learning with tents & equipment
Now, let’s consider how personnel would be organized in a pilot program for such a base or learning hub.
INSTEAD OF:
One educator for each forge, we hire two educators and one full time aide
Administrators, we allow educators to collaborate together and parents choose educators of their choice
In person only instruction, we implement a hybrid model to allow families flexibility
No portal to virtual instruction, we implement a portal to access virtual educators from around the USA
No educator inventory, we build learning inventories with educator-made resources available
No AI assistance, we integrate AI into research, brainstorming, and feedback loops
No decentralized integration, we encourage optionality such as decentralized platforms like nostr for immediate payment via bitcoin and uncensored feedback for participating adults
Let’s continue to time and space constraints.
INSTEAD OF:
8am-3pm or 9am-4pm conventional schedule, we operate 8am-8pm (scholars can opt out of evening activities)
One shift for educators, we allow educators am & pm shifts (flexibility for attending in person instruction)
Requiring in person instruction everyday, we operate a hybrid model (remote learning is available)
Sticking to the same schedule everyday, we operate a portal for parents, educators and scholars to coordinate lessons and activities (curriculum and skill practice is based on learner needs and assessment data)
Finally, let’s consider how we interpret academic and personal “success”.
INSTEAD OF
Overtesting in order for test makers to profit, we assess for skill competency and mastery
Teaching to the test, we learn for the sake of learning
Dreading standardized tests, we meet and excel standardized assessment standards
Emphasis on grades, we build artifacts and produce content through intellectual expression
Acquiring credentials for prestige, we acquire credentials and practice entrepreneurship
Seeking validation from others, we nurture self-respect and well being as a top priority.
Before you start mumbling under your breath, “This will never happen” or “How much has this guy been smoking?” I want you to consider how our country used to embrace bold ideas and strength of speed. Peter Thiel discusses this definite optimism in detail in his book Zero to One, mentioning how the Empire State Building was started in 1929 and finished in 1931. Additionally the Golden Gate Bridge was started in 1933 and completed in 1937. Also, Thiel highlighted an example (from the late 1940s) of an educator named John Reber who wanted to reinvent the physical geography of the San Francisco Bay Area. His plans were taken seriously and Congress even held hearings to consider his ideas. Now, we’ve strayed away from such an inspiring spirit. Peter writes:
“In the 1950s, people welcomed big plans and asked whether they would work. Today a grand plan coming from a schoolteacher would be dismissed as crankery, and a long-range vision coming from anyone more powerful would be derided as hubris. You can still visit the Bay Model in that Sausalito warehouse, but today it's just a tourist attraction: big plans for the future have become archaic curiosities.”
People have told me that there are innovative education systems being built in America but when I ask, “Where?” There is no concrete response. There have been alternative schools piloted in the past yet they all followed the same conventional models we currently use and because of it they are no longer around. Therefore let us continue to generate momentum on discussing how we will accelerate learning systems in the USA!
AI Prompt: [Having read the article] Provide your own ideas on how we can innovate how we operate public education in America.
These points are coming from my custom Chat GPT "Education Pioneer".
Claude has repeatedly advocated for the "gamification" of learning for the future.
Claude has repeatedly advocated for the "gamification" of learning for the future.
