Reconsidering Time and Space in Building Educational Systems
Unbound Learning
There is something beautiful in knowing us humans are spread out over different time zones tinkering, generating ideas, putting in the blood, sweat and tears 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From Chicago to Mexico City to Hong Kong, will our species defeat the odds and survive to accelerate into the next century? The answer to this is in the hands of today’s problem solvers, not chained down by the constraints of time and space. They may compartmentalize when necessary but they understand the human experience is nonstop. Therefore, if we are to modernize our educational systems we must reconsider synchronous and asynchronous learning.
Let us put aside conventional operations and the 8am-3pm or 9am-4pm schedules. Why do we put forth the concept that once the school’s physical doors have shut and locked that education has finished for the day? Instead, why not allow flexible class times from 8am-8pm with cohorts of educators and scholars? (Morning shifts and evening shifts). And when the building closes for the night, AI assistants and feedback systems take on a supportive role for independent learning. Until class resumes, AI is ready to aid the scholar or educator in case they feel healthy enough to burn the midnight oil- whether it’s tackling challenges in their home, community, country, or the greater planet Earth.
A schedule from 8am-8pm allows more flexibility to in person instruction. If the school has a rich knowledge base (learning inventory) and virtual instructors accessible from around the country, this also invites the option to implement hybrid models when needed. Spent all day at school Mon-Wed? Opt into remote learning for the rest of the week and attend virtual classes from home. Going on vacation? Access your school’s learning inventory or speak to your virtual instructors on the go from the beach! Modern learning is not a chore but an act of uncovering our intellectual growth.
Perhaps this sounds like it would strain educators since there are 12 hour blocks. Here, shifts can be divided by 6 hour commitments and hiring could be by semester. For virtual instructors they can be contracted by the day or week through an available portal where parents, educators and other support staff can hire or book online learning sessions. Of course, for in person learning nothing will ever replace human people supervising young scholars. Even though physical generative AI is accelerating rapidly.
I asked AI to create a school day schedule based on the following:
In person synchronous & asynchronous activities with access to virtual instructors from around the country.
(8am-8pm)
NOTE: Lessons (direct instruction) by educators are recorded and submitted to a school learning inventory (audio, visual or both) for community transparency & parent supervision. Only adult educator content is submitted, scholar privacy and protection is a priority & non-negotiable.
Well-Being: The beginning of the day is dedicated to promoting and reflecting on learning fundamentals such as: quality of rest, diet, proper hygiene, exercise and self-presentation.
Skill Practice: the middle of the day is dedicated to skill practice, growing competency and application of mastery.
Eating and Lifestyle: Lunch and socializing is intertwined with education on nutritional food prep, healthy cooking classes and maintaining sanitary spaces.
Personal Growth & Expression: The final part of the day is dedicated to fitness, art, music, entrepreneurship and other extracurricular activities aided by mentors and community members.
Hybrid Flexibility: Parents can decide to opt into remote learning when necessary to accommodate illness, personal matters, vacation, etc.
cont.
Chat GPT likes to use the word “holistic”.
Claude says let’s wake up inspired!
cont.
Grok makes school actually sound cool!
Dominion Over Home Learning
After formal classes have finished, the real work is only beginning. A father and mother in the 21st century must assert dominion over the learning in their homes. This begins with educating their children on their own values they want to see reflected in their household. Whether it’s philosophy, culture, religion, or family traditions, parents must bond on collective values to prevent manipulation from outside forces. Together with their children, they must also make sure to reflect on how platforms, apps, and websites use algorithms to influence our lifestyles. (Maintaining awareness of how tech companies exploit user attention for profit). So here is a sample of possible independent activities for the modern family:
Independent Activities
(After-hours)
NOTE: Chats between AI and scholars must always be accessible to parents for transparency and adult supervision.
1. Basic Needs and Leisure: Scholars maintain their needs, personal spaces, and enjoy spending time with friends, siblings, parents, pets and so on.
2. Home Learning: Young scholars and family members discuss topics of interest together. Parents instill their own values into the receptive minds of their children. AI is used to facilitate conversations and reflect on the quality of ideas.
3. Problem Solving: Scholars take action to solve problems in their home, community, city, etc.
4. Financial Literacy: Scholars make decisions about earning money, saving, investing, and the value of goods and services.
5. Fact Checking: Scholars and families use AI to fact check debates, claims and substance of opinions.
Join me in this discourse as I paint a vision for an American education system that has outgrown the conventional and is need of pioneers. The discussion has begun and if our voices our silent, algorithms will speak for us and not always in our best interests.
