Midnight Questions About Education
Here marks the start of a new adventure. This journal will document my efforts to understand the current state of education and to develop a better solution. I'm writing to learn what I don't yet know.
A thought woke me up in the night:
Another thought closely followed:
I was thinking of K-12 specifically. My mind cycled through the obvious deterrents of bureaucratic spaghetti, low pay, burnt out and unhealthy coworkers, ultra-rigid schedules, diminishing student respect, poor achievement, politics, school shootings, and a prison-like environment, among other things.
This conundrum kept me awake for several hours. Staring at the ceiling, I compared my lifestyle as a software developer to what I think a teacher’s life is like.
I have a very flexible and financially lucrative work life. I solve problems daily with automation and receive regular feedback on how much value the solutions provided. Where I work, remotely or onsite, is beautiful. My work hours are flexible. My coworkers are generally energetic and up-to-date with tech. Iteration is constant. I enjoy it.
My stereotypical K-12 teacher image is a jaded woman standing in front of 30 bored students in a room with fluorescent lighting, poor HVAC, and a stale odor. She’s either wrangling the most disruptive kids while those behaving are ignored, or reading from a state testing booklet. The clock ticks. The bell rings. Repeat. Her coworkers are a mixed bag, all frustrated by changing district rules. Any attempts to innovate fail because the system is too rigid. Her exposure to new tech comes in the form of banning students from using certain tools as per administration requirements. Her salary is half of mine at best. Every day is a drain.
This image bothers me a lot. It's a generalization, but stereotypes come from somewhere. If this is how I see it, others probably do too. Most of society would likely also agree that teachers are indispensable, yet there appears to be almost zero incentive to be one. The supposed reward of "shaping young lives" is nonexistent if students graduate unequipped to navigate a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Working in the EdTech industry, I’m immersed daily in predictions that AI will overhaul everything, that people can learn what they want remotely on the internet, that “the idea of school” is obsolete. I partly agree. A teacher is no longer the sole arbiter of knowledge. AI is undeniably powerful and frankly incredible. To me, adaptive tutoring and administrative automation seem very promising … but at the end of the day my gut, my heart, and my mind say that IRL learning with a teacher (or call them a mentor or guide) is still essential. Kids need someone who genuinely cares about their outcome, in person. Real experiences result in real learning. They need camaraderie, agency, and resilience. They need to take risks. Many also need to go somewhere while their parents work. One doesn’t need a degree to know this.
It makes me wonder...
- What is the purpose of school?
- What do kids need to learn?
- What is the role of the teacher?
- What do parents prioritize?
- How does the current system operate?
- Who is currently winning and losing the most?
- How is effectiveness of the system measured?
- How is technology helping and hurting?
- How do we ensure that kids thrive in a world of exponentiating technology?
My first impressions could be entirely wrong. These questions in the night need answers backed with data and research and I must go down the rabbit hole to figure it out. All help is welcome. Feedback is encouraged.