The GSV Big 10: Alpha and Omega

School views, College at All? And PAC Men...

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The Big 10:

1. College Students Have Already Changed Forever | The Atlantic

   There was college before ChatGPT just as there was travel before the airplane, but both technologies have transformed the original concept in ways that were previously unimaginable. Studies that show 92% of college students use generative AI apparently shock some, but I’m shocked that there are 8% who don’t. The answer for traditionalists is to create ways to force students to think on their own without the aid of AI such as writing out answers in class longhand… good luck with that. When all is said and done, “an education is what you make of it” and finding ways for AI to enhance and accelerate the learning experience seems the right path to the future.

2. Warrior-Scholar Project 2025: ‘Fueled by the pursuit and discussion of knowledge’ | Princeton University

   Hats off to Princeton for its Warrior-Scholar Project providing a bootcamp for military veterans to transition into society. WSP harkens back to Princeton’s roots when, in 1896, then Princeton President Woodrow Wilson coined the school’s motto “in the Nation's Service and the Service of Humanity.” Being able to provide a “portal to the American Dream” for the people who valiantly served our Country strikes me as something really good to do.

3. ‘They’re Just Waiting to Just Get Back on Their Phone’: 12 Teachers on What’s Changed in Schools | The New York Times

   Worth reading…nice job NY Times. As the new school year begins, insight from a diverse group of teachers on what’s on their mind. Not surprisingly, the “Wild West” of AI is taking up mindshare but even the lingering effects of Covid continue to be relevant for some. Universal was the negative impact of cell phones and social media with all the participants wishing to ban them if they could.

4. What Justice Scalia Taught Me | The Free Press

   I always look forward to the annual highlights from Commencement speeches but I was never aware that there were “Incoming Class” speeches. Happy for the new revelation , linked speech to Yale’s incoming law school class is a must read. Danielle Sassoon became famous when she resigned as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York due to issues with the dismissing of NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s case , the former Antonia Scalia clerk lets it rip.

5. Alpha School: A New Approach To Education - MacKenzie Price | Modern Wisdom

   First there was Tim Ferris’s’ “Four Hour Workweek” and now there is MacKenzie Price’s 2 hour school day. Radical efficiency has its benefits and AI will help create the most radical of efficiencies. Austin based Alpha School has traction on both coast amongst the techno-gentry but at $60K a year will it play in Omaha? What I’m sure of is that this model works really well for the booming area of sports schools where you can get your academics done quickly and spend the rest of your time honing your athletics to get to the next level.

6. Video games can foster student engagement in the classroom | K-12 Dive

   Ok, we are bringing the dead horse back to beat it some more, but GAMES are a big part of the future of education. You can’t learn anything if you aren’t engaged, and with 85% of the student population playing video games, 40% daily, reaching students where they are at naturally is obvious. “Invisible Learning” is a massive opportunity.

7. This school built high-end training sites on campus to prepare students for local skilled jobs | The Hechinger Report

   “College for All,” the once prominent mantra amongst the intelligentsia, has been replaced by “College at All?” Learning and earning are increasingly hand in hand, and there is a broad range of pathways to have a good-paying career. Being an HVAC technician or a welder might not get the bragging rights that an Ivy League degree brings in some circles, but a six-figure income without any student debt seems kind of smart to me.

8. Pro Athlete Community Prepares Athletes For Life After Sports | Forbes

   The average professional football career is 3.5 years, with a sad number of former players going bankrupt or divorced within 5 years of their playing days ending. Pro Athlete Community (GSV Ventures is an investor) helps current and former players get prepared for their life after retiring from their sport. Part of the idea is to create a safe space, like the locker room was, for athletes to learn how to apply their elite attributes for success in life. Think of it as a YPO for the professional sports community.

9. How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession | WIRED

   What do Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, and Peter Thiel have in common? Actually, quite a bit, but all have become proponents of alternative schools and choice. There are now 95K micro-schools in the United States with 1.5 million students, including Musk-sponsored Ad Astra school at his Bel-Air mansion. The genie is out of the bottle, and she isn’t going back in.

10. 🎙️ Ep. 53 · Peter Bezanson, CEO of BASIS Education | Ed on the Edge

    BASIS operates the #1 rated charter school according to U.S. News and World Report and has 11 of its schools in the top 100. The secret sauce? Capitalism works, and aligning incentives with objectives is a great place to start.