The GSV Big 10: Eye of the Tiger
Here's your weekly coverage corner for the top 10 stories, insights, and major plays in learning and skilling.
#1 Google Takes Aim at Duolingo with New English Tutoring Tool
Thereâs a reason why tigers eat their young. Twice ex-Googler and Duolingo CEO Luis Von Ahn has now appeared on the Alphabet breakfast menu, with Google announcing a new search feature designed to help people practice and improve their English speaking skills. Duolingo, with 74M monthly active users, $6.3B market cap and a passionate following, might be a little too far gone for Google to swallow them up.
#2 How Microschools Can Succeed
The fringe has become the centerâŚwell, not quite yet. But nearly 25% of all high school students are in âalternative programsâ and there are 4 million students being home-schooled. Microschools potentially offer the best of both worldsâŚmoreover, with a public that canât agree what day of the week it is, 75%+ support school choice. Students used to be sent to the same cafeteria to eat the same mealâŚnow we have different meals for different people.Â
#3 Workplace Training: Doubtful Utility of Bosses Whoâve âBeen on a Courseâ
In the Manufacturing Economy with physical capital, Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E) were viewed as a key asset on the balance sheet. In the Knowledge Economy, human capital and data are the most important assets, but hard to capture in book value. While investment in R&D is a given for innovation, investment in L&D is paramount for an enterprise to thriveâŚcalling all CEOs and CFOs to reconcile.
#4 What Makes Someone an Education âExpertâ?Â
We believe there is no more valuable job in the World than that of a great teacher. That said, there is a reason for the saying âthose who can, do; those who canât, teach.â There needs to be a bridge created between the Ivy Tower and Freedom Tower. HigherEd needs to look more like HireEd with professors helping students learn skills that can be exchanged for a good paycheck. The best football coach was rarely the best playerâŚ
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#5 Thielâs Unicorn Success Is Awkward for Colleges
Thank God for Peter Thiel. Not because heâs such a great investor, although he has backed Facebook, Linkedin, Airbnb, SpaceX, Stripe, and Palantir. Not for his excellent, must-read book on innovation Zero to One. Not for him apparently being an FBI informant on funny business with political donors, although that system is corrupt and needs to be fixed. Not even for him doing the Thiel (get paid to drop out of college) FellowshipâŚ.itâs for his fearless challenging of conventional wisdom, and relentless pursuit of better.
#6 Can a Donor Revolt Save American Universities?
Money talks. Universities are learning it can also walk. College was always the place where it was free to be you and me. Large donors with large platforms such as Bill Ackman are letting it be known they are done funding the indefensible.
#7 Sports Are Part of the College Curriculum, Too
My Dad always told me how important sports were for life skillsâŚand I thought he was crazy. Sports were fun, life was serious. As Mark Twain said, âThe older I get, the smarter my parents get.â Yet 95% of Fortune 500 CEOs played sports, and 54% of female Fortune 500 CEOs played college sports. And among Ivy League graduates, former student-athletes start to earn more than non-athletes after five years. Sports are the ultimate form of âinvisible learningâ for life.Â
#8 A College Free Speech Crisis: When Safety Becomes Dangerous
When âsafe speechâ trumps free speech, things get dangerous. Obviously, itâs important that all people feel protected and able to learn from other perspectives. But universities are supposed to promote diverse thinking to prepare students for the real World, where safe spaces donât exist.Â
#9 The Misunderstanding About Education That Cost Mark Zuckerberg $100 MillionÂ
It seems that some of the richest and most well-intentioned billionaires are really bad at history. Zuck and his gang re-learned what others in the past have proven unequivocal â money canât buy happinessâŚ.or better education. Technology will be part of the answer for how to create a more personalized learning experience but itâs not THE answer. Â
#10 Reduced Class Sizes at Elite NYC Schools Worry Parents
NYC has over 1 million students in its public schools and will spend $38,000 per child next year. Magnet schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science are renowned for offering an incredible education for all who qualify. The real challenge isnât adding a few more seats to the best schoolsâŚitâs making every school as good as an elite magnet. Elite needs to equal excellence, not scarcity. Public charters such as Success Academy and Ian Roweâs Public Prep have shown itâs not just a few, high potential kids that can learn, but ALL children.