The GSV Big 10: Jeb!
Cowboys in, Coders out, Brain Atrophy and Multiplication by Division
Chart of the Week
Florida Explodes | Forza…for Education
Since the days of Jeb Bush as Governor, the Sunshine State has prioritized education and been on the forefront of school choice. Emboldened by broad success and motivated my mass migration, Florida has put it’s foot on the gas. Success has many fathers, but the winning foundation was put in place 25 years ago, by then Governor Bush and key lieutenants such as Jon Hage, Julie Young and Fernando Zulueta.
Majority of high schoolers say they don’t feel prepared for post-graduation | K-12 Dive
Fewer than 30% of high school students feel “very prepared” to pursue a postsecondary pathway, whether a traditional four-year college degree, work or other options. While this is remarkable, it should be surprising given only about 30% of high school graduates are actually proficient at math and reading. We aren’t doing students or society any favors by promoting students to the next grade without mastery of basic academic skills.
How Generative AI Can Rot Your Brain | Minding The Gap
Over-reliance on tools like ChatGPT prevents learning and critical thinking… ‘cognitive atrophy’ is the concept of when too much of your thinking is outsourced. The brain, like any muscle, needs to be worked out or it loses strength. Analogous to a great fitness coach, AI utilized correctly can help train the brain and assist to reach unprecedented levels of skill and knowledge.
The Class of 2026 | Postcards from Barsoom
The late, great Clayton Christensen wrote about “the Innovators Dilemma,” highlighting how difficult it was for established institutions to alter their ways. One thing for sure is the classic model for College and Universities over centuries is going to change. “Universities might survive only by transforming into intellectual ‘fitness centers’ where learning happens for its own sake rather than for credentials”. The ones that lean into this reality can thrive, the many ones that don’t will become Sears.
Conservative Scholars Disagree on How to Increase Ideological Diversity at Universities | National Review
“Diversity is our strength” has become such a mantra it’s almost a cliche. That said, it’s difficult amongst even ideologically aligned tribes to agree what that means as it relates to thought. So in my way of thinking, the diversity on agreeing what diversity is on ideology is healthy.
The Public Microschool Playbook | Getting Smart
This playbook goes into detail on how public micro schools help to meet the ever-changing needs of students and the workforce. It is a collective effort between Getting Smart Collective, Learner-Centered Collaborative and Transcend and touches upon the Planning, Designing and Implementing phases of establishing public micro schools.
A.I. Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You. | NYT
In a few key areas, humans will be more essential than ever. ‘Trust’, ‘Integration’, and ‘Taste’. One of our key AI themes…Multiplication by division…having people do what people do best and having AI do what AI does best is going to accelerate innovation and productivity to unimaginable levels. Embrace the future because its coming whether we want it to or not.
Learning-by-doing: interest in skilled trades surges nearly 14% | TribLive
Willie Nelson was wrong when he sang “Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys”. Vocational education is enjoying a major resurgence: Enrollment climbed 13.6% nationwide in fall 2024, according to the nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse. It marks the second year of double-digit growth. Cowboys, electricians and builders aren’t going to be replaced by AI any time soon.
Behind the turmoil of federal attacks on colleges, some states are going after tenure | The Hechinger Report
The “gravy train.” That’s what a Hawai‘i state senator called the practice of awarding tenure to university research faculty when she proposed legislation stripping this long-standing form of job protection from them. There are two sides to every story and while we are sympathetic to the view that university tenure has been abused and out of control, there are important reasons it exists.
The Biggest Companies Across America Are Cutting Their Workforces | WSJ
Powered by our partner Live Data’s workforce dataset, the trend is crystal clear, the Fortune 500 is on a diet. Whether it’s just to shed a little flab or AI makes it a full out Ozempic purge is too early to determine. One thing for sure, organizations need to be at their optimal playing weight as competition is going to be ferocious.
BONUS
a16z’s Ed Tech expert, Zach Cohen, on views of AI and Education. We agree that student engagement is foundational for learning and AI can be a huge enabler.