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Education scales terribly because in every small town, for every subject, you need a teacher. The level of teaching varies widely, and teachers have no reason,

by Otek 5y ago

Education scales terribly because in every small town, for every subject, you need a teacher. The level of teaching varies widely, and teachers have no reason, other than ambition, for the quality of education they deliver to be top-notch. The purpose of education is also very widely misunderstood. I often see (for context: I'm in Eastern Europe) regrets that the education process does not provide valuable life skills, that there is too much focus on subjects like physics or biology. School teaches you to be systematic, to look for information, to know that even if you don't like or want to know something, you have to sit down and learn it. These are very important lessons that can later be translated into other "life skills".

jacobedawson 5y ago
Seems like education doesn't have to scale terribly - perhaps we should move to a system where the highest quality teachers produce content that can be asynchronously shared globally (think Masterclass, language permitting), while the "in-house" teachers can work more as "guides". There'll still be a varied quality of in-house teaching, but at least the primary lessons could be world-class regardless of the location.
- nradov 5y ago
  This has been happening for years. The highest quality teachers (for some definition of "quality") sell lesson plans to their peers. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
- ovi256 5y ago
  > where the highest quality teachers produce content that can be asynchronously shared globally (think Masterclass, language permitting), while the "in-house" teachers can work more as "guides" Yes, that would be best, but that removes the most fun aspects of teaching (curriculum development, lecturing) from the local teachers, while leaving them the most draining (keeping students on task, discipline, keeping the classroom quiet).
- watwut 5y ago
  "In-house" teachers are have been using asynchronous materials for decades now. Books were available since forever and videos for like two generations now.
- Planktonne 5y ago
  It doesn't really work like that - you can produce and share exceptional resources, but that's not a substitute for a good teacher in the room. Education definitely can scale, but good education scales much less well than slick-but-ineffective education.
- threatofrain 5y ago
  Like Khan Academy, which is already an invaluable tool for parents and teachers, but something is missing.
thoraway66 5y ago
If more people are trained you’d have more teachers available everywhere. Starting at “artificial scarcity”/zero and building up/out is ridiculous. There are plenty of people who would do such work, who probably need little training, but reliable routine blows up the speculation game. We exist in a state similar to watching a movie; suspended disbelief. These 60+ yo political truths? Don’t look away! We know a whole lot more about logistics and manufacturing now than we did in the 50s. It’s time for the story to move along.
phkahler 5y ago
>> Education scales terribly That's why doing it well requires more money. That's why parents need to be involved, which is why we need a better economic system where productivity increases actually lead to more free time instead of an increasingly Dilbert way of working.
Matticus_Rex 5y ago
> School teaches you to be systematic, to look for information, to know that even if you don't like or want to know something, you have to sit down and learn it. These are very important lessons that can later be translated into other "life skills". School tries to teach this. The literature seems to indicate that it's not very good at actually teaching this.

by Otek 5y ago

jacobedawson 5y ago

Seems like education doesn't have to scale terribly - perhaps we should move to a system where the highest quality teachers produce content that can be asynchronously shared globally (think Masterclass, language permitting), while the "in-house" teachers can work more as "guides". There'll still be a varied quality of in-house teaching, but at least the primary lessons could be world-class regardless of the location.

nradov 5y ago
This has been happening for years. The highest quality teachers (for some definition of "quality") sell lesson plans to their peers. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
ovi256 5y ago
> where the highest quality teachers produce content that can be asynchronously shared globally (think Masterclass, language permitting), while the "in-house" teachers can work more as "guides" Yes, that would be best, but that removes the most fun aspects of teaching (curriculum development, lecturing) from the local teachers, while leaving them the most draining (keeping students on task, discipline, keeping the classroom quiet).
watwut 5y ago
"In-house" teachers are have been using asynchronous materials for decades now. Books were available since forever and videos for like two generations now.
Planktonne 5y ago
It doesn't really work like that - you can produce and share exceptional resources, but that's not a substitute for a good teacher in the room. Education definitely can scale, but good education scales much less well than slick-but-ineffective education.
threatofrain 5y ago
Like Khan Academy, which is already an invaluable tool for parents and teachers, but something is missing.

thoraway66 5y ago

If more people are trained you’d have more teachers available everywhere. Starting at “artificial scarcity”/zero and building up/out is ridiculous. There are plenty of people who would do such work, who probably need little training, but reliable routine blows up the speculation game. We exist in a state similar to watching a movie; suspended disbelief. These 60+ yo political truths? Don’t look away! We know a whole lot more about logistics and manufacturing now than we did in the 50s. It’s time for the story to move along.

phkahler 5y ago

>> Education scales terribly That's why doing it well requires more money. That's why parents need to be involved, which is why we need a better economic system where productivity increases actually lead to more free time instead of an increasingly Dilbert way of working.

Matticus_Rex 5y ago

> School teaches you to be systematic, to look for information, to know that even if you don't like or want to know something, you have to sit down and learn it. These are very important lessons that can later be translated into other "life skills". School tries to teach this. The literature seems to indicate that it's not very good at actually teaching this.