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This section reveals a lot about the difference between the hype and the practice: > It isn’t genuine two‑hour learning: most kids start school at 8:30am, star

This section reveals a lot about the difference between the hype and the practice: > It isn’t genuine two‑hour learning: most kids start school at 8:30am, start working on the “two-hour platform” sometime between 9am-930am and are occupied with academics until noon-1230pm. They also blend in “surges” from time to time to squeeze in more hours on the platform. > It isn’t AI in the way we have been thinking about it since the “Attention is all you need” paper. There is no “generative AI” powered by OpenAI, Gemini or Claude in the platform the kids use – it is closer to “turbocharged spreadsheet checklist with a spaced‑repetition algorithm” > It definitely isn’t teacher‑free: Teachers have been rebranded “guides”, and while their workload is different than a traditional school, they are very important – and both the quantity and quality are much higher than traditional schools. > The bundle matters: it’s not just the learning platform on its own. A big part of the product’s success is how the school has set up student incentives and the culture they have built to make everything work together So in other words, they're trying to set up a generally high quality education system, but they have a marketer on board who knows how to capture headlines with controversial claims?

toomuchtodo 9mo ago
They're copying one of Khan Academy's implementation models [1] and rebranding it as AI. It's certainly not new besides the "help yourself to AI" part (which, full disclosure, Khan Academy is working on as well with their "Khanmigo" assistant [2]). Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, did a TED talk [3] on this. [1] https://en.khanacademy.org/khan-for-educators/ https://en.khanacademy.org/khan-for-educators/ [2] https://www.khanmigo.ai/ https://www.khanmigo.ai/ [3] How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo - May 1st, 2023
Onavo 9mo ago
It sounds like they are trying to replicate Asian style rote learning and cram school in a way that's more palatable to western audiences. Rebranding rote learning and force feeding as spaced repetition and surges. Typical SV bull.
- brendoelfrendo 9mo ago
  The fact that they've rebranded teachers gives me concern that they're trying to further devalue teaching as a profession (if that's possible) and remove some of the professional expectations and protections that teaching still has.
  - realslimjd 9mo ago
    That's a legitimate concern, but the "Guide" terminology actually comes from traditional Montessori schools.
    - renewiltord 9mo ago
      The conspiracy runs deeper than we thought. Is the Montessori method primarily a mechanism to devalue labour unions?!
  - gruez 9mo ago
    From the article I linked: >When I asked the head of admissions how they found such good staff he told me their compensation was fully transparent. “Associate Guides” were paid $60,000/year (vs the $40,000 average for Austin teachers), “Full Guides” made $100,000 and the five “Head Guides” in the school each made $150,000. They were able to both poach the best teachers from other schools, but also bring exceptional people into teaching that would not have considered it otherwise. It also let them have very high expectations for teachers once they were hired.
    - rbhtjk 9mo ago
      Yes, I am sure all billionaires will send their children to that school instead of some Montessori school or Eton.
      - vladgur 9mo ago
        You dont need to be a billionaire to be able to afford a good school for your children if the public ones dont meet your criteria. Im not sure about this particular school, but i am greatly disappointed at baseline california core requirements for math and science in middle school and the parents choice is to either have your child be bored in school while complementing their education with RSM or Singapore Math after hours Or to choose a private school that will make your child more competitive with kids being educated by other countries systems.

toomuchtodo 9mo ago

They're copying one of Khan Academy's implementation models [1] and rebranding it as AI. It's certainly not new besides the "help yourself to AI" part (which, full disclosure, Khan Academy is working on as well with their "Khanmigo" assistant [2]). Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, did a TED talk [3] on this. [1] https://en.khanacademy.org/khan-for-educators/ https://en.khanacademy.org/khan-for-educators/ [2] https://www.khanmigo.ai/ https://www.khanmigo.ai/ [3] How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo - May 1st, 2023

Onavo 9mo ago

It sounds like they are trying to replicate Asian style rote learning and cram school in a way that's more palatable to western audiences. Rebranding rote learning and force feeding as spaced repetition and surges. Typical SV bull.

brendoelfrendo 9mo ago
The fact that they've rebranded teachers gives me concern that they're trying to further devalue teaching as a profession (if that's possible) and remove some of the professional expectations and protections that teaching still has.
- realslimjd 9mo ago
  That's a legitimate concern, but the "Guide" terminology actually comes from traditional Montessori schools.
  - renewiltord 9mo ago
    The conspiracy runs deeper than we thought. Is the Montessori method primarily a mechanism to devalue labour unions?!
- gruez 9mo ago
  From the article I linked: >When I asked the head of admissions how they found such good staff he told me their compensation was fully transparent. “Associate Guides” were paid $60,000/year (vs the $40,000 average for Austin teachers), “Full Guides” made $100,000 and the five “Head Guides” in the school each made $150,000. They were able to both poach the best teachers from other schools, but also bring exceptional people into teaching that would not have considered it otherwise. It also let them have very high expectations for teachers once they were hired.
  - rbhtjk 9mo ago
    Yes, I am sure all billionaires will send their children to that school instead of some Montessori school or Eton.
    - vladgur 9mo ago
      You dont need to be a billionaire to be able to afford a good school for your children if the public ones dont meet your criteria. Im not sure about this particular school, but i am greatly disappointed at baseline california core requirements for math and science in middle school and the parents choice is to either have your child be bored in school while complementing their education with RSM or Singapore Math after hours Or to choose a private school that will make your child more competitive with kids being educated by other countries systems.