#049 - The (necessary) humility of Open Education

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💡 THOUGHT

The Humility of Open Education

It takes courage to step away from traditional schooling. But true open education requires humility in both directions.

I've spent years advocating for alternatives to the standard system. Yet when my son expressed interest in attending public school, I had to check my ego. It would have been easy to say, "But I'm the alternative education guy!"

Instead, I listened to his reasons and supported his choice. Open education isn't about rigidly adhering to any single approach – even an alternative one. It's about remaining flexible and attuned to each child's evolving needs.

Sometimes that means trying homeschooling or unschooling. Other times, it might mean embracing a more traditional path for a season. It's not about us or any individual educational philosophy. It's about empowering our children to find what works best for them, even if that challenges our preconceptions.

– Isaac

📊 TREND

High Schools Embrace Flexibility and Real-World Experience

With climbing, chronic absenteeism, disengaged students, and declining college enrollment, high schools are starting to adapt.

Education Week highlights a recent Colorado Department of Education report that found a glaring mismatch between workforce needs and high school graduates' readiness. In response, some schools are reimagining the high school experience:

• Chesterton High in Indiana is letting seniors intern in fields they're actually interested in.

• School Districts are playing matchmaker between students and local businesses, and launching career-oriented “pathway programs” that don't sacrifice college readiness.

We think we'd get along well with Chip Pettit, superintendent of Duneland School Corporation in Indiana, who said: "Philosophically, what we're trying to do is individualize or personalize the process for students." (Chip, if you're reading this, call us!)

Read the full article on The Future of Education podcast

🛠️ TOOL

AI in Education: Fostering Creativity and Critical Thinking

EdSurge has some tips on how to think about AI as a tool to enhance rather than replace human capabilities.

1. AI enhances creativity: "AI can support any part of the creative process," says Brian Johnsrud from Adobe. It can help generate ideas, refine work, and even "remove that fear of the blank canvas." However…

2. AI can’t replace authenticity: The goal isn't for AI to do the work but to "help us create more authentic, meaningful content." How?

3. AI overcomes the blank canvas problem: Use AI-powered suggestions to kickstart projects and overcome fear of the blank page.

Families looking to let their kids explore AI in a safe playground can access various AI tools inside Adobe Creative Cloud (accessible at no cost through OpenEd).

Read the full article in EdSurge.

(MEME) OF THE DAY

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That’s all for today!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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