🐴 Why art history grads are beating engineers

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💡 1 THOUGHT

My 30+ years in education have shown me that the most powerful learning happens at the intersection of three things:

– Choice: Some control over how, what, and when learners learn
– Competency: Adequate time and support to master key skills
– Connection: Learning tied to topics students care about and that relate to the real world

A story: Isaac’s son refused to do math for years. He considered it boring and irrelevant. Then at 13, he wanted to attend a part-time school program with his friends. The only catch? He had to be at grade level in math.

He said: “I’ll catch up this summer.”

What happened next surprised everyone.

Starting at the kindergarten level on Khan Academy, and spending just 1–2 hours a day, this teenager who “hated math” reached grade level in less than three months.

He wasn’t a prodigy. He just had:

• His own motivation (not external pressure)

• The right tools

• Freedom to progress at his own pace

• No artificial timelines

When kids have real motivation and the right environment, they learn faster than we expect. This is why I believe in learning sprints rather than endless marathons. Our new book Open Education shows how to create the conditions for this kind of breakthrough learning.

– Matt Bowman

📊 2 TRENDS

1. A Teacher's Exit Interview Goes Viral - A former high school teacher (@ok.audryy) rants about why she quit, and how a system designed to inflate graduation numbers gets in the way of teaching kids to think.

2. Art History Beats Engineering in the 2025 Job Market - New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals the unemployment rate for computer engineering grads (7.5%) to be more than twice that of art history grads (3%). In a reversal of the long-running STEM supremacy narrative, employers like BlackRock now say they’re hiring more humanities majors for their adaptability and insight in an AI-saturated landscape.

🔨 3 TOOLS

1. Free Life Skills Camp for Kids - Katie Kimball’s (@katiekimballkidscook) free June 17–21 online camp teaches practical skills like cooking, cleaning, and self-management. For homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike. Replays available all summer.

2. Montessori on Agency (Thread) - A sharp, modern reread of the original Maria Montessori texts by @melissa. (Tl;dr: We don’t protect children by deciding everything for them.)

3. Watch: Stanford x Alpha on AI’s Role in Real Learning - Stanford’s Dean of Education Dan Schwartz and Alpha School’s MacKenzie Price go deep on how AI can enable true personalization—not automation.

That’s all for today!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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