Help us create educational infrastructure for the 21st century.
Episode two: Why now is the moment to do this.
I’ve studied and participated in the Big Shift for decades now and I’ve come to see this as a race to build the platforms for the 21st century. These platforms are being built as we speak, and because they are designed and operate within 20th century models, they are constrained by the same systems.
Some of us are not willing to stand by and watch others create a world we don’t want to live in. Some of us have decided to start building true 21st century infrastructure right now, today. Starting with the educational system.
In 1790, ninety percent of the US population were farming as their primary work. In 1860, as the Civil War was ending, the farm population was sixty percent. By 1920 it was 27 percent, and today it’s 2 percent.
Imagine how disruptive that shift was for the 98 percent of the US population who grew up on a farm but ended up working in a factory or office in the city.
We went from farms and produce to factories and products. The next shift is toward digital services and experiences. I say “next” but we are already in it.
The future is not singular. There are many possible futures and which ones manifest depends on what we create, make and do, right now. We have a vision, and it’s not a singular vision, it’s a plural vision, a vision for connection.
The future we envision is not yet clear. But here’s what we know.
1. It cannot possibly be based on a standard curriculum, because learning emerges from people with purpose, and every purpose will have its own learning path.
2. You must come to the school with a purpose in mind, because people find purpose when they connect a problem or opportunity with imagination, practical know-how, and funding.
3. It must be open to everyone who wants to participate. Because everyone must imagine and create that future together.
4. It must be self-funding and self-sustaining, because it can be beholden to no authority other than its people and purpose.
This is what we know. The rest we need to figure out.
Dave Gray, is the founder of XPLANE, co-founder of Boardthing, and the founder and CEO of the School of the Possible.
