Episode 53: Transforming the Future of School

“Knowing what we now know, we can no longer do what we now do. To do so is educational malpractice.” That provocative statement is one of the principles that guides Sam Chaltain through his work redesigning education for the modern era. In this episode of New View EDU, Sam asks listeners to consider how the world has changed since our school system was designed, and what educational “sacred cows” we need to dispense with to help school keep pace with the rapid evolution of society.

Guest: Sam Chaltain

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “The focus needs to be rendered down to the essence of who. Who is this unique individual? What are their unique interests, passions, and potential contributions to the world and to the people they come in contact with? And how can we set conditions that help that person answer the only question that matters, right? Which is: Of all the things I can do with my one precious life, what must I do?” (10:27)
• “The goal and the primary measure of health of a living system is disequilibrium, not equilibrium, right? The moment a pond establishes equilibrium, it gets covered in kind of green mushy muck. It's that constant delicate balance, the dance of all of these different, you know, contributing factors that allows for its ultimate and optimal health. And so too is it with us. Therefore, we have a different way and a different frame for how we can think about this thing that for the last 100 years we've called school.” (18:06)
• “All of our design work is in service of the answers to those questions. How do we, how do we unleash even more powerfully the things that are already powerful here? And how do we make possible the things that are not yet possible? And usually what that leads to is a space that is, that is flexible, that is adaptable, that is permeable, that has the ability…that doesn't look like the way that schools have looked.” (34:36)

Related Episodes: 47, 45, 44, 32, 21, 15, 2

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