Happy Tuesday!

Is it just me, or does the first full week of January feel like trying to restart a car that's been sitting in the cold?

The holidays were wonderful. The return to routine? Still buffering.

So instead of pretending I have some brilliant new insight this week, I'm bumping up an old gem from the Open Education book bonus material that might offer some inspiration for jumpstarting your learning journey in the new year.

—Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

The Mars Approach

From Matt Bowman, founder of OpenEd, in the Open Education book:

"In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on Mars. Before it could begin exploring, engineers had to solve a fundamental challenge: how do you design something to explore a world you've never visited?

They started with three essential questions: What does Mars need us to discover? What unique capabilities can we develop? What resources do we have?

Your child's education requires the same approach. Your child's educational landscape is an unmapped terrain waiting to be explored. You can't use someone else's map or calendar. You need to chart your own course."

College Rethink

A new survey from Penn Foster found that while 84% of parents once assumed their kid would go to college, 37% say AI has changed that expectation.

More findings:

  • 55% feel anxious about whether their child is prepared for an AI-driven job market

  • 41% now prefer apprenticeships or immediate workforce entry over traditional college

  • 50% are actively encouraging technical and digital skills

This isn't to say skipping college is always the right move. But the diploma credential is no longer the automatic answer - and parents are waking up to that faster than institutions are.

Read full survey

Two-Week Sprints

Matt unpacks this fully in Open Education, but here's the quick version:

  1. Create a Discovery Zone — a wall, poster board, or the back of a door

  2. Post five questions:

    1. What do I like to learn about?

    2. What do I like to do in my free time?

    3. What am I good at?

    4. What would I like to get better at?

    5. What do I genuinely dislike and have no interest in developing?

  3. Give everyone colored sticky notes — one color per family member

  4. Over one week, everyone adds thoughts whenever inspiration strikes. No judgment. No editing.

  5. Then: pick one interest per person for a two-week "learning sprint"

It sounds simple because it is. The hard part is trusting that your kid's curiosity is a better compass than a pacing guide written for 30 strangers.

Get the full exercise + printable worksheet

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