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IN THIS EDITION
🍎 A math-hating teen sprints to grade level in 90 days🍎 A former teacher warns: “These kids cannot read”🍎 Art history beats engineering in a surprise job market shift
💡 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)