Empowering teachers to do what only humans can do while AI manages instruction. Sign up for research about schools worldwide with guides instead of teachers.
Austin, TX
Joined March 2009
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When we designed the high school program in Indonesia, we didn’t have the luxury of conventional teachers. So instead of asking, “Who will teach this?” we asked, “What do our students need to learn it for themselves?” Not having conventional teachers may have been an advantage.
There's a difference between time spent “doing school” and time spent learning. Here's Henry’s candid take on what that shift can feel like from the student’s side.
Building a microschool in Indonesia left me with two questions: Where can I turn when a learning app’s explanation doesn’t click for a child? And how do I fill the afternoon with meaningful projects without starting from scratch?
Here’s what I wish we’d had.
It’s my last day in Indonesia, and I keep thinking about what we built on this tiny island: a microschool where some kids raced ahead several grade levels, afternoons meant sunshine and adventure, and we shaped the culture together.
Here’s what worked.
The promise of new technology in education isn’t necessarily fewer people. It may actually give us the opportunity to make school more personal, more relational, and more human.
If you’re thinking about starting an education or humanitarian project like this, these are two lessons I’d take with me anywhere.
By bookending focused tablet learning with songs, games, and movement, the kids started showing up excited — sometimes begging us to begin so they could sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”
On Gili Meno, students spend just 2–3 focused hours each morning on core academics with a guide, leaving their afternoons open for real-world experiences... like getting scuba certified.
One of the things I’ll remember most about our school in Indonesia is the individual relationships I developed with the students.
What does a self-directed classroom need? Surprisingly, one of the most important ingredients is wall space.
We’re preparing to bring personalized learning apps to 100 local students in Indonesia—but first, we need a ceremony.
After studying schools like Acton Academy, Alpha School, and Khan Lab School—and helping operate a Guide-model school in Indonesia—I realized that their success depends on much more than technology or curriculum.
Food for thought: "The despicable way our nation teaches and speaks to teens" @MimosaTunney just got my follow forbes.com/sites/yassprize/2…
Reset. Update. Install. Organize. Test. Repeat.
A behind-the-scenes look at preparing the devices that will be shared by 120 students at our small school on this Indonesian island.
If you're a teacher, a school leader, or you're building a micro school, this episode may change the way you think about your career path
Here’s how we balance student freedom, accountability and safety while building a school in a small, remote community. And if this approach can work here, it can work in your school too.
Arizona State University, Christensen Institute, and Guide School just released a new course called “From Teacher to Guide: Leading AI-powered Learning in Classrooms.” It’s a self-paced course that aims to help society strategize a fundamental redesign of the classroom model, not cram AI into the existing model. guide.school/asu
It’s hard to overstate the effect of a child or youth having at least one dependable guide, mentor, or coach as they do life. I would love for every student to have an incredible teacher. But if I had to bet between a system premised on teachers giving direct instruction and adults serving as a dependable mentors while apps provide instruction, I would choose the latter.
