Gifted & talented education enthusiast, former academic philosopher, mother of 4 into intelligence, 2e & AI. In residence at GT School
Austin, TX
Joined March 2025
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If a child attends school today, she should emerge a little smarter than she was before. But rampant curricular mismatch often ensures that this won't be the case - not just for "gifted" kids, for everyone.
Is there really no Grade Inflation Awareness nonprofit yet? Am I gonna have to pick this up as a side quest?
NYC public schools deceived me into thinking my son was a straight-A math student - but he can't do fractions, basic algebra trib.al/pWwmbHR
Here in Austin, I don’t know of any school (public or private) that routinely accelerates elementary school students, no matter how clearly qualified (except the Alpha schools).
My friends with mathy kids in a Catholic school and a “classical” charter … nothin. Latter just got chided “we’re educating the *whole child* here” (ie slow your roll)
This is true, AI has become high-quality, low-cost intellectual conversation partner on demand. so the question becomes:
were you doing all that reading and discussing for its own sake, or for essentially social purposes?
this is the funniest thing, if you actually read books you quickly realize the AIs of today are better discussion partners about classics than any human can possibly be. they have READ EVERYTHING. they put Harold Bloom to shame. all i have to say is that harvard freshman brains are scrambled so badly that they think Sparknotes-style is the only way of engaging with LLMs. yes llm lets you cheat if you want to and not read things, but they also offer people who like reading a depth of engagement about text that is 10x any collection of students/professors no matter how well read and intelligent. they can simulate the richest intellectual environments you can experience
Two of my kids are in public school, just saw a petition circulating in the district for ed tech reform, what do we think?
highlights:
- remove devices from K-2
- rescind 1:1 devices / back to computer carts & labs
- real screen time limits + audits
- block non-educational material
- pause student use of generative AI , limit use for teachers too
- parental opt-out rights , frequent tech-related progress reports
- independent review of all edtech contracts
fournorms.com/campaigns/peti…
"That people often waste time online even as they prove able to pursue high-effort goals in structured environments is damaging not to those who call for such environments, but to Caplan’s reliance on revealed preferences." - @tracewoodgrains
This piece by @tracewoodgrains is the best case for brick-and-mortar schools that I have ever read.
open.substack.com/pub/educat…
imagine telling a kid who finished 3rd grade math in a single day that he's "not developmentally ready" for 4th grade math
maybe the age-based grade level is already over, just most people haven't heard about it yet ...
Pamela Hobart retweeted
Striking detail in the big NYT piece on Taiwanese families adjusting to working at the huge new TSMC chip plant in Arizona: their surprise at the lack of rigor in US schools.
Pamela Hobart retweeted
There are 5 criticisms here that are actually features:
1. "Alpha students are participating, essentially, in an experiment." → Yes, that's the whole point. It explains why early families tend to be more entrepreneurial.
2. "classroom guides were energetic but often lacked formal education training." → Credentials and competence are hardly synonymous in education. You remember the educators who motivated you.
3. "Experts caution that public school students using Alpha’s model may not perform as well as affluent private school students." → Expert statisticians will caution that this could be true even if both groups were made much better off.
4. "Like many other learning apps, TimeBack makes academics feel like a game." → TimeBack is a poor exemplar of this actually, but making academics 'feel like a game' would be a great goal when you understand that good games are built on agency, growth, scope, and sustained pursuit. "Hard fun," in the words of Seymour Papert.
5. "About a fifth of Alpha’s private school students scored at or below the 50th percentile nationally in math last fall..." → Most of these kids would be denied admission at private schools that screen for academics. One of the primary benefits of individualized learning is that students are not forever trapped by their academic past.
My deep dive on the "A.I.-driven" Alpha School, revealing their internal learning and enrollment data for the first time, just as the network expands into public education.
There is a big gap between the marketing and reality.
nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/al…
“I have seen the MAP data, so I know Alpha students are legitimately performing well ahead of the pack. How much are the results to date selection effects? Chattering classes want to know…
To me, the better question is: can the world’s best learning scientists create a comprehensive, cohesive curriculum, instruction, and assessment system that can deliver breakthrough outcomes regardless of the student population?
On that question, based on what I’ve observed, I’ve voted with my feet to join Alpha.
My fervent hope—and belief—is that Alpha will soon move from startup to pace setter, at a moment when K-12 education desperately needs one.”
Many such (appalling) cases.
Why do people go into teaching with attitudes like this? Or does it happen later?
Check out this Cosmos essay content if you're not an accelerationist, not a doomer, but some secret third thing:
"describe a specific AI system that... would ... strengthen the operation of human judgment whilst increasing organizational performance"
AI agents could make organizations far more productive, but leave people more isolated and less autonomous.
We've teamed up with @inherent_labs on an essay prize exploring how organizations can harness AI while strengthening human autonomy and fulfillment.
We're thrilled that @lugaricano, @gleech, @divyasiddarth, and Chris Summerfield are joining us as judges.
blog.cosmos-institute.org/p/…
Extremely weird to be literally witnessing the singularity while the Powers That Be remain unwilling/unable to keep millions of schoolchildren from watching random YouTube during class
NEW: Last school year, a 7th grader viewed 4,700 YouTube videos during class.
An 8th grader viewed 5,700 videos in class.
A 2nd grader viewed ~500 in just 2 months.
Less than 5% were educational.
@nbcnews analyzed the YouTube watch histories of students from across the country. My new story shows how far some take it on their school laptops and iPads -->
nbcnews.com/specials/hooked-…
can't make this stuff up nitter.cf/GhaleonQ/status/211260…
It's never been easier or more fun to build things for your kids
I have to constantly remind myself that, at least digitally, the limit now is more about what you can imagine than what you can create
