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Tutoring company tells parents to save their money and 'use AI instead'

142 points · 233 comments · theanonymousone

  1. upupupandaway · · focus · HN ↗
    A friend of mine put his kid into a school called Alpha [1]. It has no teachers, only guides (?), who are well paid grads but not formally teachers. Kids go in in the morning, do two hours of computer study with an AI program, and the guide only steps in if the kid has a question or doubt the system cannot answer.

    Then there's recess and afternoon is all taken up with "Life Skills" classes such as entrepreneurship and the likes.

    Kids are tested weekly and progress through grades at will. For example, his kid would officially be in 3rd grade, but she's doing 3rd reading, 5th grade math, and 4th grade writing. She can easily test 3rd grade topics now.

    I am ambiguous about this model. Love the "learn as much as you want" even if it means learning 2, 3 grades ahead, but the no-teacher rule and so much computer use seems a little strange. Also if the kid is not extremely self-motivated, they will be left by the side of the road by the school.

    [1] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;alpha.school&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;alpha.school&#x2F;

    Edit: It&#x27;s 40k a year.

    1. tastyfreeze · · focus · HN ↗
      I have found for many young kids lack of studiousness is not that they are not self-motivated. It is that whatever is being taught is worse than boring to them. The lack of motivation in schools comes from a lack of interest or too slow of pacing.

      By the time they get out of primary school most have had the curiosity that drives motivation beat out of them.

      1. atoav · · focus · HN ↗
        Yet, when I go through the skills and knowledge acquired during my school education there are many bits in there that I am now eternally grateful for, that I did not understand the need for as a kid.

        I am not sure where I would have ended up if left to my own devices, e.g. as a kid starting first class I was bad at languages and hated it with a passion, in the last class I had the single best German and English final exams in my school district and language had grown on me.

        1. tastyfreeze · · focus · HN ↗
          This is where the idea of teachers as guides comes in. Let the kids find what interests them. The guides facilitate deeper learning as it is needed to understand more. The goal is to foster the curiosity. Learning is a byproduct.
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