Greetings, Starfighters...
Yes, this email is coming to you from a new home; a new starbase, if you will. Don't freak out; it's still the Mike Paul you know and love.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way...
This email really is about the future.
William Gibson said:
The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.
I think about that quote a lot more than I probably should. Especially when I see the tirades consuming our education news and policy "discussions" about removing all technology from schools and getting students back to using pencil and paper (I'm sorry, I wasn't aware we'd ever stopped using pencil and paper...) and I think we are running headlong into a backward revolution that will only harm students more and waste the very good but misguided intentions by small, but vocal, groups of parents, teachers, families, and opportunistic politicians.
Why? Because the future is already here. Kurzweil's Singularity is approaching faster than the fleetest hoof ever struck the pavement, and if we're not careful, it will leave our public education system in ruins. Or, we can embrace change.
The question that fascinates me isn't whether technology will change education.
It will.
The real question is:
How do we remain deeply human in a world increasingly shaped by powerful tools?
That question has followed me for most of my life.
As a student, I was the kid who could pass the tests but often refused to do assignments that felt disconnected from any real purpose. I wasn't rebelling against learning.
I was rebelling against meaningless work.
Years later, as a teacher, coach, writer, and doctoral researcher, I've discovered that many students are asking the same question I was, one that goes beyond the standard, "When are we ever going to use this?" to:
"Why does this matter?"
That question sits at the center of everything I do.
It's why I care about authentic learning.
It's why I care about AI.
It's why I care about human-centered schools.
It's why I care about helping people find meaningful work rather than simply completing tasks.
And it's why you'll begin seeing a new theme emerge in my writing:
Human-Centered Learning in an AI World
Some weeks we'll talk about learning science.
Some weeks we'll talk about artificial intelligence.
Some weeks we'll talk about books, philosophy, science fiction, leadership, technology, or whatever fascinating rabbit hole I've wandered into.
But all of it will revolve around one central belief:
Technology should amplify humanity, not replace it.
As Robert Greene writes in Mastery:
"The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways."
That's the future I'm interested in exploring.
Not a future built for machines.
A future built for humans.
Thanks for joining me on the journey.
The stars are beautiful tonight.
--MP
