Introduction:
Alan Kay, President of the Viewpoints Research Institute, emphasizes the need to avoid complacency and embrace change in education. He highlights the challenges of predicting the future, particularly when it involves creating new categories.

Dealing with the Tyranny of the Present:
Kay discusses the limitations of living in the present and the tendency to rely on familiar categories. He suggests assuming favorable exponential trends and projecting needs 30 years into the future to envision desirable outcomes. This approach allows for the creation of visions that are not constrained by current limitations.

Vision vs. Mission and Goals:
Kay differentiates between a vision and a mission or goals. A vision is a vague picture of a desirable future state, while missions and goals are more specific objectives. He cites the example of ARPA’s vision for a worldwide self-healing network and interactive computing.

Creating Lesser Visions and Paying for the Future:
Kay explains the process of breaking down a long-term vision into smaller, more manageable steps. He emphasizes the importance of paying for the future by investing in research and development. Xerox PARC’s development of the Macintosh in the 1970s is given as an example.

Inventing Software and Crawling Toward the Future:
Kay stresses the need for time and resources to invent software that will shape the future. He advocates for a gradual approach, starting with lesser visions and working towards more ambitious goals.

Education in the 1960s and the Importance of Curriculum and Teacher Training:
Kay acknowledges the challenges faced by education in the 1960s but emphasizes the value of the lessons learned during that time. He highlights the importance of developing high-quality curriculum and providing effective teacher training.

Three Great Minds and Their Contributions:
Kay pays tribute to three great minds who passed away that year: Marvin Minsky, Jerome Brunner, and Seymour Papert. He shares their insights on education, emphasizing the need for understanding concepts in multiple ways, adapting teaching to students’ developmental levels, and inventing new mathematics for young learners.

Vocational Training vs. Real Education:
Alan Kay criticizes the emphasis on vocational training in schools, particularly in engineering at UCLA, arguing that it is not a true education and is merely about making a living. He contrasts this with a real education, which encompasses citizenship and richness and prepares individuals for a complex society.

Citizenship and Richness:
Kay highlights the importance of citizenship and the need for schools to foster an understanding of civic responsibility and engagement. He emphasizes the importance of a well-rounded education that goes beyond vocational training and includes richness, such as the arts and humanities.

Prop 13 and Referenda:
Kay references Prop 13, a California proposition that limited property taxes, as an example of why important issues should not be decided by referenda. He argues that referenda can lead to short-sighted decisions that undermine the quality of education and the overall well-being of society.

The Importance of Education in Making a Life:
Education should prepare individuals to lead fulfilling lives in a larger global context. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a broader perspective on education, emphasizing the need to coexist peacefully in a shared world.

The Brain’s Limitations and Thinking:
Our brains are not naturally equipped for thinking, as it requires significant energy and effort. The brain is primarily designed for reacting and occasionally learning. Most of the knowledge we possess has been acquired in the past few thousand years, despite our species’ existence for 200,000 years.

Humans as Hamlet and System One:
Humans are characterized by their limited cognitive capacity, resembling Hamlet’s existential struggles combined with System One’s biases. Our minds are like theaters, where we reside in the stories we create. This can lead to delusions, as we often mistake these stories for reality.

Our Limited Capacity and Thinking:
Our cognitive capacity is remarkably limited, and it has diminished over time. Most of our thinking is not distinctly human, with many actions shared by other mammals. Our perception of our own intelligence is often inflated due to stories and beliefs that portray us as highly intelligent.

Implications for Education:
Understanding these limitations is crucial for developing effective educational strategies. We should avoid treating beliefs as absolute realities and recognize the constraints of our cognitive capacity. Educators should focus on fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills rather than rote memorization.

Hallucinations and the Brain:
Human eyes have a poor design compared to other animals, with blood vessels covering light-sensitive cells. The optic nerve and blood vessel entry points lack light-sensitive cells, creating blind spots. The brain hallucinates to compensate for these blind spots and maintain a coherent visual perception.

System 1 and System 2 Responses:
System 1 is a fast-reaction mechanism that operates subconsciously and prepares for future events. System 2 is a more ponderable and slower mechanism that is involved in conscious thought and decision-making.

Surprise Reactions:
Surprise parties trigger a System 1 response, which is a fast reaction to change. The initial surprise is followed by fear, then crying, and finally happiness. This emotional roller coaster is due to the release of hormones like adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, which create a sense of relief and euphoria.

Manipulation and Emotion:
System 1 responses can be manipulated for good or ill. In theater, surprises are used to create emotional experiences. In political rallies, surprises are used to manipulate emotions and influence opinions.

System 1 and System 2:
System 1: Fast, automatic, and intuitive thinking. System 2: Slow, deliberate, and controlled thinking.

Example of System 1 Learning:
Learning to drive a car: Initially, learners experience tunnel vision, difficulty perceiving surroundings, and limited cognitive processing. Over time, through practice, System 1 learns to handle real-time aspects of driving, such as stop signs and following instructions.

System 1 in Education:
Traditional schooling often focuses on System 1 learning, emphasizing memorization, recall, and quick reactions. This approach is suitable for certain situations, such as immediate danger or survival instincts.

System 2 Learning:
System 2 learning involves cognitive teaching, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, without the necessary skills and knowledge, System 2 teaching can be ineffective.

The Need for Balance:
In today’s world, education should address both System 1 and System 2 learning. System 1 skills are essential for handling immediate tasks, while System 2 skills are crucial for complex problem-solving and future-oriented thinking.

The Challenge of Education:
The challenge lies in finding a balance between System 1 and System 2 learning, avoiding the extremes of rote memorization and abstract theorizing. Educators should strive to develop curricula and teaching methods that foster both types of learning.

Cognitive Biases and System 1 Thinking in Education:
Schools often focus on System 1 thinking, emphasizing easily testable skills and rote memorization. Common biases include reliance on standardized testing, behavioral objectives, and a focus on recall rather than understanding. John Hattie’s book on cognitive biases provides valuable insights into these issues.

The Problem with Current Educational Practices:
Education systems are cluttered with outdated and irrelevant content, neglecting essential 21st-century skills. The current emphasis on vocational training is insufficient, ignoring the need for holistic development. Vi Hart’s quote, “We must ensure that human wisdom exceeds human power,” highlights the true goal of education.

Rethinking Computing Education:
Coding should not be taught in isolation but rather integrated into a broader context of science, systems, and society. The focus should be on computational thinking and problem-solving skills, not just learning algorithms. Beware of well-meaning but naive approaches and those seeking to profit from educational trends.

Historical Perspectives on Educational Reform:
Francis Bacon’s book, “The New Instrument for Knowledge,” criticized education’s shortcomings and called for new ways of thinking. Bacon identified four main culprits: human cognitive limitations, ineffective learning methods, language’s inability to represent ideas, and the influence of culture. Science is not just about studying atoms or galaxies but also about developing strategies to overcome cognitive biases and promote effective learning.

The Importance of Expert Guidance and Practice:
Learning complex skills, such as playing an instrument or mastering a language, requires expert guidance and extensive practice. Natural genetic predispositions are not enough; years of effort are necessary to achieve fluency. The goal should be to develop a deep understanding and appreciation for the subject matter, not just technical proficiency.

The Importance of Early Childhood Environment:
Early childhood environment plays a crucial role in shaping children’s learning and development. Children are genetically predisposed to learn what’s in their culture without complaints. Environments can be artificial and have both positive and negative impacts on children’s learning.

Montessori’s Approach to Early Childhood Education:
Montessori believed that the job of early school is to inculcate the most powerful epistemological ideas of the culture into the children through the environment. Montessori schools aimed to create an artificial environment that embodies the desired epistemological framework. The most important person in a Montessori school is the teacher who understands the epistemological framework and how to foster children’s natural desire to learn.

The Challenge of Scaling Effective Early Childhood Education:
Effective early childhood education methods like Montessori’s approach are challenging to scale due to the need for highly trained and dedicated teachers. Traditional teaching methods, such as rote memorization and lectures, are easier to scale but may not be as effective in fostering children’s natural desire to learn.

The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Education:
Technology, like writing, can be a powerful tool in early childhood education. Technology can be used to create engaging and interactive learning environments that cater to children’s natural curiosity and desire to explore.

Background:
Writing, not word of mouth, has enabled us to learn about ancient thinkers like Socrates. The printing press revolutionized education by making books cheap and accessible to students.

New Frontiers:
The next qualitative step in education is to replicate the ghost of teaching in technology, similar to how great writers could capture their ideas in writing. This goal is not about replacing great teachers but providing a better alternative than no teacher, bad teachers, or mediocre teachers.

Challenges:
The problem of creating a ghost of teaching in technology is harder than personal computing and the internet, which took 14 years to develop. It requires a long-term commitment that spans decades and transcends administrations.

Call to Action:
We should focus on inventing the next real thing after the printing press and make it work for the great ideas in education. It’s time to start working on this important challenge and shift our efforts away from less impactful pursuits.