The Wall Isn’t Worth Patching:

I was listening to a podcast called “Educating Kids in the Age of AI.” The episode featured Rebecca Winthrop, co-author of “The Disengaged Teen.” Two things she said stayed with me. One was how she described a vision of what student engagement would look like in the age of AI: something deeper than just showing up or getting good grades just to please. She spoke about four modes students fall into: passenger, achiever, resistor, and explorer. The goal, she said, is to help more students become explorers.

The second point was her view of AI, not as something to fear or ban, as much of the current conversation in education tends to do, but as a chance to rethink how learning happens and what role adults play in that process.

While listening, the Pink Floyd song Another Brick in the Wall popped into my head. I hadn’t thought about it in years. But suddenly, it made sense. The song doesn’t reject education. It rejects the way education has been shaped. Cold. Controlling. Lifeless. A system that molds students to fit, not to grow. And even now, all these years later, it still feels the same. AI has exposed just how mechanical the system still is. More voices should echo what that song dared to say. We need to stop reinforcing the wall. We need to dismantle it and rebuild something open. Something not confined within the parameters of the same old structure. We need to stop the thinking and start the doing. We’ve thought about it and debated it more than enough. Time to stop kicking the can down the road. Time to face, not avoid.

I also believe the language we use is part of the problem. The words we use to describe reality end up creating it. Outdated terms like “teacher,” “professor,” and “educator” reflect the mindset of a system built on authority and control. These roles were made for a time of content delivery, not exploration. That system won’t hold today, no matter how hard we try to patch it.

If we want students to become explorers of knowledge, as Rebecca suggested, then the roles around them need to change too. Maybe it starts with a new language. New words. Words like Education Guide. We have tour guides, so why not education guides? It even has a nice ring to it. It suggests walking alongside the students, not standing in front. Showing, not telling. Just like in good storytelling. If AI provides the answers and opens doors, the human role is to guide. To show, not tell.

Rebecca doesn’t see AI as the problem. She sees it as a tool to rethink how learning happens. Not to improve the old system, but to build something new. Something that values engagement and meaning, not just output.

Grades have always been a poor measure of real learning. They reward compliance more than curiosity. A better question is: Are students curious? Are they thinking for themselves? Are they growing? Or are they just complying to please? And most importantly, are they still just another brick in the wall?