Education and schooling are not synonymous. I don't think that entrepreneurs can help schooling but they can certainly help education. To be honest, most 'education' startups are really about 'schooling'. The problem that for the most part schooling is designed to educate people for manufacturing jobs in the industrial revolution and service in the military. That kind of education (aka. schooling) is completely inappropriate in the information age where ingenuity and critical thinking are far more important than blind rule following. We're not building nations anymore, we're building individuals. To paraphrase Wilde we're producing "people who know the answer to everything, but the meaning of nothing"
I think Khan Academy is honestly about education more so than schooling.
The general public can tell the difference which is why choice in education is a no-go, and the compulsory system remains in place.
I agree with your point on education vs. schooling. If you want to focus on building individuals then you really have to think about education in terms of being a part of the larger psychospiritual development process, rather than just an ongoing series academic content. Although people in the west like to make fun of gurus, and often rightly, I think there is good reason to reconceptualize education in a way that's more connected to the various life stages a person goes through, a la the four life stages of hinduism.
That's the problem I have with Khan academy. That is, the lessons are factually correct, but they have no soul, and at the end of the day I think that's bad pedagogy.
I think Feynman captures the essence of what I meant by "the answer to everything but the meaning of nothing". In his teachings in Brazil IIRC Feynman talks about Physics students who knew the refactory index of water but couldn't tell you why the ocean sparkled in the sun.
Could you explain how to measure the various concepts you are describing in your post? It would help the rest of us understand what you are talking about.
I.e., if we "reconceptualize education" to connect it to hinduism's 4 life stages [1], what outcomes will change? How can we measure the "soul" of a lesson, and what happens when a lesson lacks "soul"?
[1] As far as I know this is only a meaningful concept for Brahmin and Kshatriya men. But I guess since they are the highest castes, they are the ones who's mysticism we should adopt.
"How can we measure the 'soul' of a lesson, and what happens when a lesson lacks 'soul'?"
A good proxy would be just looking at whether something was made by an artist, or a committee. E.g. Feynman's lectures were those of an artist, whereas most textbooks are created by a committee. (And then they get someone with a PhD to add their name as the author after the fact.) It's clear to me that Kahn's lessons are more in the style of the typical textbook, rather than in the style of someone like Feynman. You can't measure it, that's the point. If you could measure it then that's the first sign that something is wrong.
"But I guess since they are the highest castes, they are the ones who's mysticism we should adopt."
I'm not advocating the hindu model per se, only using them as an example of a society where schooling is framed in terms of a larger model... In their case one that includes work, marriage, wisdom seeking, preparation for death, etc. It's not clear to me that this is the right approach for western society, but I do think it's worth looking at for inspiration.
If you could measure it then that's the first sign that something is wrong.
In that case, I can tell you that you are very wrong. Khan's lessons have lots of soul. Not only soul, but also invisible dragons that breath the fire of knowledge!
I think Sagan's rant is cute, but ultimately wrong. And besides, when I talk about soul in this context, I'm obviously not talking about anything metaphysical. I'm just saying that his lessons are rather prosaic.
I think Khan Academy is honestly about education more so than schooling.
The general public can tell the difference which is why choice in education is a no-go, and the compulsory system remains in place.