A lot of folks want to talk about “the future of education” these days. With all that’s been surfaced because of the pandemic and social unrest and the other crises we’re currently battling, it should be a topic worth discussing. 

But what if “the future of education” isn’t the right topic?

I seriously doubt that, as that statement suggests, there is one future for schools. The more appropriate phrase might start with “the futures,” as in the many potential paths to becoming “educated” that we’re on the precipice of. 

While education has never been totally standardized, we have to admit that for the vast majority of kids, the experience is pretty similar. Those schools that turn away from traditional structures like age groupings and timetables and set curriculums are seen as “fringe” and on the edge somewhere. The paths forward to “success” as it’s most often defined usually require a stop at college for a degree. Anything else is seen as an “alternative.”

But what if the “alternative” becomes mainstream? 

We can already see the outlines of a massive shift happening in terms of our access to courses and content and teachers and mentors. This age of abundance we…