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Schools should look more like YCombinator.
They *get* Project-Based Learning.
In this thread, I'll talk about 10 things @ycombinator gets right about the future of childhood education.
They *get* Project-Based Learning.
In this thread, I'll talk about 10 things @ycombinator gets right about the future of childhood education.
1/ Shareability
This is the essence of Project-Based Learning.
Kids *need* to present their creations to an audience —not just their teachers. YC’s program ends with a Demo Day where founders present their products to an audience of investors.
This is the essence of Project-Based Learning.
Kids *need* to present their creations to an audience —not just their teachers. YC’s program ends with a Demo Day where founders present their products to an audience of investors.
2/ Culture of collaboration
Kids have their best ideas when they talk to friends.
Launching a startup is a lonely pursuit.
Not at YC: “Exciting things happen when you bring founders together—ideas are exchanged, deals get made, problem solving happens amongst peers”
Kids have their best ideas when they talk to friends.
Launching a startup is a lonely pursuit.
Not at YC: “Exciting things happen when you bring founders together—ideas are exchanged, deals get made, problem solving happens amongst peers”
3/ The seeds of creation
Good schools set the culture for learning and the conditions for invention, then let kids build and create. This rarely happens through lectures.
YC offers founders capital, coaching, and connections. Then it lets them build.
Good schools set the culture for learning and the conditions for invention, then let kids build and create. This rarely happens through lectures.
YC offers founders capital, coaching, and connections. Then it lets them build.
4/ Building > Lectures
Kids learn best by doing.
At YC, founders focus exclusively on building products. Learning is a byproduct of action. "We think founders are most productive when they can spend most of their time building.” https://twitter.com/anafabrega11/status/1255191217203224583
Kids learn best by doing.
At YC, founders focus exclusively on building products. Learning is a byproduct of action. "We think founders are most productive when they can spend most of their time building.” https://twitter.com/anafabrega11/status/1255191217203224583
5/ Give up power to empower
Teachers who try to control kids’ learning end up preventing it…
...just like investors who try to control the companies they fund often end up destroying them. Not at YC: “We are investors, not bosses. We can advise and persuade, but not command.”
Teachers who try to control kids’ learning end up preventing it…
...just like investors who try to control the companies they fund often end up destroying them. Not at YC: “We are investors, not bosses. We can advise and persuade, but not command.”
6/ Rapid prototyping and fast feedback loops
Project-based learning encourages kids to iterate: build fast, receive feedback, and improve. With a philosophy of rapid improvement, YC holds regular check-ins where founders make short presentations and get feedback.
Project-based learning encourages kids to iterate: build fast, receive feedback, and improve. With a philosophy of rapid improvement, YC holds regular check-ins where founders make short presentations and get feedback.
7/ Ambitious goals
Kids have more potential than you think. Encourage them to raise their ambitions and they will surprise you. YC sets a high bar for founders: "You can’t make people something they’re not, but the right conditions can bring out the best in them.”
Kids have more potential than you think. Encourage them to raise their ambitions and they will surprise you. YC sets a high bar for founders: "You can’t make people something they’re not, but the right conditions can bring out the best in them.”
8/ Accountability
Schools hold kids accountable through grades, which doesn’t work.
Teachers should use checkpoints instead. YC: “We’ve found our weekly deadlines tend to push people to finish things in order to show them off.”
Schools hold kids accountable through grades, which doesn’t work.
Teachers should use checkpoints instead. YC: “We’ve found our weekly deadlines tend to push people to finish things in order to show them off.”
9/ Graduation is the launching pad, not the finish line.
Real-world learning starts after graduation.
At YC, Demo Day is the start. Founders go on to build real companies, and YC remains a valuable resource along the way. https://twitter.com/david_perell/status/1277387188502585346?s=20
Real-world learning starts after graduation.
At YC, Demo Day is the start. Founders go on to build real companies, and YC remains a valuable resource along the way. https://twitter.com/david_perell/status/1277387188502585346?s=20
10/ Encourage experiments
Learning-by-doing pushes kids to explore their own questions and pursue answers organically. By providing a safe space for experimentation, YC speeds up the learning process.
Learning-by-doing pushes kids to explore their own questions and pursue answers organically. By providing a safe space for experimentation, YC speeds up the learning process.
I write a weekly newsletter about childhood education called Fab Fridays.
Next week’s edition will feature an article about Y Combinator, and all the things they do well. Subscribe below. https://creative-mover-833.ck.page/09d263a6b5
Next week’s edition will feature an article about Y Combinator, and all the things they do well. Subscribe below. https://creative-mover-833.ck.page/09d263a6b5
I started a YouTube show called Show & Tell with @david_perell
Here's a short snippet of this week's episode where we talk about YCombinator:
Here's a short snippet of this week's episode where we talk about YCombinator:
This episode distills YCombinator’s success into a series of principles that traditional education can learn from.
