But what are students getting for all that spending? How are they performing? Unfortunately, not well... Just 26% of students are proficient in ELA, 7% in math, and 67% are chronically absent. They also "pass" 92% of their students, so basically everyone passes...

In just the last 5 years in schools: • 60% increase in disruptive behavior • 40% increase in verbal abuse • 38% increase in physical attacks on teachers Teachers: What’s driving this shift?

Public school teachers are pulling their kids out of public schools. Why?

Even in the 1990s my mom had to fight with my elementary school to let me walk to school (less than 2 miles) in grade 4 and 5 because I wanted to, because I liked it. They wanted to force bussing, she said walking is good for kids. Moms know stuff.

Direct instruction is incredibly effective but never took off because it's boring for the teacher. Teachers, like all people, want to be creative in their job. The solution is obvious: let software do the boring teaching work.

Elon Musk explains why school feels so boring School often gets learning backwards. Elon: "you want to teach to the problem instead of teaching the tools" Start with something real. Elon: "here's a car engine, we're going to try to understand how this car engine works. We're going to take it apart." To take it apart, you need tools. Elon: "along the way, you learn about wrenches and screwdrivers and all the tools that are needed" But that's not how school usually works. Elon: "we're going to teach you a course on screwdrivers and a course on wrenches. And you're like, why do I have a course on wrenches?" It's like learning to cook. A year of knife drills is torture. "Let's make tacos tonight" and you learn the knife in a day. Elon: "That would be like, say, a course on calculus without explaining what calculus is useful. And then you sort of forget it." Give people the "why" first. The "how" sticks.