The return of mentorship

The return of mentorship

A good case for why for education might return to a pass/fail system and start becoming more human centered, the model that was predominant from 98,000 BC to roughly 1800 AD:

The model of education from its earliest times was one of mentorship, starting with hunter-gatherers taking their children out on the hunt 100,000 years ago, all the way up to the teaching methods employed at the university founded by Thomas Jefferson. The teacher and the students got to know one another. … When a student graduated, the most impressive thing she or he could share with a prospective employer was not a Grade Point Average (GPA) or even the name of the institution attended: it was the name of the teacher. Students of the great teachers of history often became famous themselves because of the thoroughness with which their mentors had inculcated knowledge, understanding, skill, and talent in them.

I think there’s tremendous potential for mentornship. Share the success of learning among the students and teachers so it becomes a human-centered approach, not a transactional one.

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