Full Disclosure, I have not yet read The End of College: Creating the future of Learning and the University of Everywhere .I just picked it up and have made it a last minute addition to this summer’s reading list – full review to follow. I want to bring it to your attention as it’s the latest in a long line of books heralding the end of education as we know it.  Education is one of the last bastions of traditions – I mean, where else can you find things being done the same way they were 100 years ago. Traditional schools today still organize the school year according to when the crops come in – need to have those kiddies home to help with the harvest.

In an era of disruption, why has it taken so long for our education system to follow suit? Is it because education is typically run by the government? Why haven’t new models come in and made the old one obsolete? It’s a tough question to answer but I think the winds are starting to turn – we are in a time of rapid innovation and new ways of learning online are springing up everywhere. I think if somebody could figure out how to combine the learning flexibility of online programs with the valuable social interactions that take place in the schoolyard then we will have our new model.

Many online learning programs have online communities attached to them – whether a message board or Facebook group but there really is no replacement for the social lessons learned day in day out by interacting with your peers. I hate to say it – but most home-schooled kids I know are a little weird. Please don’t judge me – I’m just being honest here.

I’ll update this post once I’ve had a chance to read the book – and if anybody has any data on homeschooled kids long term happiness I’d love to have a look at it. I mean it’s always possible that I’m the weird one after all!