#36 This is what the School of the Future looks like.
How AI, personalization, and a new kind of school are already shaping the future of learning
👋 Hey! We’re Alex & Marc, two longtime friends and curious minds.
Welcome to 3x, a publication about living a meaningful life. We explore ideas that help us live wiser, freer and more intentional lives.
Join 3,000+ weekly readers growing a life with more clarity and depth, one post at a time.
We are in a unique moment in history. For the first time ever, we have the tools to deliver a kind of education that’s both deeply personalized and universally accessible. Not 10 years from now. Not in some sci-fi future. Right now.
But before we dive into what this new model looks like, we need to start by agreeing on a few core assumptions.
Traditional schools are outdated: They were designed for the industrial age, focusing on standardized testing, rigid schedules, and passive learning. This one-size-fits-all model doesn’t reflect the needs of the modern world, where creativity, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving matter more than rote memorization. Instead of fostering curiosity and individual strengths, traditional systems often suppress them, leaving students disengaged and unprepared for real-life challenges. Having 1 teacher for 15-20 students makes it impossible to adapt to different speeds of learning and student interests.
Alternative schools often fail at academics: While they are often innovative and student-centered, they often place too little emphasis on academic rigor and neglect the foundational knowledge and discipline needed for higher education or competitive careers. Without a strong academic backbone, students risk missing key skills in math, writing, and critical thinking that are essential for navigating the modern world effectively.
Families today demand both: They won’t settle for just strong academics or just great life skills. They want their kids to be well-rounded — and academically strong. This is possible now.
So how do we deliver both?
The biggest academic unlock we’ve ever discovered is 1-on-1 tutoring. Benjamin Bloom’s famous study showed that students with personalized tutoring perform two standard deviations better than their peers. That means the average tutored student outperforms 98% of students in traditional classrooms. This is known as the Bloom 2 Sigma Problem. For decades, we haven’t been able to solve it at scale. Until now.
AI tutors just cracked the code.
AI tutors today are not just fun learning apps. They are already better than 99% of human teachers. If you don’t believe me, watch synthesis tutor in action.
Why is this possible?
Infinite knowledge
Infinite patience
Fully tailored to the student
Pulls the best methodologies and content from the best teachers in the world
Adapts in real time, every second
An AI tutor is the medium that eats all others. It can call on everything a great human tutor might use: socratic questioning, storytelling, step-by-step problem-solving, visual simulations, interactive games and short explainer videos. It can blend them seamlessly based on the student’s needs and style.
That’s what makes AI tutoring the holy grail of education: More effective and more engaging than even the best human tutors.
And the adoption curve is already playing out.
It starts at the smallest possible unit, individual families, and scales all the way up to school networks and governments.
The two key factors driving adoption?
Effectiveness: Does it actually improve learning? YES
Engagement: Do students actually want to use it? YES
One without the other isn’t enough.
If it’s engaging but not effective, it’s just YouTube.
If it’s effective but not engaging, students won’t stick with it.
The bar for success is high: More effective and more engaging than the best human tutor. But that’s exactly what we’re starting to see.
So what does this mean for schools? Enter the new school model
The schedule will be short and hyper-personalized academic blocks and the rest of the day focused on real life skills. Here’s how it works:
→ 1–2 hours/day of core academics using adaptive AI software that mimics 1-on-1 tutoring. This is equivalent to 20+ hours of traditional classroom instruction. Because it’s not generalized. It’s personalized, optimized, and fast.
→ 5–6 hours/day focused on everything else that matters:
Public speaking
Entrepreneurship
Physical activity and sports
Emotional intelligence
Project-based learning
Creative expression
Group dynamics
How to think, build, lead
This isn’t theory. It’s already happening. Look at Alpha School in Austin.
Alpha students spend a short, focused block each morning using AI-powered software to master core subjects like math and reading.
The rest of the day? They learn how to learn. They pitch ideas. They work on projects. They build things. They speak in public. They move.
And the results? They consistently rank in the top 2% nationwide — and they genuinely enjoy going to school.
This model works because it mirrors how humans have always learned best.
In ancient Greece, personalized education through mentorship was the norm but only for the wealthy elite who could afford private tutors and philosophers. Modern day homeschoolers are also following a similar schedule to the one proposed above.
For most of history, individualized learning has been out of reach for the majority. Now, thanks to AI, we finally have the tools to bring this kind of high-quality, tailored education to the masses for the first time in human history.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela.
Of course, there are challenges ahead.
Use of technology: Tech can be misused. Screens can be addictive or distracting. But the question isn’t “screens or no screens” — it’s intentionality. Just like a knife can be used to cook or to harm, screens are just tools. It all depends on how we use them. Everyone (parents, kids, teachers) will need to learn how to use them responsibly. (we spoke about t in our latest podcast with Roger Egan)
Teacher role evolution: Teachers will not disappear. But their roles will shift. They are no longer content transmitters, AI does that better. They become guides, motivators, accountability partners, emotional anchors, community builders. All unique human skills. ;)
Most current education software is not even close: Most platforms don’t achieve the 2-sigma benchmark. There has to be software that works and that is affordable for all schools and families to use. Some great examples are Synthesis or Mentava.
The schools that adapt will pull far ahead.
They’ll win on academics.
They’ll win on real-world readiness.
They’ll attract the best teachers, the most curious students, and the most forward-thinking families.
And because software compounds, the performance gap between schools that embrace this model and those that don’t will grow wider and fast.
The schools of the future won’t look like factories anymore.
They’ll look like thriving ecosystems. Where kids master the basics quickly and then grow by doing, building, speaking, failing, and trying again. Where tech isn’t a substitute for human learning, it’s an accelerator of it. And where the bar isn’t “as good as traditional school,” but better than the best human tutors.
This future is not decades away.
It’s already here.
Thanks for reading 3x!
If this resonated with you, hit the ❤️ and leave a comment—it means a lot. And if you know someone who’d appreciate it, share it via email, WhatsApp, or on social media. Good ideas are better when shared.
Subscribe just below to stay in the loop. 👇
Related articles & podcasts
