School is about knowing a finite amount of core knowledge in an organized way that makes it easy to replicate in multiple settings with a variety of populations.
Learning is about practicing an ever-growing set of skills and dispositions that allow a person to lead his or her own learning about topics of interest and personal use. This process is difficult to replicate across settings but guides students to look at their world critically, find problems to be solved, and know where to start to find those solutions.
Although school might be easier to control and measure, it becomes obsolete as an organization when the students that enter are already savvy, self-directed learners who have had access to information since they were old enough to hold a device. These students know that the teacher is not the only source of information as they already have experience in pursuing their own passions, finding out what they need to know when they need to know it. They are connected to people around the world who share options for life paths and missions to pursue.
School needs to catch up to a changed world and acknowledge an unknown future to be sure we are preparing students who learn to succeed.
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