School Is Behind. So What Do We Do About It?

I grew up in New Jersey and went through the public school system. It was fine. I did well, got good grades, and went on to the University of Miami. But looking back, most of the skills I actually use today? I taught myself.

I learned to trade at a young age—not because a teacher told me to, but because I was interested. I spent hours studying charts, reading books, following traders online, and eventually, figuring things out by doing. When I got into product management, it was the same thing. I didn't sit in a classroom waiting for someone to tell me how to build products—I talked to experts, experimented, and learned by solving real problems.

This approach—learning by doing—has shaped everything I know. But the problem is, most people don't get that experience in school. And that's only becoming a bigger issue as the world moves faster than ever.

Education Hasn't Changed, But the World Has

If you walk into a classroom today, it looks just like it did 50, 100 years ago. Rows of desks, a teacher lecturing at the front, students memorizing information for a test. But if you step outside that classroom, everything is different.

• AI can now generate essays, write code, and analyze data in seconds.
• The most valuable skills aren't about memorization, but problem-solving and adaptability.
• Jobs that didn't exist 10 years ago—prompt engineering, AI-assisted research, no-code development—are now in demand.

And yet, schools still operate as if we're training people for factory jobs.

What Do Students Actually Need to Learn?

If we rebuilt education today, what would it look like? Here's what I think we should focus on:

1. AI Literacy – Schools need to teach students how to work with AI, not ban it. Knowing how to prompt ChatGPT effectively is a skill, just like Googling was 20 years ago.
2. Learning How to Learn – The world is moving too fast for static curriculums. The best skill anyone can have is knowing how to teach themselves new things.
3. Real-World Problem Solving – Less regurgitation, more "Here's a messy problem—go figure it out."
4. Collaboration in a Digital-First World – Working remotely, using digital tools, and communicating effectively online is now a baseline skill.
5. Entrepreneurial Thinking – Whether you start a company or not, the ability to identify problems and create solutions is invaluable.

This isn't just about K-12. Even in the world of professional education, things move too slowly.

Teaching Product Management in a World That Changes Monthly

I teach product management at BrainStation, a digital skills training center. The curriculum is solid, but even so, I see how quickly things change. What I taught last year? Some of it already feels outdated. AI is reshaping how PMs work, and the best tools and strategies shift constantly.

So if I feel this way about a flexible, industry-driven program, what does that say about traditional universities? A four-year degree program isn't built to evolve at the speed of industry. By the time students graduate, the skills they learned might already be behind.

The Real Question: How Do We Get Adoption?

The problem isn't a lack of good ideas. It's getting institutions to change. Schools, universities, and even corporate training programs are slow-moving. They have bureaucracy, politics, and legacy structures that make them resistant to risk.

So, how do we actually fix this?

• Embrace alternative education paths – Bootcamps, micro-credentials, and self-paced learning platforms can adapt way faster than traditional schools.
• Integrate AI into learning instead of fearing it – AI tutors, adaptive learning, and AI-assisted research should be core tools in education.
• Move from standardized testing to real-world application – Less multiple choice, more problem-solving.
• Make learning lifelong, not front-loaded – The idea that you finish school in your early 20s and never need to learn again is outdated.

The Takeaway: We Have to Rethink Education

I don't have all the answers. But I do know this: the way I learned—by doing, by seeking out knowledge, by figuring things out for myself—is how more people are going to need to learn moving forward.

The real question is, are we ready to build an education system that supports that? Or are we just going to leave it up to students to figure it out on their own?