Often debates about education are framed as non-tech versus AI approaches, but too often, AI ed tech just magnifies the same failures of traditional school.

Close reading is a technique for careful analysis of a piece of writing, paying close attention to the exact language, structure, and content of the text. As Eric Ries described it,“close reading is one of our civilization’s oldest and most powerful technologies for trying to communicate the gestalt of a thing, the overall holistic understanding of it more than just what can be communicated in language because language is so limited.” It was (and in some cases still is) practiced by many ancient cultures and major religions.

Chronic boredom is harmful to adults, causing stress, disengagement, and poor well-being. Academic researchers have shown that boredom in the workplace can be just as damaging as burnout. But search for information about childhood boredom and you’ll find the opposite message: articles describing boredom for kids as “fantastic”, “important”, and full of benefits.

This article was originally posted on rachel.fast.ai, where Rachel has been writing about her journey as an AI researcher returning to school for immunology.

My daughter is constantly creating– her passions include making art, writing fiction, coding interactive games, and composing music. Yet, I regularly see news articles and media pundits suggesting that my husband and I are doing things all wrong. The reason for these claims? My daughter uses screen-based tools, at least partially, and in some cases, entirely, to pursue the interests I listed in my first sentence. To give more detail on how she pursues her passions: