STEM is Dead

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I’ve never met a good parent who didn’t want to set their children up for success.

While many focus on saving for college, they might be overlooking the most important question: How can we truly prepare children for a rapidly changing, unpredictable future? Elementary school students today won’t begin graduating from college for another 12–15 years. What will the world look like then?

Some parents tell me, “We’re going to wait and see what happens.”

I, too, am watching as political and societal shifts reshape the education system over the coming years. But families at Acton Academy have the advantage of observing these changes from outside the system, in an established learner driven environment, ready to adapt and thrive.

Acton Families

At Acton Academy, we find that families who understand the urgency of preparing their children for a rapidly changing world are generally a good fit. Through self-paced and self-directed learning, real world projects, meaningful internships and NGA (Next Great Adventure), a hallmark of our Launch Pad, our high school program, and more; we have seen over a decade of Acton graduates excel at whatever their next step is. 

From scholarships to the college of their choice to starting a business and beyond, these young adults not only know what it takes to thrive and find their own success in a rapidly changing world–they have skills, they have clarity on what drives them, and they know how to think, dream big, and achieve ambitious goals.

Whatever parents choose, my sincere wish is that they do it with “eyes wide open”, with full awareness of what’s to come, and so I have two videos to share with you today.

STEM is already outdated

I have two videos to share with you today.

The first one is a short clip by NVIDIA’s Founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, and the second one is a panel conversation of top tech CEOs talking about the future of work and education in the post ChatGPT world.

“STEM” is a popular acronym in education that once meant that an education system was forward thinking, cutting edge, and worth your money (tax dollars or personal funds).

In my opinion, by the time my children graduate from college, STEM will stand for:

• Still

• Teaching

• Everyone

• Memorization

STEM does provide a strong foundation in critical thinking and problem-solving. However, its heavy focus on coding, testing, grading, and memorization no longer aligns with the future of work.

Managing AIs and Leading with Creativity

The future of work is going to look a lot different than anything humanity has ever seen before.

AI leaders like Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, emphasize that the future of computing is about making technology accessible to everyone—not just programmers. Huang said, “It is our job to create computing technology such that NOBODY has to program, and that the programming language is human. Everybody in the world now is a programmer. This is the miracle of artificial intelligence.” — Skip to 00:35 if you want to start with the specific question and Jensen’s answer.

Shocked?

It gets better.

This 25-minute panel conversation with CEOs from 3 top AI companies, “Top Minds in AI Explain What’s Coming After GPT-4o”, may break your preconceived notions about the real risks of what “we’ll wait and see” really suggest.

(*video tip - you might find it easier to absorb the info by going audio only (I did!))

If that’s you, that’s great; you now have the opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive.

Essentially, they say that in the next 10-20 years, the time it’ll take before current elementary school children are the age of working adults, virtually all people will be AI managers.

They say that ALL repetitive tasks will be outsourced to AIs and the world of work will be directing AIs to create purposeful, meaningful, and passionate projects. 

“Don’t waste your time learning how to code”

That’s the advice they're already giving to 20 year olds. (Q&A at 24:00).

These leaders all say that the landscape of work will be unrecognizable. Repetitive tasks will no longer require human effort; they’ll be outsourced to AI systems.

Instead, the world will demand a different skillset:

• Creativity: Envisioning new solutions and applications for AI to execute.

• Critical Thinking: Determining the best strategies and tools to solve complex, open-ended problems.

• Adaptability: Thriving in a constantly changing technological environment.

• Collaboration: Working effectively with both humans and AI systems to achieve meaningful goals.

This isn’t science fiction—it’s the reality our children will face. The winners in this future won’t be the ones who know how to write code. They’ll be the ones who know how to lead AI’s to create meaningful, purposeful, and emotionally-invigorating outcomes.

How Acton Academy prepares children for tomorrow, today

At Acton Academy, we don’t just teach children how to use technology—we help them learn them how to think, create, and lead. Our Learner-Driven model emphasizes adaptability, collaboration, and the courage to tackle big challenges.

Parents who “wait and see” risk leaving their children unprepared for the seismic changes ahead. The future of education, the reality of its present need, isn’t about stuffing children’s heads with testable information, differentiated learning through IEPs and honors classes, and graduating young people who tell me, “I did well in school but I don’t feel like I learned anything.”—it’s about equipping young people with the skills to thrive in a world powered by AI and technology where they’ll have to know how to trust their innate knowing.

While the important thinking skills developed by STEM are essential for a complete education, “STEM is dead” in the sense that its limitations inadequately prepare learners for emerging realities. The future belongs to those who can manage AI, think clearly, speak concisely, dream big, and create a better world.

The question is: Will your child be ready?

Explore how Acton Academy can help your child thrive in an AI-driven world by replying to this email, or call Joshua at 513-486-5934.

Talk soon,

PS - if you’re not in the Cincinnati, Mason, Ohio area, find an Acton Academy near you!

Joshua Blatman
ActonCincyNorth.com
TheDrivenLearner.com

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Here’s a word from today’s sponsor, Brad’s Deals! — Remember that a portion of proceeds goes directly to scholarships for children to attend Acton Academy North Cincinnati!

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