The Framework · a summary
A framework for the Class of 2040
A quick index of the framework. Each chapter here jumps to the full editorial on the home page, where you can leave a margin note.
CHAPTER 01 — THE CLASS OF 2040
A plan for what school must give the Class of 2040.
Children who start kindergarten next fall will graduate in 2040.
CHAPTER 02 — MEET MAYA
Meet Maya. She's four.
Kindergarten in fall 2027. Diploma in June 2040. A composite child, not a real one — she'll walk through this talk with us.
CHAPTER 03 — THE FORECAST, HONESTLY
Nobody knows how fast AI will move. So we plan for three futures.
Serious people disagree about the pace. The honest position is a range.
CHAPTER 04 — THE SOURCE
The most detailed map of the AI future skips one place: school.
CHAPTER 05 — WHY THIS MATTERS FOR SCHOOL
Maya's economy may run on direction, not employment.
One reasonable 2040 labor market — my guess, not data.
CHAPTER 06 — THE NO-REGRETS BET
Whichever future arrives, the same school model wins.
The economies differ dramatically. The educational bets do not.
CHAPTER 07 — THE CENTRAL QUESTION
When answers are abundant, what must remain inside the student?
CHAPTER 11 — WHAT WE SHOULD NOT OUTSOURCE
The graduate, in six capacities.
A mind that can stand without AI — and a person who can accomplish far more with it.
CHAPTER 14 — THE DIVISION OF LABOR
AI takes the routine. Teachers get the human work back.
CHAPTER 15 — A NEW TRANSCRIPT