Education in a systemically actualized society is flexible enough to raise the individual's consciousness in nearly any direction they choose. Its purpose is to create global citizens; individuals with the agency to act within the present arrangements, the ability to see beyond them, and the means to change them when the moment demands it. Education is a system that develops the future, recognizing and nurturing the divinity inherent in all. No method or system of learning exists independent of the event chains forming individual perspectives. We focus on the general philosophy of evolving education, using customizable examples to illustrate the practice. Afterward, we explore examples of how we breathe life into our vision.
The next era of learning is all about the ability to cooperate effectively. This claim is supported by the fact that all of the most advanced sectors of work today exist in highly cooperative settings. This trend will continue at greater degrees of intensity. Collaboration is most effective when all participants possess the skills necessary to think critically about ideas and contribute. These two skills pair well together, both in learning and in life. More importantly, this type of learning reflects the everyday experience that many youths enjoy today. Gaming, communication, and self-learning via the internet all encourage connection and dialogue with others. Developing an educational environment that fosters cooperation and collaboration is vital to systemic actualization. Single directional learning also squanders opportunities to incorporate self-directed learning into the process. We reshape the youth educational experience into a matrix style of learning. This transition is already happening to some degree in the United States but lacks a formal and focused effort.
Figure 8 illustrates the difference between our present learning models and an approach better suited to meet the needs of the moment. Most education in the United States subscribes to a hierarchical style of learning. Information flows from the instructor to the students, who are responsible for absorbing and processing it for recollection at a later date. It’s a style of learning akin to regurgitation, recalling facts and figures on command. We are taught knowledge that we can recall instantly through devices much of the planet keeps near them twenty-four hours a day.
Matrix learning breaks traditional lesson plans into multidirectional approaches. Teachers become less of a source of information and more facilitators of frameworks for learning and discussion. Hierarchy learning supports a broad, surface-level approach to understanding the world. Matrix learning allows for choice in topic depth, empowering students to explore their interests and develop ideas through critical analysis. We make teaching akin to a choose-your-own-adventure book, prioritizing a form of education that instills more knowledge about fewer topics but equips students to evaluate their present understandings, identify gaps, and proactively address them.
Teachers break down their subjects into various verticals. At the beginning of a lesson cycle, students choose the topic(s) they want to explore. Within each possible vertical are additional subsets of focus that continue to branch out as far as necessary. Students receive research and topic frameworks after making topic choices. These research and topic frameworks are broad enough to allow for critical thinking within limits to ensure knowledge stays relevant to the subject matter.
Students can research independently, connect virtually with classmates, or spend class time collaborating about their specific interest verticals. Educators frame informational requests as open-ended questions whenever possible to encourage critical thinking and reduce the reward for identical answers. Segments can end in several directions. Group presentations combining students in similar verticals are one option, as are individual speakers. Teachers may also conduct classes where students drive the lesson through their research. As students share their research and perspective, teachers ask probing questions. We develop the individual capacity to direct focus and energy toward connecting the dots between a variety of information sources. Each day ends with more questions asked than answered, setting the stage for the next level of deep learning. Learning is a form of soulcraft in the direction of our choosing. The creator creates to fulfill their underlying desire to give imagination form. The cultivation of self-direction is necessary for individual actualization and high alignment with the single truth.
We can illustrate this concept using a history lesson on the American Revolution. Traditional education crams this multifaceted event chain into surface-level understanding, often whitewashing the historical context. Our matrix approach reorganizes the subject, starting with relevant parties. An initial lesson plan might be to explore population groups of the time: American revolutionaries, British imperialists, Indigenous Americans, and enslaved Africans. Who were these groups? What were their driving beliefs? What were their available options during the war? What were the possible outcomes for the group becoming involved? How might our world today be different if (insert scenario) happened? How, if at all, is this similar to our immediate present? As the lessons progress, research and discussion can continue about the relationships between these groups, how those relationships still impact the way we live today, and moral and ethical evaluations of the decisions made during the time. The possibilities are endless, limited only by the time and imagination of the teacher and students.
We can customize this example to any degree for any age group. First graders can begin with researching their favorite dinosaur. They might discuss how those dinosaurs interacted with each other based on their food preferences, imagine what colors dinosaurs might have been, and explore the sounds of their favorite dinosaur descendants, birds! Third graders can explore rudimentary software development, building virtual solutions to solve problems they imagine themselves. Biology could begin with understanding parts of the cells, their individual and collective roles, and how these separate parts fit into a more contextual basis of our understanding of life. Each educator must decide the topics that require specific knowledge and which can benefit from a more exploratory approach. As early as ninth grade, students are given more agency in their class schedule, allowing them to develop selective depth earlier by customizing their learning. The matrix style of education results in high school seniors exploring and analyzing topics significantly more advanced than what is presently occurring, redirecting focus and energy that they would have otherwise spent on topics of low interest and retention. An education DAO could facilitate the perpetual expansion and sharing of lesson formats with educators across the globe.
All of the examples follow the same flow of information and structure: guided student research and thought, group discussion and debate to further develop the ideas, and participatory instruction during cap courses. Each step reinforces critical thinking, dialogue, and cooperation. This method challenges traditional performance measurements but must progress alongside our educational systems. Today, a teacher’s role in society is to empower future generations to navigate a rapidly changing world. What better way to do that than demonstrating the value of experimentation in education?
One significant difference in this approach to education compared to traditional directional teaching is the ability to view subjects from multiple perspectives. This is more relevant in subjects like history and social sciences than math and chemistry, but the skills transcend individual disciplines. Learning through a process that considers multiple perspectives changes how the realized individual approaches their personal and social life. It prepares them to navigate the changing nature of time. We infuse cooperation, collaboration, and analysis into the foundation of our learning, empowering our youth to better challenge and change the past they inherit and breaking their reliance on obedience toward a specific process and method.