Possible Futures: A Future of Thriving Students and Teachers

Through this blog series, we are exploring what the world can look like when technology is designed and deployed for the benefit of all. These broad, near-future speculative pieces are designed to de-center dominant narratives and challenge us all to realize that things can be different. These are not alternative realities, they are possible futures.

Illustration by Sylvia Pericles.

Teaching has always been a calling; a profession driven by passion and commitment to shaping the future. Yet, US K-12 teachers are 30% more likely to face burnout than U.S. soldiers, whose lives are defined by relentless duty, perpetual war and low wages. But imagine a world where this stress is alleviated, where educators are no longer overwhelmed by their inability to appropriately engage with their students because they are bogged down with paperwork, grading, and administrative tasks. Instead, they spend their days sparking curiosity, fostering creativity, and guiding students toward their full potential. In this future, classrooms are alive with energy, supported by technology that frees educators to focus on what matters most: their students.

Currently, there is a decline in the quality of education being offered in many countries around the world, especially as it pertains to students living in undervalued, impoverished communities. But imagine a world where quality education is available to every child, no matter their background. In this future, teachers are free to focus on inspiring their students, fostering creativity, and nurturing a love for learning. Classrooms buzz with excitement as students explore ideas tailored to their unique needs, supported by technology designed to empower teachers to be the very best versions of their professional selves.

In this vision, automated tools act as invisible aids to educators, handling routine administrative tasks and providing personalized insights. The tech industry's current trajectory is to fully replace educators with technology. This misunderstands the fundamentally human nature of education. Instead, I envision a future where education technology is focused on retaining educators by providing them with the gift of time so that they can spend more of it with their students. As a teacher, I’d like to have tools that automate time-consuming activities like scheduling and certain types of grading tasks, and tools that help adjust lesson plans based on students’ level of understanding of covered concepts. This would allow teachers to focus on the care work of their profession that is often overlooked but is the essence of what defines a great teacher.

At the start of every school year, automated tools could provide teachers with comprehensive profiles of their incoming students. These profiles, informed by input from students, their guardians, and previous teachers, can evolve throughout the year, and highlight individual learning styles, strengths, and areas for growth. Such information would enable educators to craft lessons that meet students exactly where they are. And automated tools could be used to offer personalized insights, suggest creative activities, and provide access to an expansive library of resources, generating adaptive learning materials tailored to each student’s progress.

Teachers could use these automated tools to help them design engaging lesson plans months in advance. When teachers need to take time off, these systems could automatically create sub plans, address common questions for substitutes, and ensure continuity in learning. If these tools could additionally generate detailed summaries, including attendance, assignment submissions, and areas where students require additional reinforcement, educators could use this information to maintain an informed roadmap for effective teaching each day.

In this future, each child would own a secure digital learning portfolio that travels with them from kindergarten through high school, one that grows with their achievements, captures their progress and provides insights that guide their educational journey. Homework assignments would also be tailored to individual needs, helping students master concepts while building confidence.

School districts would embrace technology to enhance efficiency and equity rather than attempting to replace teachers. Technological tools would analyze real-time data about student populations, community income levels, and resource gaps, to create dynamic funding models tailored to the unique needs of each school. For example, schools with high student-to-teacher ratios or lower test scores would automatically receive additional funds to hire staff or purchase updated materials. Dynamic insights derived from these tools could be used to identify seasonal or situational shifts in needs, such as increased enrollment or emergencies, allowing districts to respond swiftly and effectively. By streamlining communication, scheduling meetings, and managing logistics, my vision for this technological future is one that frees district employees to focus on supporting teachers, administrators and families, ensuring that resources are distributed where they are most needed.

Data security is paramount in this future. Student records are decentralized and stored in secure digital portfolios, accessible only by the students and their guardians. These portfolios travel with students throughout their academic journey, updating automatically as they progress. Teachers are only allowed access to the specific information they need for the current school year, such as learning benchmarks and progress data, ensuring privacy and minimizing the risk of data breaches or ransomware attacks. There would be strict data access and storage protocols to ensure that these tools are exclusively used to support students and improve learning outcomes.

I imagine a classroom where the concepts students are struggling to learn are noticed immediately and interventions are implemented within days instead of weeks or months. Classrooms would be spaces of dynamic growth and creativity which unlock the full potential of every student and every teacher.

This future is one of possibility and joy, where technology enables teachers and students to flourish together. By imagining and building systems that prioritize people over processes, we can create an education system that inspires every child to reach their fullest potential. This future is one of hope and empowerment, where teachers are no longer burdened by mundane tasks, and students thrive in classrooms alive with energy and creativity. With technology amplifying human connection and removing barriers, we can envision education as a place where every student flourishes and every teacher rediscovers the joy of their calling.