Princeton economist William J. Baumol famously questioned the concept of improving productivity for a Beethoven string quartet.
Drop the second violin?
Ask the musicians to play twice as fast?
Let's explore what happens when we turn this analysis to education.
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1/ The number of musicians needed to play a Beethoven string quartet hasn’t changed in centuries, yet today’s musicians make more than Beethoven-era wages.
Baumol argued that the quartet needed to raise wages to keep its cellist from going into a better-paying job instead.
2/ Stated in terms of the musicians - their number and their work as performers - Baumol is right that increasing productivity is impossible.
What if we thought instead about the listeners and their experience?
It should be something that's there that affirms who you are, helps to build a world view that sets you on a path to thrive in whatever way is meaningful to you."
☝️ and other great quotes about education and learning.
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"We're not preparing students for a standardised world."
"A lot of the ways we built our education system was to respond to an industrial era that doesn't exist anymore."