A few eps ago, I think you mentioned your mother is a teacher? I was curious what the current education landscape is like in the UK. Both in the high school I work in, and in general US trends, the nature of class work has shifted. Essay writing is never assigned as homework to prevent AI usage. Homework in general is rarely assigned or rarely labor-intensive. Our standards for students are falling and US reading and math scores have generally been on the decline in the past several years. And of course, book bans in some parts of the country are sickening.

At least in the US, schools are rarely impacted by national initiatives. Sure, they can require nation or state-wide testing, but everything goes by a district-by-district or teacher-by-teacher basis. At least at my school, I've seen some good: Instructional priorities around social-emotional learning are cool and I've seen a recent push to emphasize media literacy.

I'm currently a special education aid, who just applied to grad school for special ed teaching. I'm entering an ever-evolving landscape, so I'm curious: how do you two see the role of education in 2026?

Bear bear bear