Decades ago, I had a one-month internship in a marketing firm. The director assigned me to be a “fly on the wall” in every meeting. “What is it?” I asked. “Observe, take notes, and learn,” he answered. It was a great practice I incorporated into my life since then. Observe without bias and learn.

So, let’s observe what’s going on in the EdTech world. A recent TechCrunch article – The Casualties of China’s Education Crackdown - shares how the country’s new regulations shut down many EdTech companies. If not bankrupted already, stocks of once-admired darlings were down over 90% in mid-2021.

Here are my fly-on-the-wall observations:

1.       China has 230 million K-12 students - a highly competitive system and market. It is a given that not all children will succeed. Chinese understands success as an excellent income to support their family and to provide for their elderly. Parents invest every cent into supporting their children’s education because they believe this is the recipe for success. It is like investing in their retirement plan.

2.       EdTech bloomed in recent years in China. Their services boost students’ chances to succeed, primarily through one-to-one tutoring. Many parents believed these firms would greatly help their children and sacrificed to pay hefty amounts for this extra education, even though it is a student burden. Learning 24x7 is not fun, but parents and children are convinced this is a must-do to earn the so desirable income.

3.       Some of the recent regulations now prohibit foreign online English educators and the existence of for-profit national curriculum online tutoring. China is making an effort to level the opportunity for all its students with these new regulations. Everyone should have the same chance to thrive, not only the children of wealthy parents.

4.       Point #3 makes sense from the government’s perspective. However, instead of leveling up, China is leveling down. So far, the only counter proposal the government offers to mitigate access to online tutoring and other EdTech services is the emphasis on vocational and industrial training. Parents remain skeptical about this solution as they believe their children will be better off if they attend university.

China started its technology evolution as copycats, such as WeChat – imitating Facebook, WhatsApp, and PayPal, or Alibaba, copying Amazon.com. Now China leads the world in e-commerce, including drone delivery and face recognition as a currency. The country has 17 unicorns in AI (startups valued over a billion dollars) founded by young techs from China universities and backed up by Chinese investors.

The story was no different for Chinese EdTech companies such as Wall Street English and TAL Education Group. But these new regulations broke their legs. Given this history, I would think twice if I were an entrepreneur in China. China has immense potential to lead EdTech innovation. Nevertheless, who can be motivated to innovate when the country issues limiting regulations out of nowhere? Wouldn’t it be wiser to sit down with these companies and get to an agreement to serve all children? It would be an opportunity to foster EdTech innovation aligned to the country’s commitment to inclusivity.

The TechCrunch article reminds us that wealthy parents will always find the loophole, even if sending their children to study abroad. I agree with it. So, the question is: how to provide the same opportunity for all while fostering entrepreneurial innovation?

In my book Becoming Einstein’s Teacher, I make the case that every child already has what it takes to succeed in life: a brain! Whenever we consider this starting point, we are giving each child a greater chance to succeed. The answer is not a new app, a specific textbook, a school’s location, or a higher socioeconomic background; neither is the amount of content we can shuffle into students’ heads. The answer is how efficiently we can make the brain work aligned with learners’ passion. So, I present a six-step framework to make it happen in my book.

My organization worked with so many underserved schools in the last 10 years, enabling their learners to become anything they want in life, regardless of their access to certain textbooks or technology. Students find a way to learn when we empower them with self-directed habits. Yes, it is that simple. So, perhaps it is education leaders’ turn to be a fly on the wall and look at education with 21st-century lenses, narrowed to human potential, beyond regulations to limit EdTech firms.

It is my deepest desire that all children realize their potential, regardless of their country of birth. I wrote Becoming Einstein’s Teacher to reach education leaders worldwide so their students can access such a simple learning framework and enable all children to succeed in life.

Thank you for the picture, Andrea Piacquadio