When the New York Department of Education asked Albert Einstein for advice on what public schools should emphasize, the world’s most famous physicist responded: emphasize teaching history. But his recommendation didn’t stop there. He also suggested studies should include discussions about personalities “who benefited mankind through independence of character and judgment.”

Thanks to technology, it’s easier than ever to follow Einstein’s advice from the 1950s because today some of the world’s greatest living experts in numerous fields share their insights and expertise directly with students through online-course companies, such as MasterClass.

Students who can already identify their passion are able to learn music with Yo-Yo Ma, cook with Gordon Ramsay, or become a better gymnast with Simone Biles. In many cases, these celebrities may have no idea how to teach a class, but they have a lot to share and guide students to explore their own success.

And the timing may be perfect because even as online-learning opportunities were gaining in popularity, the COVID-19 pandemic hastened tech adoption significantly in our K-12 education system. Teachers and students were forced to rely on technology more than they had in the past. Unfortunately, that largely meant expanding their knowledge about how to use the technology, not necessarily how to learn while using it, and the unexpected experience was so overwhelming that one in four teachers considered quitting.

But even before the pandemic, schools were facing challenges as many educators felt stressed and large numbers were abandoning teaching altogether. More than 200,000 teachers leave the profession each year, and two-thirds leave for reasons other than retirement. Also, 50% of teachers have considered quitting, 58% describe their teacher mental health as “not good,” and 72% of teachers report they have felt moderate to extreme pressure to improve their students’ test scores.

Technology could help solve the crisis created by this talented-teacher exodus through the adoption of strategies such as those used by online learning communities. This is because education is no longer about regurgitating content, but about connecting a student’s passion to their skills development. In my recent book Becoming Einstein’s Teacher, I present a six-step framework to make it happen via self-directed learning.

School must be a place where teachers support their students as they discover that passion and where students can, at an early age, learn from personalities who, as Einstein phrased it, benefit mankind. You will know students have discovered their passion when they can spend hours doing something, oblivious to the time that is passing by.

Maybe you agree with this idea but question the feasibility of making it happen - it would require a huge education reform! Here is my argument to you: when the knowledge era came along, it did not replace the industrial era, but rather grew from it. Our current education system was conceived for the industrial era, so it can grow from the conveyor-belt school format to the fostering-potential school format as we experience the system finally catching up with the knowledge era.

None of this means that I believe schools will cease to exist. Quite the contrary. Teachers will continue to play an essential role because they will guide students as they learn and develop their skills.

So where to start when it comes to the fostering-potential format? Here is one simple thing teachers and parents can do today: Get children to learn to plan their day with measurable and achievable goals. At the end of the day, ask them to self-evaluate their achievements. Do this every day and you will see students’ intrinsic motivation flourish in an eight-week period.

Let’s take advantage of the education crisis and make education something meaningful for our students. Einstein was passionate about learning, and I genuinely believe all students are just like him. They just need someone to help them tap into that passion.

Picture by Max Fisch