Grandpa Randy, I can already hear you saying, “It’s easy to criticize.” And fair enough — I do criticize. A lot. But before you accuse me of being a professional party-pooper, let me show you I can offer actual solutions to our schools’ biggest failings.

I recently sent you an article from Psychology Today about the skills kids will need in an AI-dominated future. Here’s my take on how teachers — from the sandbox set to the graduation-gowned — could actually teach them. And yes, we’ve heard all this before. The difference? These shouldn’t be optional extras. They are the curriculum.

1. Meta-Learning — Learning How to Learn

Because knowing how to learn beats just memorizing stuff you’ll forget by next Tuesday.

• Elementary: Ask kids to draw a “learning map” showing the steps they used to solve a problem.
• High School: After an exam, have students reflect on their study strategies — what worked, what flopped, and why.

2. Adaptability — Life Is Full of Plot Twists

Darwin said it best: adapt or perish.

• Elementary: In the middle of an activity, change the rules or tools. Watch chaos turn into flexibility.
• High School: Try “pivot projects” — halfway through, change the conditions and make students adjust, just like real-life crises.

3. Resilience — Bounce, Don’t Break

We’re raising kids who expect everything to be easy. Time to stop bubble-wrapping failure.

• Elementary: Give them a tough puzzle, then talk about why they kept going (or didn’t).
• High School: Have them journal their biggest school challenges and reflect on how they handled them (or didn’t).

4. Discomfort Mastery — Doing the Hard Stuff

Remember writing our dissertations? Yeah. Me too. Quitting was tempting, but here we are.

• Elementary: Ask kids to recall a time they stuck with something they hated — chores count.
• High School: Give them a design challenge without all the info. They’ll have to hunt down the missing pieces.

5. Cognitive Reframing — Flip the Script

Turn “Oh no!” into “Aha!”

• All Ages: Take a perceived problem and reimagine it as an opportunity. For example: instead of lamenting AI killing jobs, brainstorm new jobs it might create.

6. Critical Thinking — Prove Me Wrong

AI won’t kill critical thinking — our failure to teach it will.

• Elementary: Tell them the sun goes to sleep at night. Then demand proof you’re wrong.
• High School: Tackle a controversial topic (climate change, anyone?) and require solid, evidence-based arguments.

7. Managing Overwhelm — Attention, please!

Today’s attention spans are shorter than a TikTok. Let’s fix that.

• Elementary: Two-minute visualization exercises — eyes closed, minds focused.
• High School: Track social-media habits, then design a plan to cut down. Alternatives encouraged.

8. Self-Efficacy — Goals, Glorious Goals

Some days, “I opened my laptop” feels like an accomplishment. Let’s aim higher.

• All Ages: Set simple goals (daily, weekly, monthly) and track progress. Celebrate crossing things off — it’s addictive.

There are three more skills — Flow, Meta-Creativity, and Collaboration — but I’ll let you (and anyone else reading this) come up with ideas for those. It’s not rocket science. (Although hey, if a student does decide to build a rocket, I’d call that a win.)

So there, Grandpa Randy. I’m not just here to complain — I’m here to fix things. One sarcastic blog post at a time.