[ExI] Maths Teachers Career Prospects

Tue Oct 20 15:38:43 UTC 2026

> On Behalf Of BillK via extropy-chat

Subject: [ExI] Maths Teachers Career Prospects

On Tue, 20 Oct 2026 at 04:55, spike jones via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> > wrote:

>>…I was reading an online group chat among students I once coached in competition math…Reasoning: AI can teach it better, faster, cheaper, it can adapt to the students shortcomings, focus on teaching at the weak points… suggestions?  Anyone else?  

 spike

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>…I discussed this with DeepSeek AI.

Finally, I asked DeepSeek to draft a letter to the student.

I think this will be helpful.

BillK

Thanks BillK!  I will post this forward to a student who has posting access.  I have read-only there.

DeepSeek V4 AI:

Subject: Your question about math teaching — and why I think you’re asking the right thing

>… the coach of the thinking, and the human presence that makes struggle feel worthwhile. In a country with a serious math teacher shortage, that is not a diminished job. It may be a more essential one…..

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BillK, I became involved (volunteer not professionally) back in about 2012 in developing curricula for Khan Academy, about the time Sal decided to expand the format (15 minute YouTube videos which get right to the point) to include more than primary school math.  I did that because I read Sal’s excellent book: One World Schoolhouse.  

In OWS, Sal discusses his vision of the future of education, where a teacher becomes not so much a presenter of material but more of a coach and cheerleader, who can help students master subjects the teacher hasn’t mastered and may not need to.

Sal brought in a bunch of subject experts.  One of those is the brilliant Grant Sanderson, creator of 3Ble1Brown.

https://www.youtube.com/c/3blue1brown

This is one such video which might be of particular interest to ExI-ers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYgs6v2YfU

Sanderson spoke at Berkeley recently.  The tickets sold out in imaginary time, but students figured out a way to get in there anyway and the math nerds packed a huge auditorium tighter than the Stanford RTF room 201 geekfest on 1 April 2000.  Sanderson’s venue was so tightly packed, the students had to pass around the few remaining oxygen molecules in that room, as sturdy custodians hauled out carbon dioxide in buckets.

If you haven’t experienced 3Blue1Brown, treat yourself to an intellectual banquet, view them all.  Learn, free, from the comfort of your home.

Oh life is good.  What a time to be alive, LIFE is good.

spike

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