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Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

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Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#21

Post by _doctor_love »

dang wrote: post #19
_doctor_love wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Your GP comment was borderline against the site guidelines, since you basically went straight to shallow dismissal, flamebait, and generic ideological battle. I didn't respond with a moderation comment because I understand this topic brings up strong feelings and there's a lot to say on all sides. Your reply here, though, is flat-out against the site guidelines and it's not ok to post like that to HN, least of all in…

> your previous comment was a personal attack as well:

Brother, I meant what I wrote.

That said, I'll cool off for a bit. I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade but as you said, products like this stir extremely strong feelings on my end. I find the framing offensive, exploitative, and dehumanizing.

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#22

Post by _doctor_love »

alexsouthmayd wrote: post #20
_doctor_love wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would want to solve the problem way upstream. Obviously I want children to receive education. I would also say that looking at the problem like it's teacher headcount that's the issue is assuming a specific education model. If there is only 1 teacher and 300 students, you can't meaningfully do a lecture-style one-way transmission of information. That's outdated anyway and not what the students need.

I like that you're touching on a bit of Horizon 3 education here! I agree that the model is antiquated and is long overdue for an upgrade.

You bet. Like I wrote to 'dang I'm really not trying to hate on what you're doing, just offering my very candid take on products like this. I care very much about education and I'm happy to see someone trying to do something about it. In that sense I applaud your efforts and hope that Bloomy leads to some good outcomes for somebody. I simply feel that more AI is not the answer.

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#24

Post by dang »

_doctor_love wrote: post #21
dang wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your GP comment was borderline against the site guidelines, since you basically went straight to shallow dismissal, flamebait, and generic ideological battle. I didn't respond with a moderation comment because I understand this topic brings up strong feelings and there's a lot to say on all sides. Your reply here, though, is flat-out against the site guidelines and it's not ok to post like that to HN, least of all in…

> your previous comment was a personal attack as well: Brother, I meant what I wrote. That said, I'll cool off for a bit. I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade but as you said, products like this stir extremely strong feelings on my end. I find the framing offensive, exploitative, and dehumanizing.

Personal attacks aren't ok whether you meant what you wrote or not.

I get that you feel strongly about this - probably most of us share these feelings in some form; I know I do. We just need to talk about the topic thoughtfully and respectfully, and not assume that someone with different views doesn't care about kids (for example) or doesn't share the same concerns.

Let's put it this way: I appreciate the thoughtful component of your comments - we just need you to cool off on the attacking component.

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#25

Post by _doctor_love »

dang wrote: post #24
_doctor_love wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> your previous comment was a personal attack as well: Brother, I meant what I wrote. That said, I'll cool off for a bit. I'm not here to rain on anyone's parade but as you said, products like this stir extremely strong feelings on my end. I find the framing offensive, exploitative, and dehumanizing.

Personal attacks aren't ok whether you meant what you wrote or not. I get that you feel strongly about this - probably most of us share these feelings in some form; I know I do. We just need to talk about the topic thoughtfully and respectfully, and not assume that someone with different views doesn't care about kids (for example) or doesn't share the same concerns. Let's put it this way: I appreciate the thoughtful…

Clearly we have different definitions of what constitutes an attack, that said, I know you're fighting an eternal uphill battle on HN so I'll rest my case.

I will say that I find some of this kind of moderation very confusing. I feel that I often see folks going way harder than anything I've said today and there's no moderation hand-slaps visible. Possibly the sensitivity is greater here since it's a Launch HN thread, so I appreciate that. But please take my feedback for what it's worth and reflect on it a bit.

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#27

Post by pixel_popping »

_doctor_love wrote: post #2

> What evidence or product behavior would you need to trust something like this with a student? I would need the product to not exist. I don't want this anywhere near a child. I want humans instructing humans, teaching empathy, connection, and - most importantly - learning to learn. Anything short of that is just building Brave New World. Electroshock the kids if they reach for forbidden knowledge. I'm sorry to be so…

So you are against a child learning by himself with a book?

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#28

Post by jrflo »

_doctor_love wrote: post #2

> What evidence or product behavior would you need to trust something like this with a student? I would need the product to not exist. I don't want this anywhere near a child. I want humans instructing humans, teaching empathy, connection, and - most importantly - learning to learn. Anything short of that is just building Brave New World. Electroshock the kids if they reach for forbidden knowledge. I'm sorry to be so…

LLM assisted education =/=> no empathy is taught human-to-human

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#29

Post by dang »

_doctor_love wrote: post #25
dang wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal attacks aren't ok whether you meant what you wrote or not. I get that you feel strongly about this - probably most of us share these feelings in some form; I know I do. We just need to talk about the topic thoughtfully and respectfully, and not assume that someone with different views doesn't care about kids (for example) or doesn't share the same concerns. Let's put it this way: I appreciate the thoughtful…

Clearly we have different definitions of what constitutes an attack, that said, I know you're fighting an eternal uphill battle on HN so I'll rest my case. I will say that I find some of this kind of moderation very confusing. I feel that I often see folks going way harder than anything I've said today and there's no moderation hand-slaps visible. Possibly the sensitivity is greater here since it's a Launch HN thread…

> very confusing. I feel that I often see folks going way harder than anything I've said today and there's no moderation hand-slaps visible.

You're quite right and of course it's confusing. But it has a simple, unsatisfying explanation: we can't read everything that gets posted here, let alone moderate it all. There's far too much for us to read even 10% of what gets posted here.

If you see a post that ought to have been moderated but hasn't been, the likeliest explanation is that we didn't see it. You can help by flagging it or emailing us at hn@ycombinator.com.

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

Btw, I'm going to try an experiment and respond to your GP comment with a non-moderation reply, just because I find the topic interesting, and also in the hope of communicating what I said above: the thoughtful component of the conversation is fine. (No obligation to reply of course.)

Re: Launch HN: Bloomy (YC S26) – AI-powered mastery learning for K-12

#30

Post by alexsouthmayd »

pixel_popping wrote: post #27
_doctor_love wrote: post #2

> What evidence or product behavior would you need to trust something like this with a student? I would need the product to not exist. I don't want this anywhere near a child. I want humans instructing humans, teaching empathy, connection, and - most importantly - learning to learn. Anything short of that is just building Brave New World. Electroshock the kids if they reach for forbidden knowledge. I'm sorry to be so…

So you are against a child learning by himself with a book?

I love self-learning. I read a lot of books as a kid (at one point my dad even got mad at me because I was ignoring him while reading yet another book).

At the same time, I believe -- and have seen firsthand as a teacher -- that many students need instruction to learn certain concepts. Even if they don't need instruction, they need a framework or structure to learn within. (One of the big challenges I had to solve early on during my TFA time was classroom behavioral management -- it doesn't matter how good your pedagogy is if your kids won't listen to you).

Great teaching involves modeling a new skill or concept, providing some amount of training wheels, and then seeing it through to independent mastery. Is there a lot that a student can learn on their own simply by reading? Absolutely. Kids should read more books.

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