Hacker School

It seemed best that this had its own discussion so we could really refine this. The original discussion is at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44627

The idea is to create a YCombinator-like process that starts at the K-12 level. Perhaps not as far back as kindergarten, but definitely before 6th grade. Students would be trained in programming, art, writing, and other methods of creation. When the students graduate, some number of them will be given the opportunity to start a company. In return, the school will get 2-10% of the company.

But what about the students who won't start companies, though? Clearly not everyone will have what it takes to think of a viable business. Well, the wonderful attribute of this system is that everyone's a winner. Anyone who doesn't start a company could be a cofounder or go to work for previous companies produced by this program, or go to college if they'd like.

Why would children be motivated in such an environment? My theory is simple: If you don't treat them like idiots, they won't become idiots. Show them the joys of creating something cool. They'll like it.

The reason children aren't motivated in a public school environment is because most public schools are prisons for children. It was for me. This system is the polar opposite of that. Everything revolves around project creation and development, not rigid, unbreakable structure that beats compliance out of the children, which is how public high school is.

The teachers would need to be extremely high quality. They need to want to be a part of the process of training the next generation of hackers, not hired because there's a shortage of teachers.

Hacker School would focus on programming, but there's no reason why it couldn't train children to become excellent journalists, novelists, or any other creative activity the students like.

One property that this system needs from the beginning is a way for advanced children to be placed right where they're mentally stretched. If it makes sense for an extremely bright child to skip three grades, so be it. There are social implications, but another theory of mine is this: If you give children an environment where you respect them and treat them like adults, they will respect and treat each other like adults. Sure, there will be social conflicts, but there always are in life. Yes, they will lack maturity to deal with those. Yes, there will be outlying cases where it's really bad. But the system can be flexible in dealing with things like that. There won't be childish punishments. There won't be detention. I don't know what the appropriate system of punishments is, but it doesn't seem like we need to even worry about that until it becomes a problem. Adults have a way of sorting things out, and I believe children can behave like adults.

Please be harsh in constructively criticizing this. The system needs to be the best, and for it to be the best, I ask that you guys please tear apart anything about it that seems like it won't work.