The constant onslaught of new innovations within Artificial Intelligence (AI) - specifically Generative AI (GenAI) - and the expansive impact AI has had on the workforce and economy, can feel overwhelming. Everything and everyone appears to be rushing towards AI (Giattino et al., 2023), for the same reason Jeff Bezos ran to the field of digital commerce (Locke, 2020), and now, our economy reflects and has become dependent on AI’s growth (Sigalos, 2025). Naturally, education has followed this influx towards AI with individuals and institutions racing to be on the front end of the innovation adoption curve (“Rogers’ Innovation Adoption Curve,” n.d.), either for the benefit of human development, building capital, or both. From my perspective, this is not a fad. Education is an ecosystem mostly bound by time constraints of a school year, school day, class periods, etc... And in time-bound ecosystems, speed wins. Just like with any technological innovation, AI makes processes or products happen faster, which is of value in a capitalist economy. As a result, I believe we are in the midst of our next evolution in education with the rise of AI.  To borrow from the metaphor of surfing– educational stakeholders can either miss it, get crushed by it, or paddle, catch, and safely ride the wave. In fact, we might even find ways to face our fears head on and enjoy riding the waves of this upcoming swell of educational evolution driven by technological innovation.

On Thursday, September 11 and Friday, September 12, 2025 the Hanahau’oli School Professional Development Center hosted a two day workshop titled, A Commitment to Equity: Connecting the Nā Hopena A‘o Framework to Anti-Bias Early Childhood Education. In past years, this workshop has sold out within weeks of registration opening, but this time around educators were slow to sign up and the number of attendees was comparatively smaller to previous offerings of this program.

Every two years I am invited to Hanahau’oli’s Kulā'iwi (multiage grades 2-3) classroom to support the students in learning more about the school’s history, progressive education philosophy, and the reasons why having a philosophy is critical to the school’s mission. This is a part of their “School Unit,” which is designed to teach the following key concepts, essential questions and instructional learner outcomes.