Rote Learning, AI, and the Silent Revolution Happening Inside Schools

What if the biggest problem in education isn’t technology, funding, or curriculum — but the fact that schools still operate on an industrial blueprint designed over a century ago?

That’s where my conversation with Carl Morris and Saif Sarwar begins.

Both have lived across three worlds: • inside classrooms as teachers, • inside companies as edtech operators, • and inside entire systems across the UK, the Middle East, and Europe.

Together, they brought one message: Education is changing — just not from where you expect.

Students Are More Awake Than Ever

Saif opened with a surprising observation: Today’s students are deeply plugged into the social, political, and cultural issues of their time. They worry about AI, careers, the future of university, and the meaning of learning itself.

They’re not passive. They’re not disengaged. They’re asking the right questions.

The tragedy? Schools aren’t built to hear them.

Rote Learning Survived the Internet — and Now It’s Surviving AI

Carl’s first point hit hard:

“Even after major tech shifts, rote learning is still the core output of school systems.”

AI arrived. The internet arrived. But classrooms still look like 1890.

Not because teachers want this — but because the system forces it.

A system built for efficiency. A system built for scale. A system built to move students through a pipeline.

Not a system built for curiosity.

The Real Promise of AI in Schools? Creativity.

One of the most powerful insights came from Carl:

“The most exciting thing about AI is not automation. It’s creativity.”

Not removing busy work, but restoring the ability to ask wild, non-judgmental questions:

Why is water wet? Why don’t crabs have eyebrows?

Questions that spark wonder in young children, but disappear by age 15 — replaced by: “Is this on the exam?”

Carl believes AI can bring those questions back. But only if schools use it right.

The System Won’t Change From the Top

One of the strongest themes across the interview:

Education won’t be reformed. It will evolve.

Not through governments. Not through big edtech. But through small mutations inside classrooms:

• a teacher building a simple AI tool to solve a local problem

• a micro-experiment inside one school

• a custom solution built for one community

• ideas that spread because they work, not because they’re mandated

It’s evolution, not revolution.

And it’s already happening.

Personalization Isn’t About Algorithms — It’s About Attention

Everyone in edtech loves the word “personalization.”

But Carl and Saif made a crucial distinction:

Personalization is not feeding students pre-selected content. It’s noticing: • when they’re bored • when they’re anxious • when something is sensitive • when they’re ready for a challenge

AI in schools helps with the data. Teachers do the real work.

And that is the future of learning at scale.

What the UK, Middle East, and Europe Can Learn From Each Other

Few people have Carl and Saif’s perspective across continents.

Some highlights:

🇬🇧 UK: strong structure, strong minimum standards — but too centralized to innovate.

🇦🇪 Middle East: incredibly open to experimentation and customization.

🇪🇺 Europe: the startup energy + creativity needed to drive real change.

When you connect these three, you start to see a path forward.

The Voice Missing From Every Conversation: Students

Perhaps the most important point of the entire interview:

“Everyone talks about students. Almost no one talks to them.”

Not out of bad intention — but out of habit. We assume. We interpret. We guess.

But when students build their own prototypes — as Saif saw in his workshops — their creativity is astonishing.

They understand learning better than we think.

Why You’ll Want to Listen to the Full Episode

This interview isn’t about abstract theory. It’s raw, practical, deeply human insight from two people building education from the inside.

You’ll hear:

✓ why some schools are finally embracing customization

✓ why founders fail to understand the classroom

✓ how to scale personalization without losing humanity

✓ what teachers can build next week using AI

✓ how bottom-up change could reshape entire systems

✓ why Europe might secretly be the most exciting place in edtech

And you’ll walk away with the same feeling I had:

Education isn’t broken — it’s just waiting for the right questions.

If you enjoyed this summary, listen to the full conversation on Edtech Dots — and remember:

The bigger the channel, the bigger the guests.