The Age of Agency
Education has always been shaped by its era.
Each generation needed different skills to thrive.
1920: Industrial Revolution
Built for the industrial age, schoolings focused on memorizing facts and following instructions. Information was scarce and controlled by institutions so success meant absorbing knowledge efficiently.
2000: Information Age
When the internet entered every household, knowledge became abundant. The winners weren’t those who knew the most, but those who could teach the most, adapt quickly, and sort signal from noise.
2022: Age of Agency
AI can research, generate, and even simulate learning. What it can’t do is choose purpose, build character, persevere through real challenge, or lead with integrity. In this era, agency becomes the defining human advantage.
What machines can’t do…
Take responsibility for a real outcome
Care deeply and persist through failure
Collaborate with empathy and courage
Create meaning from uncertainty
Lead when no one is watching
A school built for what’s next
At Acton Academy Columbus, we’re not tied to any government system, political agenda, or religious institution. That freedom lets us respond to reality, not bureaucracy.
As AI, robotics, and automation reshape the world, we evolve our studios, quests, and tools in real time — so learners don’t just keep up with change. They learn to lead it.
“The future belongs to young people who develop courage and agency.”
