Ed Sheeran’s new song about school shows that he has no idea what he’s talking about

Look — I love Sesame Street, and I especially love its new model of having famous singers adapt their songs for the show. A Katy Perry song about romantic mind games becomes a story about playing with Elmo. A Feist song is turned into an extended reflection on the awesomeness of the number 4. And so on.

But even the denizens of Sesame Street– and, apparently, singer/songwriter Ed Sheehan — are beholden to the unconscious assumptions we hold about school.

This notion — that school is the place to be passive, obedient, and receptive — is a central obstacle to our efforts to reimagine something better. And this video is just the latest reminder of how much work remains to be done before we can see school, and young people, as active (boisterous even) participants in their own learning.