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One of my core beliefs:
All kids are homeschooled.
Some just do it full time.
All kids are homeschooled.
Some just do it full time.
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A fair and balanced look at Alpha from @BradleyKBusch (who also hosts a wonderful podcast everyone interested in learning and education should check out).
I went to visit some Alpha schools yesterday.
I spoke to students, principals, the learning scientists and the people developing their apps.
Here are my reflections…🧵
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Justin Shell retweeted
It took me a long time to realize the key lesson of the Trojan Horse. It's not that it took bravery, that if they failed, they would all die (they would). It's much worse than that. If they failed, nobody would say "good effort" "heroic" "tragic" "iconic". No, everyone would say "what a bunch of stupid f*cking weirdos!! Hahaha, losers. Thought you were tricky? Hide in a wooden horse? WTF??? Serves you right". And that's a fear that holds a lot more people back from greatness than the fear of death.
after reviewing 10,000+ Thiel Fellowship applications, Michael and Danielle developed some pretty unusual ideas about what makes a great founder.
edge control. hyperfluency. the toilet plunger. Danielle's "Friday Night Dyson sphere."
none of these are a personality test.
we're bastards who always find a way.
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The difference in education is that basketball has a single, well-defined goal.
Education often has many, and it’s very hard to get a large enough group that agrees not only on the set of goals, but which ones should take precedence.
Education often has many, and it’s very hard to get a large enough group that agrees not only on the set of goals, but which ones should take precedence.
It’s disappointing how many awful takes on learning come from within the field of education itself.
Imagine some portion of pro basketball coaches deciding that all they'll do during practice is have a group discussion about the sport and their relationship with it.
Thanks to the level of accountability and incentives in athletics, that situation would naturally resolve: the team would get their butt handed to them every game, and the coach would get fired.
It all comes down to measuring performance and holding coaches accountable for obtaining performance results.
But in education, lots of people avoid measuring performance or hide behind nebulous proxy metrics instead (e.g., engagement).
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Zero sum vs positive sum has been the “idea of the month” in our house.
Doubted the younger kids would get it, but my 4yo was upset about her brother getting accolades for helping out, and my 6yo says “It’s not a zero sum game. Just because I got it doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Well played young man.
Doubted the younger kids would get it, but my 4yo was upset about her brother getting accolades for helping out, and my 6yo says “It’s not a zero sum game. Just because I got it doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Well played young man.
Milton Friedman: “Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.”
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What if try out “digital libraries” in cities - add some publicly accessible terminals for interacting with the whole of human knowledge, put a local coffee shop in the front (you’ve got adequate heating built in), then recapture waste heat and pipe it directly into city district heating systems to warm homes and municipal buildings, giving residents discounted heating in the cooler seasons (maybe even include a savings tracker in the coffee shop).
I took this pic last week. Opposing datacenters has now turned into a virtue signal. That’s bad
It’s a lot harder to overcome an objection once it hardens into a public commitment or an identity
If you’ve built a reputation around saying no to datacenters (like some politicians r expensive to flip, even if new info emerges or your original concerns get addressed
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Justin Shell retweeted
Big news from KaiPod Learning! 🚀
We're excited to announce additional investment to accelerate our impact.
With 125+ schools across 21 states, we're building the infrastructure to power the next generation of schools—and we're just getting started! Check out the post below! 👇
We're excited to announce additional investment to accelerate our impact.
With 125+ schools across 21 states, we're building the infrastructure to power the next generation of schools—and we're just getting started! Check out the post below! 👇
A new generation of schools is emerging across America. And at @KaiPodCo, we've spent the last six years building the infrastructure to power it.
Today, I'm excited to announce additional investment from our existing investors—Reach Capital, EO Ventures, and Ulu Ventures—to nd expand our impact.
We've built something unique in education: an integrated platform that helps educators launch, operate, and grow great schools. Here's what that looks like today:
🚀 125+ schools across 21 states, serving children from all backgrounds in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
🏫 KaiPod Catalyst is the country's largest school launch program, helping hundreds of educators turn their dreams of starting a school into reality.
💻 KaiPod Newton supports more than 100 schools, bringing modern, purpose-built technology to a sector that's long relied on spreadsheets and software designed for daycares or large institutions.
🤝 We're expanding our work with states and school districts, bringing new schools to more communities.
I've never been more optimistic about the future of education than I am today.
The pieces for meaningful change have finally fallen into place. Families are demanding more choices. Educators are creating new schools. Policymakers are making those options more accessible. And as more great schools emerge, competition is raising the bar for everyone.
Regardless of where we stand on education policy or politics, I believe we share a common goal: more great schools where every child can thrive. We've spent years building the infrastructure for this moment. Now, we're ready to scale it.
And, if you’re an educator, partner, or someone who wants to help build the future of education, I'd love to connect!
I've shared a short video about our journey and where we're headed next.
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This time is different because AI isn’t just a content delivery system. It can provide a complete delivery, assessment, feedback loop in ways EdTech couldn’t before.
That said it can still be designed poorly or well, so AI isn’t a cure-all, just a powerful tool.
That said it can still be designed poorly or well, so AI isn’t a cure-all, just a powerful tool.
> I'm a long-time EdTech skeptic. And I'm here to say that advances in AI have changed the game.
100%. Traditional EdTech was a disaster (and still is in most classrooms). And I know "this time it's different" is what people always say.
But seriously: this time it's different
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I was wondering when the point would come where AI voice was too real.
Apparently it was back there… when this happened.
Apparently it was back there… when this happened.
We believe voice is the most natural way to interact with intelligence, so we created Dessa, the most authentic full-duplex speech model ever built. Talking with it feels like talking with a person…full of emotion, nuance, pauses, and a natural cadence.
block.xyz/dessa
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I lived in Europe for about a year and a half, and I loved it. I’d love to go back and visit often, but I don’t think I’d move back.
I like the ambition and optimism of the average American, and I love that I feel like I can make an impact here in ways I couldn’t there.
I like the ambition and optimism of the average American, and I love that I feel like I can make an impact here in ways I couldn’t there.
The internet told them Europe was a social paradise. Turns out the trains are awful, the health care isn’t free, and people can be really mean. buff.ly/5cLtnha
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I've changed how I teach history this year. Inspiration on the new method from Herman Ebbinghaus, @DTWillingham, and general cogsci readings.
I call the new method "Catalytic Stories"... admittedly an average name.
I call the new method "Catalytic Stories"... admittedly an average name.
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If any educators want to give feedback, it'd be much appreciated!
justinshell.substack.com/p/catalytic-st…
justinshell.substack.com/p/catalytic-st…
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Justin Shell retweeted
I'm hiring for someone's dream role @theacademysf: student recruitment.
Here's what the person I'm looking for will do and looks like:
This person will oversee our student recruitment funnels. You'll travel the world to give talks in schools and meet applicants, spend your days on the phone building trust with families, and work with our industry partners to reach their communities.
Here's the archetype I see for this person: junior, extraordinarily talented, high energy, golden retriever vibes. Embodies the ethos of the school. Tech savvy enough to keep up with the extremely technical projects our applicants work on.
Young people need to like you, and you need to genuinely like them. Take them seriously, treat them like peers, and be curious about what they're building. You should get excited talking to these people, not because you're trying to recruit them, but because you find them fascinating.
You need to LOVE talking to people, that's 90% of the job. You also need to be comfortable traveling a lot.
This is a role for a junior person (open to mid-level or senior if you're willing to be in the trenches with us!) who is extremely ambitious and capable of owning an extraordinary amount of responsibility. You'll be one of the main intermediaries between the world and our school, and for many people, their first impression of The Academy.
I'm actively interviewing candidates for this. If you're interested, apply through our career page and ping me once you've submitted. If someone I know can vouch for you, you'll get on my radar even faster.
If you know anyone who fits the bill, I would be extremely thankful to hear from you as well!
Here's what the person I'm looking for will do and looks like:
This person will oversee our student recruitment funnels. You'll travel the world to give talks in schools and meet applicants, spend your days on the phone building trust with families, and work with our industry partners to reach their communities.
Here's the archetype I see for this person: junior, extraordinarily talented, high energy, golden retriever vibes. Embodies the ethos of the school. Tech savvy enough to keep up with the extremely technical projects our applicants work on.
Young people need to like you, and you need to genuinely like them. Take them seriously, treat them like peers, and be curious about what they're building. You should get excited talking to these people, not because you're trying to recruit them, but because you find them fascinating.
You need to LOVE talking to people, that's 90% of the job. You also need to be comfortable traveling a lot.
This is a role for a junior person (open to mid-level or senior if you're willing to be in the trenches with us!) who is extremely ambitious and capable of owning an extraordinary amount of responsibility. You'll be one of the main intermediaries between the world and our school, and for many people, their first impression of The Academy.
I'm actively interviewing candidates for this. If you're interested, apply through our career page and ping me once you've submitted. If someone I know can vouch for you, you'll get on my radar even faster.
If you know anyone who fits the bill, I would be extremely thankful to hear from you as well!
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This mimics a useful framework that I apply increasingly often comparing a person’s CONFIDENCE vs COMPETENCE.
In some places like sports, business and politics, it seems to be beneficial for confidence to significantly exceed competence (often significantly).
However in other places like medicine or engineering (when risk is real and significant) it behooves you to have competence align with or slightly exceed confidence.
In some places like sports, business and politics, it seems to be beneficial for confidence to significantly exceed competence (often significantly).
However in other places like medicine or engineering (when risk is real and significant) it behooves you to have competence align with or slightly exceed confidence.
My math level and confidence level from 7 yo to 35 yo, according to Opus 5.5
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Not sure how I didn’t add entertainment to the first category.
Also, perhaps a big problem with politics is that it should be in the second category, but unfortunately it’s difficult to blame a single individual for errors and therefore we don’t get the accountability we need.
Also, perhaps a big problem with politics is that it should be in the second category, but unfortunately it’s difficult to blame a single individual for errors and therefore we don’t get the accountability we need.
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Makes sense.
Using the η=A×M×Q heuristic, a learner might go from A=.7, M=.8 with phones to A=.9, M=.9 without: 45% higher modeled learning efficiency at fixed Q.
(Illustrative assumptions not values measured or inferred from this study.)
…sode-demo.myschoolstartup.workers.dev/?A=0.7&M=0.8&Q…
Using the η=A×M×Q heuristic, a learner might go from A=.7, M=.8 with phones to A=.9, M=.9 without: 45% higher modeled learning efficiency at fixed Q.
(Illustrative assumptions not values measured or inferred from this study.)
…sode-demo.myschoolstartup.workers.dev/?A=0.7&M=0.8&Q…
Restricting student access to phones is associated with significantly higher academic performance.
science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…
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Really good article. Critical point.
Somewhat relatedly, implementation is in part about creating conditions where students can attend to learning, hold those ideas in mind, and generate initial memory formation.
I explore those relationships in my preliminary model, η = AMQ.
…sode-demo.myschoolstartup.workers.dev
Somewhat relatedly, implementation is in part about creating conditions where students can attend to learning, hold those ideas in mind, and generate initial memory formation.
I explore those relationships in my preliminary model, η = AMQ.
…sode-demo.myschoolstartup.workers.dev
📣 The first official post on my Substack, 📘The Blue Book📘, is up.
I hope you'll read it, share it, and—if you like it—subscribe.
I argue there is a bigger insight from the New York Times article ranking education reforms.
matthewakraft.substack.com/p/the-implemen…
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