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The real barrier to personalized learning is not technology,
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it's not funding, it's not even curriculum, nor is it class size.
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The biggest barrier is that our educational system was never designed for personalization,
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and most educators were never trained to deliver it.
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So how do we fix this astronomical problem?
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Because we know that our students now need personalized learning more than ever.
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This is exactly why so many families are opting out of traditional education,
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why teachers are leaving the system, why teachers are building micro schools
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and homeschool hybrids.
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How are we going to really move through this transition and change in society
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when we were never really prepared for it?
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And so what do we need to focus on?
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And how can we bridge the gap between what is happening in traditional education,
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parents trying to homeschool, to give more personalized education,
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founders trying to give a more personalized education, but maybe not having
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the experience or the training,
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that's exactly what we're going to dive into today.
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Welcome to the ReDream Education Podcast.
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I'm Mackenzie Oliver, micro school founder, educator, coach,
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and believer in the power of starting small, dreaming boldly,
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and rebuilding the future of education one courageous step at a time.
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If you're here, it's because something in your life, your classroom,
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your family, your child, your community, or your calling is asking for a new
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dream, a wiser dream, a re-dream.
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This podcast is where we challenge the old models, rethink what learning can
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be, and build innovative pathways for children, families, and communities.
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Each week, you'll gain the systems, strategies, stories, and soul work you need
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to design personalized learning, understand how education is changing for the better,
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start or scale a micro school, lead with confidence, make a change for your family.
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And create an education model that actually works for today's world.
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Because you aren't just dreaming of something different, you are building it.
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This is a space where we re-envision what school can be, re-imagine how children
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learn, and rebuild the systems that were never designed to meet the needs of
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our future and current generation.
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This is a podcast to re-dream education as we share insight,
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strategies, stories, and tools to teach our children better,
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transform learning at home,
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support innovative education models, and invest financially or personally in
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the future of students everywhere.
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Because you aren't just dreaming about a better education, you're part of the
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movement to create it. Welcome to the ReDream Education Podcast.
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This is where the future begins.
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When I was a public school teacher, I really didn't even know what the term
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personalized education meant.
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Now, I knew what differentiation meant. And even speaking with a principal that
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I worked closely with this past week, he said differentiation is still the hardest
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thing that teachers wrestle with.
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So as we as educators have went through training to learn about differentiation,
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how to differentiate to meet students' needs, it's not quite the same as personalized.
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And even when you are in traditional education, you still have the same age
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group of students sitting in the classroom.
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You are trying to differentiate to meet their needs, but you still have specific
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grade level standards that you are bound to for those students.
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You know, we often talk about personalized learning as if schools simply need to decide to do it.
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But honestly, what if the real challenge is that our entire educational system
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was built to do the exact opposite?
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And then if it was built to do the exact opposite, like how it was established
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in the Industrial Revolution, now we're trying to learn how to differentiate,
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and then we add in an extra layer of personalization.
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Now we're starting to get to the real root of what needs to happen,
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but there's still so many barriers to get there.
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During the Industrial Revolution, schools were designed to
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educate large numbers of students efficiently, create consistency,
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prepare workers for factories
Load full transcript
and assembly lines, and to teach compliance,
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to teach routines, and to teach standardization.
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This is exactly where.
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Grade levels came from. Bells came from. Subject blocks came from.
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Age-based grouping. Standardized testing.
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The system was never designed around individual learners. It was designed around
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efficiency. And of course, we still want to be efficient.
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And to be fair, it worked for what society needed at that time.
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But of course, as you know, society has changed, but children haven't changed,
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although yes, they actually have changed because of technology.
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So the way that children learn, I really do beg to differ that they don't learn,
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that they don't need the same things that they needed 50, 60 years ago.
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I still believe we are humans, and we all still learn best through our own mode
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of learning, whether it be auditory learning, kinesthetic learning,
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hands-on learning, which are both very similar.
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And while there are students who have different learning styles,
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they will learn better. But research really hasn't consistently shown that students
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learn best only through learning style.
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Students do have learning preferences. They still have learning strengths.
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They have needs, but not all students benefit from multiple scenarios,
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meaning that a student may prefer visual supports, but they still need to develop listening skills.
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A student may enjoy hands-on learning, but they still need to learn through reading.
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So the goal isn't to label students, it's really to provide multiple pathways to learning.
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And this all boils down to readiness, to pace, to interest.
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And when I say readiness, what does the student currently know?
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Pace, how quickly does the student master new concepts?
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Interest, what motivates the student? Supports, what barriers exist?
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How do they demonstrate their understanding as their strength?
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So there's different learning styles that have come into play that have to be considered.
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And I remember when I was teaching in Missouri, now I'm in Florida,
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but this was back in 2011, I believe, is whenever I started at a new school.
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And man, oh man, it was the most fascinating learning that I received about
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learning different children's styles of receiving and applying information.
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Also known as their learning style.
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But then we also went even further through mastery-based recording.
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And from that experience, when I moved to Florida, it just went away because
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I didn't have the capacity. I didn't have the opportunities in my classroom
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to really implement them.
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But now having a micro school, I'm just peeling back that curtain and we are
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working through identifying students' learning styles, but also their mastery
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and what concepts they've mastered.
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And if they've already mastered them, how can we prepare teachers to move students
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along at their own level?
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And curriculum is huge.
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It's huge because we have to make sure that we have the right resources to teach
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children what they need to learn, what they've not mastered yet.
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We also need to make sure that our teachers are equipped. We also have to make
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sure that we know the student's learning style.
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There's a ton of information that goes into personalized learning,
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and I do want to take this time right now, before we get into even more nitty
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gritty of personalization, is the difference between differentiation versus personalization.
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It is a very misunderstood concept in education because people will use the
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terms interchangeably and they are not the same.
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Differentiation is when the teacher adjusts instruction to meet students' needs.
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The teacher is going to remain the primary driver.
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They provide different reading passages. They offer extra support.
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They give advanced challenges. They might have flexible grouping.
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They might give modified assignments.
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And may I repeat, it is still the hardest thing for teachers to do.
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Not only do teachers say that that is hard for them, administrators will say
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that is hard for them, and parents notice that it is hard for them.
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Differentiation reminds me of having a teacher-centered adaptation.
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So maybe it's a fourth grade classroom studying fractions. The teacher provide
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manipulatives to a student who's struggling.
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They might give grade-level practice to most students, and they're going to
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offer enrichment problems to advanced students. But they're all still studying fractions.
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Everyone is studying fractions, but the teacher is differentiating how those
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students are going to learn fractions.
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But personalization is different. It is tailored around the student's readiness,
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their goals, their interests, their strengths, their needs of mastery.
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So the student actually becomes a more active participant, and we're giving
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them specifically, an analogy would be what the doctor thinks would be the best medication for them.
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So you know if you go to the doctor and you have a cold.
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For some children, they may have a cold and the doctor will give them amoxicillin.
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But if a doctor gave amoxicillin to my youngest daughter, Joliana,
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she could have a very bad allergic reaction. She cannot have amoxicillin.
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She's going to need a very specific medication. Let's say she tries that medication.
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She doesn't respond very well to it. they're going to try a different medication.
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Something that is personalized to what her body can respond to.
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This is exactly what we are discussing when we're talking about personalization and learning.
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It is a student-centered pathway.
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So let's give an example of students working towards mastery in math.
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One student might need support with multiplication. Another student is trying to master fractions.
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And another is trying to solve ratios.
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The students are not on the same lesson. Each has their individualized pathway towards growth.
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I really do love this distinction. And just a simple way to explain it,
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differentiation, the teacher adjusts the experience for the student.
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But personalization, the teacher is giving an entirely different pathway to the student.
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It's like three people training for a marathon.
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Traditional education. Everyone runs five miles per day.
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That's what I did whenever I was in the track team. Like, everybody get up to
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the starting line and we're all running three miles today.
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But I was a sprinter. Why did
I have to run three miles? No matter the fitness
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lever, no matter what I was training for in track, everybody ran three miles.
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Differentiation. Everyone runs five miles. But maybe one group went with Coach,
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Morris and he gave specific coaching to them.
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Maybe this other group got more frequent water breaks. Maybe this other group
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got to go a little bit slower.
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But personalization for me as a runner really came when my coach would pull
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me outside of running that three miles and say, you're going to practice handing
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off batons to your relay team today.
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But my friend Lauren, who's in long jump, she's working on long jump, right?
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We all may have had the three-mile warm-up, but now we're breaking off and we're
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doing specifically what we are called to do, what our bodies were ready to do,
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what we are naturally gifted and strong at.
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So my coach may tell me, you're going to work on practicing baton handoffs today.
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You're going to do three 400-meter sprints. Then you're going to do two 200-meter
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sprints. Then 100-meter sprints.
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But my friend Lauren, I'm looking at her thinking, all she has to do is run and jump in the pit.
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I want to be like Lauren. I just want to do long jump. But guess what?
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I'm not ready for long jump. I'll never be ready for long jump.
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That is not my gift and that is not my talent.
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I have a different fitness plan. I have a different goal. I have a different
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strength, I have a different challenge.
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Every pathway and track is individualized. Okay, we have to think about this
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in personalization for learning. And it's hard.
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Because when I refer to that track team, guess how many coaches are out there? Lots.
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You got the head coach, you got the relay coach, you got the long jump coach,
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got the high jump coach, you've got the long distance coach,
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the sprinting coach, and the list goes on.
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If you are a teacher, a homeschooling parent, or a brand new micro school founder
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who is trying to figure out what comes next, you need to hear this.
00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:59.143
Micro School Masterminds is the community and coaching program I wish I had
00:13:59.370 --> 00:14:03.729
when I first stepped out of the classroom and built our micro school.
00:14:03.880 --> 00:14:10.928
Yes, straight from the living room to now nearly over a hundred students thriving in year six.
00:14:11.322 --> 00:14:14.202
This is where teachers and founders finally get the roadmap,
00:14:14.486 --> 00:14:19.728
the support and the systems to create a thriving micro school without earning out.
00:14:19.954 --> 00:14:25.330
Inside Microschool Masterminds, you will receive weekly live coaching with me
00:14:25.603 --> 00:14:33.045
and other powerful professionals who discuss strategy solutions and provide personal support.
00:14:33.178 --> 00:14:37.375
You also receive step-by-step modules to build your school legally,
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financially and operationally marketing enrollment done
00:14:42.335 --> 00:14:46.598
for you with training that works even if you've never advertised before
00:14:46.732 --> 00:14:51.065
and you can learn this on your own time through our micro school masterminds
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classroom modules worried about multi-age classrooms or curriculum we've got
00:14:56.595 --> 00:15:00.843
you covered with our curriculum planning resources you receive templates
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for marketing, financial systems, operations, community building, and growth.
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Everything is ready for you to plug in and go.
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Most importantly, you have access to a powerful community of other founders
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who understand your dreams and your fears.
00:15:21.395 --> 00:15:25.525
Whether you're starting really slow or you're still teaching the classroom and
00:15:25.525 --> 00:15:27.587
you're dreaming of breaking free.
00:15:28.010 --> 00:15:31.673
Or you're already running your micro school but feeling overwhelmed,
00:15:31.673 --> 00:15:35.411
trying to figure out also how to build a hybrid program.
00:15:35.771 --> 00:15:40.576
This is a place where you gain clarity, confidence, and, of course, a plan.
00:15:40.942 --> 00:15:44.133
Because you don't have to do this alone. You deserve guidance.
00:15:44.133 --> 00:15:49.359
You deserve support. And your micro school deserves to grow with ease, not chaos.
00:15:49.504 --> 00:15:53.551
If you're ready to re-dream education and take the next step,
00:15:53.655 --> 00:15:58.773
Join us inside Microschool Masterminds, where together we are building this
00:15:58.773 --> 00:16:00.783
education system better.
00:16:00.783 --> 00:16:06.362
Head over to redreameducation.com slash masterminds to learn more.
00:16:06.681 --> 00:16:11.714
Again, that's redreameducation.com slash masterminds.
00:16:14.872 --> 00:16:20.132
So how as a school, how as a mom, if you're homeschooling, how does a teacher, how do we do it?
00:16:21.067 --> 00:16:23.953
I mean, if we're differentiating, we're adjusting instruction,
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we're
using small groups, we're providing accommodations, we're offering enrichment.
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We still do that at Lighthouse Learning.
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But for personalization at Lighthouse Learning, our students are assessed.
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We know exactly what level they are on, not based on what their age level is.
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Now, we will share with parents, if they are in third grade, they should.
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Ideally, research-based should have mastered these skills.
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Maybe they haven't. This is what we're going to do to personalize their pathway.
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And they can go as fast as we can. And together as a parent and school partnership,
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maybe there needs to be an additional tutoring.
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Maybe you're going to work more consistently at home, but at least you know
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exactly what you need to work on with your child.
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So our students participate in walk-to-learn groups based on their readiness.
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They progress through either their math pathway or their literacy pathway,
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and they can continue to jump and move groups, so we're never stalling them
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at how fast they're learning.
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They're going to receive instruction based on their current skill level.
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They're going to experience flexible learning opportunities of working with
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different teachers and working with different students and working and moving
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through learning centers in the classroom.
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And then they're going to pursue their interests through enrichment and project-based learning.
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I feel as if differentiation is something that teachers do and we're called
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to do it. And that in and of itself is a skill.
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But personalization is something that happens when we start building schools.
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Differentiation happens within a lesson, but personalization,
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it happens within a system.
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So let's get into a few really nitty gritty pieces of information about personalization.
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So I would say part one is we clearly know that education wasn't built for personalization.
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And like I said earlier, we often talk about personalization as if schools simply
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need to just decide to do it.
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But the real challenge is that our entire educational system was built to do the exact opposite.
00:18:31.365 --> 00:18:35.388
How are we expecting teachers who are being trained?
00:18:36.031 --> 00:18:39.853
First off, they've had the experience of traditional education,
00:18:39.853 --> 00:18:41.941
an industrial revolution type of teaching.
00:18:42.614 --> 00:18:47.463
Then they go to college to become teachers, and they're taught to teach that same way.
00:18:48.174 --> 00:18:54.905
How are we able to really think about educating large numbers of students efficiently?
00:18:55.508 --> 00:19:01.843
We're not able to because you can't teach a large group of students the same
00:19:01.843 --> 00:19:03.975
information at the same pace.
00:19:04.672 --> 00:19:07.703
Schools were designed to create consistency. And yes, as teachers,
00:19:07.703 --> 00:19:11.193
we need consistency and our students need consistency. But it looks different
00:19:11.193 --> 00:19:12.275
through personalization.
00:19:12.967 --> 00:19:16.203
Workers were prepared for factories and assembly lines. That's not what we're
00:19:16.203 --> 00:19:17.704
preparing our students for now.
00:19:18.336 --> 00:19:24.683
This is exactly what we need, why we need personalization and why it matters today.
00:19:24.683 --> 00:19:29.942
Because our classrooms have ADHD students, dyslexia, maybe autism,
00:19:30.453 --> 00:19:34.737
definite executive functioning challenges, anxiety, giftedness.
00:19:35.446 --> 00:19:39.364
And every student, of course, they arrive with different experiences.
00:19:39.863 --> 00:19:43.063
When schools were built during the Industrial Revolution, I'm pretty sure a
00:19:43.063 --> 00:19:46.185
majority of moms weren't even in the workforce at that time.
00:19:47.133 --> 00:19:51.533
The household looks differently now. There's different interest in families
00:19:51.533 --> 00:19:54.715
and opportunities that we can give our students based on,
00:19:55.249 --> 00:20:00.243
our society and what our culture has created, whether it comes to sports and
00:20:00.243 --> 00:20:03.699
arts and talents and trades.
00:20:04.076 --> 00:20:06.613
There's different strengths. There's different readiness levels.
00:20:06.613 --> 00:20:08.813
And those have all already existed.
00:20:09.510 --> 00:20:18.104
But we're more aware of how all of our family structures have changed over the
00:20:18.354 --> 00:20:19.613
past several decades. Right?
00:20:20.375 --> 00:20:24.278
The average classroom, it just no longer exists. The challenge is that many
00:20:24.278 --> 00:20:28.395
schools are trying to serve today's students using yesterday's model.
00:20:29.057 --> 00:20:37.128
I think about my dad. He, honestly, he is a perfect example of someone who is
00:20:37.128 --> 00:20:39.737
so gifted with his hands.
00:20:40.410 --> 00:20:46.488
And if you look back at his report cards, and we all laugh as a family, he totally had ADHD.
00:20:47.121 --> 00:20:50.487
And every teacher is like, Willie's so sweet.
00:20:50.842 --> 00:20:55.155
He just can't stay focused. He gets out of his seat. He falls out of his chair.
00:20:55.393 -->
00:20:58.156
I can't get Willie to focus. He's always looking out the window.
00:20:58.713 --> 00:21:03.298
If Willie would turn in his work and he just he just did not like school.
00:21:03.298 --> 00:21:06.324
He struggled through school. And guess what he ended up doing?
00:21:06.997 --> 00:21:11.257
He ended up going to work at a factory, working on that assembly line.
00:21:12.045 --> 00:21:18.982
Paid really great money, gave really amazing benefits, and stole his soul.
00:21:20.130 --> 00:21:26.916
And it was him who said, don't ever take a job based on how much money you will get.
00:21:27.549 --> 00:21:33.098
Do what you love. And finally, he went through very, very challenging years,
00:21:33.626 --> 00:21:41.717
in that profession, feeling like that was all he was trained to do and ready to do and skilled to do.
00:21:42.170 --> 00:21:47.068
And then he just totally bucked the system, left his job, said,
00:21:47.068 --> 00:21:50.821
I'm out of here after so many years, like almost 30 years,
00:21:51.468 --> 00:21:55.068
moved from Missouri to Florida, started his handyman business out of his truck,
00:21:55.068 --> 00:21:59.798
makes five, seven times more than what he ever made, has flexibility,
00:21:59.798 --> 00:22:03.437
loves his job, can't even stop working. He loves it so much.
00:22:04.746 --> 00:22:09.325
How are we training kids for this? Especially if teachers were never trained.
00:22:09.984 --> 00:22:14.478
This is a conversation that very few people are having. Most teachers are trained
00:22:14.478 --> 00:22:17.498
to teach grade level standards, deliver whole group lessons,
00:22:17.498 --> 00:22:21.060
manage classrooms, follow pacing guides, use curriculum with fidelity.
00:22:21.791 --> 00:22:26.899
And very few teachers are prepared with programs to run flexible learning groups,
00:22:27.317 --> 00:22:31.408
manage multiple readiness levels simultaneously. Even if you're a homeschool
00:22:31.408 --> 00:22:33.052
mom, you're probably struggling with this.
00:22:33.447 --> 00:22:38.050
Using mastery-based progression, like where is my child? Where is he or she supposed to be?
00:22:38.422 --> 00:22:43.135
How do I get out of just buying the big third grade boxed BJU curriculum?
00:22:43.536 --> 00:22:47.348
How do I actually know what level my child is at? And how can I make sure that
00:22:47.348 --> 00:22:49.684
they are challenged at that level or supported?
00:22:50.328 --> 00:22:52.784
How do I build them their own little pathway?
00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:57.265
How can I also let them sit in a driver's seat to learn what they want to learn?
00:22:58.027 --> 00:23:03.019
I want to say that teachers and parents, they want to personalize learning.
00:23:03.907 --> 00:23:07.164
We just haven't been given the training or the systems or the support.
00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:11.588
So when I hear schools and even founders say, we're going to personalize next
00:23:11.588 --> 00:23:13.919
year, teachers feel overwhelmed.
00:23:14.244 --> 00:23:17.861
Not because they don't believe in it, because they don't know how to operationalize it.
00:23:18.908 --> 00:23:23.035
And I think as a founder, as an administrator, this is where we get it wrong.
00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:28.348
We're implementing personalized learning. And I can tell you that even parents
00:23:28.348 --> 00:23:30.820
think that personalized learning should look a different way.
00:23:31.499 --> 00:23:35.848
So it's very important as a leader to know what does personalized learning look,
00:23:36.387 --> 00:23:41.919
like at our school so that parents are aware of what that personalization looks like.
00:23:42.807 --> 00:23:47.068
You may have a parent argue with you and say, I do not think that there is personalization
00:23:47.068 --> 00:23:48.274
going on in that classroom.
00:23:49.212 --> 00:23:53.830
But if there are seven kids in a class and a teacher is pulling students to
00:23:53.830 --> 00:23:57.885
the side and not only differentiating, but also giving,
00:23:58.413 --> 00:24:02.830
different supports to that student, allowing that student to go and pick out
00:24:02.830 --> 00:24:06.830
different books that they want to read and showcase their learning in a different
00:24:06.830 --> 00:24:10.081
way or give them more challenging tasks,
00:24:10.546 --> 00:24:13.413
that is showing personalization.
00:24:13.959 --> 00:24:18.230
Maybe their class is learning fractions, but this child is still stuck on multiplication
00:24:18.230 --> 00:24:22.910
And that teacher is showing that child how to work through multiplication,
00:24:23.676 --> 00:24:25.882
not comparing them to the rest of the class.
00:24:26.463 --> 00:24:30.820
That's personalized learning. So it's very important a parent may get it very
00:24:30.820 --> 00:24:34.756
mixed up and not understand what personalization looks like.
00:24:35.272 --> 00:24:39.144
And we just need to educate them about what it looks like in our school.
00:24:39.801 --> 00:24:44.763
Even teachers, even administrators have an idea of what personalization looks like.
00:24:45.069 --> 00:24:49.516
But we need to actually sit together with our teams, with our teachers.
00:24:50.570 --> 00:24:54.170
With our spouses, if we're homeschooling together, and talk about what does
00:24:54.170 --> 00:24:56.726
this look like for our child, this child right here?
00:24:57.425 --> 00:25:01.194
What do they need? What do they love? How can we get them there?
00:25:01.833 --> 00:25:05.470
We cannot have the same schedule, the same curriculum, the same assessments,
00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:09.803
the same staffing structure, the same class sizes. It's not transformation.
00:25:10.390 --> 00:25:11.597
It's wishful thinking.
00:25:12.282 --> 00:25:16.079
If we as leaders want personalization, we have to redesign systems.
00:25:16.688 --> 00:25:21.268
We have to know, does our schedule allow for intervention? Does our schedule allow for enrichment?
00:25:21.628 --> 00:25:25.993
Does our schedule allow for students to move based on readiness?
00:25:26.910 --> 00:25:30.810
Do teachers have collaborative planning time? Are we measuring growth or are
00:25:30.810 --> 00:25:33.888
we measuring proficiency? Are we back to the old school gradebook?
00:25:34.080 --> 00:25:37.810
And let me tell you, we have had to fall back to that for a little bit because
00:25:37.810 --> 00:25:40.352
our parents were like, wait, where are the gradebooks here?
00:25:40.881 --> 00:25:44.513
And so we had to get very crystal clear that that is not what our school is doing anymore.
00:25:45.262 --> 00:25:50.137
Our school is personalizing learning, and we will have mastery checklist for
00:25:50.137 --> 00:25:54.807
your child so that you know exactly what they are learning, what they need to
00:25:54.807 --> 00:25:59.548
be learning, and how fast we can get them to either make up,
00:26:00.355 --> 00:26:02.428
and to get the support that they need.
00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:07.553
Because every parent says, I just want my kid to be learning and growing.
00:26:07.832 --> 00:26:10.334
And majority of them will say, I want them to be on grade level.
00:26:10.665 --> 00:26:14.659
If that is what you want for your child, we have to have a plan.
00:26:14.966 --> 00:26:18.407
We have to make sure that they've mastered foundational blocks before they get
00:26:18.407 --> 00:26:20.690
to that grade-level expectation.
00:26:21.415 --> 00:26:24.155
Those are the conversations we have to be having with families.
00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:27.628
Do we have systems for progress monitoring?
00:26:28.522 --> 00:26:33.661
Because we can't teach a unit, give an assessment, and move on.
00:26:34.347 --> 00:26:37.040
I think that we've learned that as educators through the years,
00:26:37.342 --> 00:26:41.015
but still we have a hard time with formative versus summative assessments.
00:26:41.816 --> 00:26:45.837
And those are critical for personalization. Our curriculum,
00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:52.860
I will tell you the hardest part, other than just the barrier of trying to learn
00:26:53.046 --> 00:26:57.371
and implement and train personalization, the second hardest part is finding curriculum.
00:26:58.261 --> 00:27:02.353
You have to find curriculum that is flexible. And let me just say this.
00:27:02.984 --> 00:27:06.142
Yes, there's a ton of personalization platforms out there online.
00:27:06.741 --> 00:27:09.817
And if that is the direction you want to go for students, then you're going
00:27:09.817 --> 00:27:11.814
to find a lot of adaptive learning programs.
00:27:12.058 --> 00:27:17.044
But for our school, we are pulling technology from students until grade three.
00:27:18.102 --> 00:27:22.444
And when grade three students do receive technology, it is minimal.
00:27:23.077 --> 00:27:25.080
They are not learning through computers.
00:27:25.723 --> 00:27:30.367
Or we're going to continue to get the anxiety-driven students,
00:27:30.890 -->
00:27:33.808
the students who lack communication skills,
00:27:34.371 --> 00:27:38.737
the students who cannot think for themselves, who could be potentially going
00:27:38.737 --> 00:27:44.582
through firewalls to get to different AI to answer their questions. It's dangerous.
00:27:45.429 --> 00:27:49.452
We have to have curriculum where students can move forward when ready.
00:27:50.050 --> 00:27:53.615
And we have to make sure that teachers are equipped to allow the students to
00:27:53.615 --> 00:27:59.730
do that and to be nimble, skill-based, focused on mastery, not just completing your assignment.
00:28:00.330 --> 00:28:04.986
Diagnostic materials to help identify gaps and strengths and next steps.
00:28:05.404 --> 00:28:07.546
We have to find curriculum that is adaptable.
00:28:08.630 --> 00:28:12.051
Can we give intervention? Can we give acceleration? Can we give enrichment?
00:28:12.660 --> 00:28:14.860
This should support our teachers, not control them.
00:28:15.537 --> 00:28:18.957
So what teachers need in order to be successful is they have,
00:28:19.073 --> 00:28:21.093
honestly, I feel, four areas.
00:28:21.765 --> 00:28:25.775
Assessment literacy. We need to know where our students are at.
00:28:25.775 --> 00:28:28.475
They need to know what assessment looks like.
00:28:28.917 --> 00:28:30.819
Number two, flexible grouping.
00:28:31.365 --> 00:28:36.862
We need teachers who are confident about grouping students by readiness rather than age.
00:28:37.362 --> 00:28:39.846
Number three, small group instruction.
00:28:40.409 --> 00:28:44.090
We cannot have whole group instruction as one tool. It is not the only tool.
00:28:44.606 --> 00:28:46.876
Number four, progress monitoring.
00:28:47.433 --> 00:28:50.725
What is working? What isn't? What needs adjustment? And can we come together
00:28:50.725 --> 00:28:55.032
as a team and literally see where every kid is in our school?
00:28:55.674 --> 00:28:58.625
This is exactly what we are doing this summer at Lighthouse Learning.
00:28:58.625 --> 00:29:05.730
We are building out our new curriculum, more robust for mastery-based and personalization.
00:29:06.148 --> 00:29:09.260
We're gonna have cards for every single student. We're gonna literally have
00:29:09.486 --> 00:29:12.197
team meetings where we're watching kids move through groups.
00:29:12.458 --> 00:29:16.284
And we're going to really focus on training and supporting our teachers,
00:29:16.760 --> 00:29:20.555
because when they see that their students are learning and they have the flexibility
00:29:20.555 --> 00:29:26.303
and the adaptability to help them get there, it's just the perfect combination of success.
00:29:26.981 --> 00:29:32.235
To end this, I want to say that although it seems complex, at Lighthouse Learning,
00:29:32.235 --> 00:29:34.804
I do believe that we have discovered something very simple.
00:29:35.447 --> 00:29:37.961
Reading development doesn't happen according to birthdays.
00:29:38.744 --> 00:29:42.905
A
third grader might need phonics instruction. A first grader might be ready
00:29:42.905 --> 00:29:44.264
for advanced comprehension.
00:29:44.902 --> 00:29:49.685
And this is why we built our walk-to-learn model. Students are moving in instructional
00:29:49.685 --> 00:29:54.078
groups based on readiness, not age, not grade level, not need.
00:29:54.916 --> 00:29:58.799
And while there are multi-layers to how this is getting accomplished,
00:29:59.655 --> 00:30:03.649
the end goal is that teachers focus on the skills that students actually need,
00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:08.995
students receive their targeted instruction, and growth becomes the goal,
00:30:09.625 --> 00:30:11.459
not just simply keeping up.
00:30:12.385 --> 00:30:15.494
The future of education is not more worksheets. It's not more testing.
00:30:15.494 --> 00:30:16.942
It's not more standardization.
00:30:17.598 --> 00:30:22.024
It's knowing students deeply. It's using data wisely. It's building flexible
00:30:22.024 --> 00:30:25.451
systems. It's creating pathways instead of pipelines.
00:30:26.080 --> 00:30:30.033
Because personalized learning isn't a program.
00:30:30.422 --> 00:30:34.230
It's not a curriculum. It's not a software platform.
00:30:34.776 --> 00:30:38.195
It is a mindset supported by systems.
00:30:38.855 --> 00:30:42.654
If you're really interested in learning more about this, I invite you to Microschool
00:30:42.654 --> 00:30:47.724
Masterminds because we meet together every single week. And I just love the
00:30:47.724 --> 00:30:49.606
nitty gritty of all of this.
00:30:50.174 --> 00:30:55.304
I want to give a huge shout out to Mrs. Old, who is fervently working at our
00:30:55.304 --> 00:31:03.061
school on really making sure this vision is highly, highly excellent.
00:31:03.722 --> 00:31:07.204
And beautiful and so pristine.
00:31:07.204 --> 00:31:13.092
She's just working so hard, and she's so bright, and she's brilliant, and she's so invested.
00:31:13.666 --> 00:31:18.084
And I want to give shout outs to Kate, and I want to give shout outs to Ms.
00:31:18.084 --> 00:31:22.994
Gonzalez, who is helping us to really hone in on what this looks like
00:31:23.336 --> 00:31:28.274
for our students, and our materials, and our supplies, and expectations,
00:31:28.274 --> 00:31:33.100
and mastery, and looking at how students are growing and changing.
00:31:33.501 --> 00:31:37.454
And of course, my husband, who is just the fire behind us all,
00:31:37.454 --> 00:31:42.075
making sure that we have the classroom materials, furniture,
00:31:42.429 --> 00:31:46.294
needed to support it and make our classrooms look beautiful and therapeutic.
00:31:46.294 --> 00:31:48.118
And we're not totally there yet.
00:31:48.743 --> 00:31:53.173
But we at least have a team of people that are on fire to make it happen.
00:31:53.643 --> 00:31:58.244
And we just believe God. We trust him in the rest. And if you are someone who
00:31:58.244 --> 00:32:02.960
is working through this yourself, I know that it doesn't feel easy, but it is so worth it.
00:32:03.659 --> 00:32:07.548
And if you are right there along with us and you want to learn more,
00:32:07.931 --> 00:32:09.801
join us in Microschool Masterminds.
00:32:10.126 --> 00:32:15.232
You can find out at more at redreameducation.com. And if you are a parent and
00:32:15.232 --> 00:32:18.552
you're interested in Lighthouse Learning, definitely go visit us,
00:32:18.552 --> 00:32:21.665
come for a tour at lighthouselearningmicroschool.com.
00:32:22.499 --> 00:32:27.972
It is time to redream education and to actually take that next step.
00:32:27.972 --> 00:32:33.312
Join us in Microschool Masterminds every single week for live group coaching,
00:32:33.612 --> 00:32:37.232
self-paced modules, and of course, a powerful community.
00:32:37.232 --> 00:32:42.932
Head on over to redreameducation.com slash masterminds and join us in our free
00:32:42.932 --> 00:32:46.601
Facebook group at Redream Education Microschool Community.
00:32:46.781 --> 00:32:51.675
To learn more, that's redreameducation.com slash masterminds.