I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t have an opinion about Alpha School.
People love it. People hate it. In any case, their model won’t leave you indifferent. This, I find fascinating.
My initial reaction probably was the same as anyone as I first read a big headline: where (the hell) are human adults in this environment?
So I read. I listened to many podcasts. I sent kev on a mission to visit their San Francisco campus last fall. Well it got me seriously intrigued and excited.
Alpha School is a private school in the U.S. for children pre-K to 12th grade, with 50 campuses and counting across the country. It ranks in the top 1% of schools nationally in the U.S., across all grades and subjects.
The three promises of Alpha School :
- kids will love school (more than holidays)
- kids will crush their academics in just 2 hours a day, with AI
- kids will learn life skills (entrepreneurship, collaboration, financial literacy…)
How? They completely revisited:
- what a day at school looks like : 2h academics in the morning, the rest of the day for life skills & projects
- the role of the teacher : from having to do it all, to a mentor or ‘guide’ whose main role is to motivate children
As the NewKid Days became a reality, I reached out to MacKenzie Price . The good ol’ way. Turns out, sometimes, well it works 🙃
How exciting!
This first edition of the NewKid Days was a premiere, with many hiccups. But it certainly wasn’t short of fascinating people taking the mic’.
An hour before I invited MacKenzie Price on stage, there was a serious and passionate discussion about French school happening right here. The conclusion? French school lacks a vision, a clear mission.
There are many things one can disagree with about Alpha School, but what they sure have is a vision of what education should be.
Here are the topics that got me excited, and that you will find throughout this episode:
Motivation
“Our reason for success is not our edtech, it is our ability to motivate children. It is not that kids are motivated in the first place, it is that Alpha guides have the time to help kids be motivated.”
What’s their secret? How do you motivate kids?
What specific environment have you created to allow Alpha guides to focus solely on kids’ motivation?
When parents are under the impression that their kids aren’t motivated in anything, what could they do?
Towards 1,000,000,000 kids
“Our vision is to transform education for a billion kids, making this the best time in history to be a 5-year-old.”
Why reaching a billion kids is so important to you?
How will you reach a billion kids? What is the sequence?
What’s the biggest challenge?
How can we help?
In 10 years building Alpha School, on what conviction have you changed your mind?
Confidence
“Motivation > competence > confidence”
With your own children, how did you embody that at home?
Creators and contributors, not consumers
“At Alpha School, we want to create creators and contributors, not consumers.”
If there was one thing we could all bring home today to make our kids a little bit more contributors, and a little bit less consumer tomorrow, what would that be?
Believe me, there are still many more questions I’d want to ask MacKenzie. But for now that’s a wrap.
You are obviously free to think that Alpha School isn’t for you. This episode isn’t meant to convince you. Rather to expand your horizons on what school could be. I hope this triggers many interesting discussions!
I would love to hear what stays with you : what you agree on, disagree on, what keeps you skeptical or rather curious about!
Announcing : the School Series
I started NewKid as a podcast, hosting conversations with couples of parents about the choices that they make as they are raising their children today. Think : intentionality meets introspection meets hopes. And this goes way beyond just tech.
While I will continue the Parent Series, I am taking the opportunity of today’s release to officially launch the School Series : discussions with forward-thinking school leaders. As we kickstart this year around the world with our family, we intend to meet with a whole set of fascinating education systems and people!
episode 1: Alpha School, with Cofounder MacKenzie Price
Next : Acton Academy Silicon Valley, with Head of School Muhammad Iqbal
If you’re in the Bay Area, come meet him and his incredible team on October 25 at the NewKid Days!
NewKid Days San Francisco : Sunday, October 25
Live in the Bay Area? Looking for a good reason to visit the Bay Area? 😎
For the intentional moms and dads out there and any curious minds who want scientific and thoughtful content wrapped in conversations – NewKid builds bridges between research, startups, education and philosophy. And includes our children in the loop, too! Come learn, expand your horizons, and play! RSVP, and spread the word!
Partners
Let me wrap up with a big shoutout to Kale, the Computer for Curious Kids who came in as a sponsor for NewKid. Max Forsey reached out in August and we quickly hit it off. He and his cofounder Tim are building an alternative to passive consumption : activities where kids aged 6 to 12 get to create. If you’re a family in the Bay Area and would like to test it first hand, reach out and/or come meet them on October 25! Our boys did their first session, had a good laugh and tons of - raw- feedback!
Yours,
Mathilde
