This week Andy and I start out debriefing the ASU-GSV conference and explore why the open and optimistic spirit of that gathering feels so at odds with the vibe that prevails across much of ed reform these days. That leads to a discussion about Andy’s widely read article about ed reformers needing to buck up and realize the progress that has been made in recent decades. That leads me to chime in about the need to keep a decades-long view in order to appreciate the accomplishments of the charter school movement. We then talk about the fact that many ed reformers are in blue contexts, which are also the most difficult politically, and so the voice of those Folk is loud enough to drive the national narrative among ed reformers regarding prospects for continued impact, We close with Andy identifying the political folly of blues at a national level not embracing greater ed reform and charter schools as a way to win over critically needed swing voters.
SHOW NOTES:
Hey, Andy, how you doing?
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:Andy Rotherham: Hey, Jed, how are you?
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:It's been a minute, as the kids say.
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:Jed Wallace: Yeah, it's
been a little while.
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:Just schedule's crazy.
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:I'm glad we found some time here.
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah, and I've been
traveling a whole bunch so it's a lot.
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:I like we really should pre plan wardrobe,
because I like that today we both
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:decided to go with the with the hoodies.
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:Jed Wallace: Yeah if anything comes across
as intentional at Charterfolk or Wonkyfolk
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:people are making wrong inferences.
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:Yeah, no,
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:Andy Rotherham: it's funny.
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:I I it's unseasonably chilly here.
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:We're recording on a Monday actually
was out on the water with Kevin
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:Kosar, shad fishing this morning.
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:It was quite cold, but so I
usually I'm one of my colleagues.
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:She told me that when I wear a hoodie, it
makes me look like a Teletubby, so I tend
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:to stay, I tend to steer clear of them,
but it's a little chilly, so it felt good.
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:It felt good today.
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:Jed Wallace: I know that last week you
were in San Diego because I know that
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:Bellwether had a big presence there.
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah,
where it was not cold.
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:Jed Wallace: I wasn't able to go
because of other travel stuff.
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:I'm going to start making it
now, something on my calendar I'm
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:going to plan to go to every year.
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:But I wanted to ask you, given that you
were there, given that you presented,
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:you had this whole AI thing going.
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:I've now talked about a
dozen people about it.
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:I've wanted to write about it
at Charterfolk, but I thought,
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:Hey, wait, don't I, why don't
I check in with Andy first?
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:Do you have any observations
you would share from what
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:you're picking up down there?
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah, I
don't go all the time.
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:There's that there's South by
Southwest, you can only, you
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:can only do so many of these.
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:And I am to some extent of the mind
that conferences are, they're like
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:they're like a socially acceptable
alternative to work, right?
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:If you put on your, if you put
on your expense report, like I'm
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:flying to California and going to
happy hour for three days, your
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:boss would be like, yeah, hell no.
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:But if you're like, I'm going to
this thing, which is essentially
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:going to happy hour for three days.
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:People are like, Oh yeah, sure.
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:And so it's, and so it's
a lot, it's intense.
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:There's just a ton of people.
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:And there's two kinds, in my experience,
there's two kinds of people that
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:there's people, everybody's trying to
get time with, and then there's people
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:trying to get time with everybody.
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:I'm sure it's exhausting on both sides.
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:But so it's just it's an intense
couple of days to be out there.
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:But there's a lot of energy.
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:What they've built first of all, is And
Deb Quazzo might deserve a lot of credit.
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:It's a force of nature.
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:And now there's all these
spinoffs from it and smaller ones.
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:And that's remarkable and they
deserve, if you've built something
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:like that, you deserve in this
field, a lot of credit for it.
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:For sure.
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:Yeah.
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:And they're both like super
just interesting driven people.
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:Obviously not surprisingly, like
the big theme this year was AI.
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:We did a little happy hour for Bellwether
with a couple of folks working on
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:AI to talk about is it undersold?
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:Or or overhyped.
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:And that was fascinating.
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:And that was the theme across it.
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:I will, I do have to say, I tend to agree.
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:I had to ask people I've
moderated that thing.
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:I asked people for a show of hands on
what percent of companies that were
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:there this year would be back next year.
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:Cause they would still be around.
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:And they said about, like 50 percent
and a lot of people were saying like 20.
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:I don't know if I'm quite that bearish,
but I do think a lot of these, it's
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:more frothy than I had thought.
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:And I'm not sure even because a lot of
the like savvy ed tech investors, the
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:private equity and the venture folks
in that space, they're really keeping
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:their powdered more dry on this thing.
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:So I'm not sure where that's
exactly all coming from.
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:Coming from, but there's just
a lot of AI companies, some
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:that were really interesting.
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:I had dinner with the CEO of a company
that does instructional coaching using
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:AI, which actually has some really
interesting benefits that including
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:teachers, when you're first starting out,
I remember, when I was first learning,
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:you don't want people necessarily.
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:Hovering over your shoulder.
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:And this is a way to get like
real time feedback, coaching all
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:that, but in a more sort of almost
like private confidential way.
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:And so it's some real benefits there.
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:Lots of the rap, but then lots of tutoring
and instructional kind of stuff too.
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:So some really, I think some
really interesting applications.
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:And some that I think are frothy.
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:My own personal take
is like other ed tech.
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:It's the stuff that surrounds Classrooms,
remember you, you'll remember this.
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:Like the early days, like rocket ship ever
is it's the ed tech school and they were
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:obviously doing that, but there was like
a lot of real instruction going on, really
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:like in person, like it was not like
the kids just weren't like being taught.
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:By computers, right?
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:Yeah.
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:Same thing is true.
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:Like when school one got going, a lot
of these things they're tech enabled
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:and tech fuel, but they're not.
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:And so I tend to think though, with
this round on AI, a lot of this
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:stuff's going to be all this stuff
you can wrap around the classroom.
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:So all kinds of analytics, ways to
make teachers jobs so much easier.
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:I think we're going to look back
on the days of like teachers doing
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:IEPs the way they do in a lot of
paperwork and be like, that's crazy.
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:All of that.
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:That's where I think that a lot of
the action is that could actually be
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:transformative transportation, obviously
lots of stuff around logistics efficiency,
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:which, no one wanted to, I was struck.
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:No one like the big lie that continues
is that this is going to have no
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:impact on, on, on employment numbers.
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:And right.
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:I just don't see it.
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:You've got these three trends.
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:One is the immediate one, which is ESSR.
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:And that was, there was
like a hiring binge.
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:And that's gonna be an issue.
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:Then you got the demographic
changes, just declining enrollment.
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:And then third, like you have to.
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:Think this is going to have some
kinds of impact on productivity.
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:I don't think it's going
to eliminate teachers.
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:Like I was just saying, these schools
are not, but it's going to have an
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:impact on adult employment, but like
everybody's pretending like that's
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:not the case and I'm curious when
that sort of bubble will break.
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:And there'll be some sort of taboo
breaker or permission structure
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:for people to talk about that.
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:Jed Wallace: There've been three
themes of conversations I've had
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:for with people that were there.
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:Some were really focusing on.
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:Just how real this AI thing is now.
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:And it just seems like this is a
fundamentally different technology.
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:And there's a bunch of like envelopes
that are being built around ChatGPT
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:and some of the other engines.
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:90 percent of those envelopes
are probably going to go away.
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:But hey, there really is something
profoundly exciting and new.
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:There's the other group I would say is
Oh, my gosh, the AI is just so overhyped.
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:And, it's far too early to know
what its value is really going
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:to be, or, all that stuff.
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:But the one that I would say is
overarching across both of those.
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:is just this feeling people have
going there that it feels dynamic.
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:It feels open.
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:It feels moving.
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:It feels creative.
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:And it feels as though just culturally,
it's just so at odds with a lot of
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:ed reform and just education today,
which is just so stuck in fixity.
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:And so people are just wondering how the
heck These two worlds are going to have
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:any interaction whatsoever or Is the
reality going to be that ai is evolving
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:in such a way that it's going to be so
direct to parent And it's going to be so
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:inexpensive That perhaps the ai will never
really fully integrate with our existing
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:schools, you know as much as maybe
earlier technologies any thoughts here?
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah, oh my
God, that points up a few yeah,
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:though on the energy thing.
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:Yes.
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:It, you know what it feels to me?
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:Like it feels to me like new
schools, 15, 20 years ago, where
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:you felt like you didn't have your
passport, but you felt like you
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:were going to a different country.
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:In terms of the way people were talking
about things in Silicon Valley felt like
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:that in general, but you like new schools
was like the education arm of that.
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:And that's how ASU GSV definitely feels.
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:It's where the optimists are.
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:There's, and everybody's there's
lots of people just doing interesting
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:stuff and sometimes just impromptu,
like the road trip nation guys rolled
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:up in their, one of their RVs and
they're giving out popsicles and it
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:was just, interesting group of people
standing around, talking about stuff
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:and that kind of energy you don't get
at like lots of education conferences.
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:Jed Wallace: Do you have a feeling, Andy,
that the people there are so frustrated
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:with the ossified public education
system that they're really thinking
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:about how they make their applications
completely and utterly parallel to it?
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:Just focus on private schools.
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:Just focus on ESAs.
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:Just focus on these other areas
because there's no progress
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:to be made in this other area.
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:Andy Rotherham: I don't know if it's that.
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:I don't know if it's that.
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:I think it's people want change and I
think you've got two pressures going on.
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:You've got The desire for change
is going to go wherever they can.
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:And if they feel like that kind of change
is going to be in a different sector,
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:even like the community colleges say, or
different parts of K 12, like what you're
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:talking about, they're going to go there.
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:And then you've obviously got, these
are, a lot of these are funded ventures.
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:So you've got investment pressure
and there's pressure to, go where
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:there's markets and so forth.
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:One thing you said that was interesting,
you talked about which is obviously.
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:Huge player, but there's I, one of
the things that just during our event
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:that struck me is a few years ago
people thought there would be like an
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:AI that would be like a thing, right?
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:Right now there's like
multiple ones, right?
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:Yeah.
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:And so there's diff and that is
just to me it illustrative that.
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:I just don't think we fully
understand the velocity here and the.
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:Potential.
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:So I think people are going
to go wherever they can.
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:I do think you'll see some direct to
consumer kinds of applications for sure.
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:I think in that a lot of ways like
that's going to mirror the old a lot.
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:Some of the things we saw with Ed Tech.
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:It's just did.
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:This is different than older Ed Tech
because of the generative nature.
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:One thing, though Yeah, I hear you on
the the sort of overhyped like that
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:but the more interesting argument, this
is what Ben Riley's been was at our
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:event was talking about is just simply
some of this is just at odds with what
203
:we know about learning science and
what we know about how people learn.
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:And how is that going to play out?
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:And that did not slow down some ed
tech applications that were fairly
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:at odds with what we know about,
learning science and so forth.
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:Give
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:Jed Wallace: an example.
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:What are you talking
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:Andy Rotherham: about?
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:Just how humans acquire information,
how we use information, how we relate
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:to each other as humans, like what
effective instruction looks like.
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:And Ben's, it's easy to put him like in
the overhyped bucket, but he's actually
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:and this is just another sort of, there's
lots of people criticize this stuff,
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:Larry Cuban, like famously and so forth.
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:But it's a little different.
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:He's he has some of those concerns,
but what he really is concerned about
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:is how is this actually going to play
out in terms of what we know about how
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:people learn, help how kids actually
operate in what they need in classrooms.
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:And I do think that is
an interesting thing.
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:Conversation that it will be unfortunate
if it gets stuck in that groove of
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:overhyped or not, which I mean, that
was the title of the thing I moderated,
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:but it's a deeper it's a deeper concern.
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:And I'm going to be looking at our,
in our, the corner of the world
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:that you and I pay attention to
a lot, also charters how to what
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:did charter start doing with this?
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:You're seeing some AI tools or how
communicating with parents and so forth.
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:What else are you seeing?
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:That's in terms of.
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:Using these things to build applications.
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:Jed Wallace: I would say
that's too early to generalize.
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:I think there are other things that
just come up that I find striking.
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:That this conference happens nearly
concurrent with Height publishing his
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:new book about Excess technology being a
problem for kids and then you have Vinod
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:Khosla who did his Coffee chat and he
basically is saying hey All kids are going
236
:to have their own tutors, but not only
are they going to have their own tutors
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:We're going to build in that they're
going to have their own psychologists
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:Their own therapists as well.
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:And so it almost feels ADE's position
is get even more technology into
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:kids' hands, and it will ultimately
break through on the on the psychology
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:side too, where I can imagine what
Jonathan Heit would say about that,
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah.
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:I have a real concern about that actually.
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:Yeah, I just, I talked
with someone recently.
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:I had lunch with a woman recently,
and she was telling me about this
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:like AI boyfriend she has and.
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:If you think about like real boyfriends
having been one or a real pain in
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:the ass and really difficult and
unmanageable really, and like she was
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:saying, like this one has different
settings and you can set different
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:things around boundaries and whatever.
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:And so it's a very
customized, nice experience.
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:And it got me thinking like, okay, you're
going to have that obviously for kids
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:and you're already hearing about this.
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:And so everyone's a kid.
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:They have an imaginary friend, but
then you lose the imaginary friends.
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:Imaginary friend fundamentally is
becomes boring and is not there.
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:You can't do things and respond to you.
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:So to this a little bit,
the heights concerns.
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:What makes me think about this is like.
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:What happens when the imaginary friend
is actually super engaging, easy to get
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:along with, cool, always there, into
whatever you're into, and so forth,
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:and you can see that for like kids, you
can see that for adults, replicas, this
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:place where people are going and getting
these, imaginary partners and which
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:aren't imaginary because it's like an AI.
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:So it's, what are going to be the
compelling sort of, what do we present
266
:as compelling alternatives to get
people to interact a lot with other
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:humans, to go out and do things.
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:And people can be like, Oh,
that's what's the big deal?
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:Like you're, except we're
having that problem now, right?
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:It's we can't get kids, we can't get
them off of, we can't get them off of
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:screens now and as engaging and intense,
the dopamine stuff With social media
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:this will all be like next level, right?
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:And so what things are we going to
have on offer to compete with that?
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:Jed Wallace: So I don't really know
i'm thinking about a dinner party.
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:I had just a couple weekends ago With
some of my wife's work colleagues.
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:They're all psychologists And they
are aware now of a number of different
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:products using AI that are not
necessarily for improving therapy, but
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:they are for managing the practice.
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:If you're a psychologist, one
of the huge problems is doing
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:your minutes, doing your notes.
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:And as long as you're.
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:As your client would be
comfortable with the A.
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:I running.
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:The psychologist is not going to
have to spend 20 to 30 minutes doing
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:notes after their hour long session.
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:That would just transform things right?
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:But are the clients going to be
willing to allow technology in
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:the room such that additional?
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:Capacities there.
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:And then also the things that it will
spit back to you as a therapist in
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:terms of like, how much time did I spend
speaking this time versus last time?
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:What level of emotional resonance,
was this person's voice, talking
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:with at different moments, right?
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:It's really great stuff, but you've
got client, you got client resistance.
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:And so I can just imagine, the
parent resistance, that's going
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:to be a part of this thing.
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:But the other thing too is, I hope you're
right, but do you think there will be?
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:Cause
299
:Andy Rotherham: I'll look all like
I've written this all on up to this,
300
:like parenting is like in your parent,
it's like a, it's like a, it's like a
301
:constant stream of like small failures
that usually aren't super consequential.
302
:And then some big wins along the way.
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:But one that like, Yep.
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:I was not as good on this technology.
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:It was hard to like constantly
be like policing it.
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:And it's so addictive.
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:So I hear you on parents.
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:I'm just not sure.
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:Maybe this next generation of parents is
going to see what this has done to kids.
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:We'll be more cautious,
but it's frigging hard.
311
:I think we're asking, we are
asking a lot of parents, there's a
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:reason we regulate some substances.
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:Cause we don't just ask parents
to keep their kids from alcohol,
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:tobacco, stuff like that.
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:We have.
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:Policies to help with that.
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:Yeah.
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:Cause it's hard, right?
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:On the other hand you are
supposed to be a parent.
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:I do know parents who have done like
a much better job of it than I did.
321
:So it's certainly it's certainly doable.
322
:Yeah, it's not impossible.
323
:Jed Wallace: And I would say that,
among psychologists right now, and it's
324
:instructive, as it relates to education,
they're aware of all of these different
325
:AI tools that are there, but they don't
trust anybody that's trying to peddle them
326
:and they don't know which one's better.
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:And and they don't have enough time to go
in and really do the analysis themselves.
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:So it's just easier.
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:Do nothing.
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:Do nothing.
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:And so I feel as though one particular
advantage that the charter school world
332
:could have is if they simply make the
choice, they are going to put enough
333
:resource toward the analysis of the
different tools that are available
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:to us to start making some choices.
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:To start making some choices where I
can imagine big bureaucracies and then
336
:pushing the decision through an entire
elaborate stakeholder engagement process
337
:is going to slow it down so much.
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:I just hope that, what charter
schools do is get themselves into
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:a mode of not overthinking this.
340
:Don't overanalyze, do enough
to know it's safe and, all that
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:kind of stuff, but then get it
operational within a couple of weeks.
342
:And then pull the plug if it doesn't
work, but you're, and also you're just
343
:going to have a team or a person at least,
depending on how big your organization
344
:is, that's really on top of these things.
345
:And it is allowing the
testing of innovation.
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:It's almost like you're not
generating the innovation now.
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:You're really trying to ride the
innovation, but which one do you do
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:and how do you integrate it into what
you're already doing within your school?
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:I almost feel like it's a core
competency that a lot of schools are
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:gonna have to get great at these days.
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:Thanks.
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah, no, definitely.
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:And again, the velocity of it is just
so fast, you need people to keep up.
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:You can't expect people to.
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:To do that without a lot of support
and intent and intentionality.
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:I do think these for charters, these
communication devices with parents, the
357
:ability to offer customized communication
with parents, coaching for kids.
358
:Obviously tutoring is a big piece too.
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:Is going to be like a really resonant
thing and we'll help with engagement.
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:You can see, you can see lots of stuff
moving in, moving into the space there.
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:Jed Wallace: Let me, do you mind if
I ask you about your buck up article?
362
:I feel like it's related to
this and I can like whatever I
363
:like all of your Edgewalk posts.
364
:I particularly liked that one.
365
:And I also sense that, a
lot of people had read it.
366
:I saw people, texting or tweeting
on it and that kind of stuff.
367
:Can you just first share with the
audience, what you wrote generally in
368
:case they haven't seen it yet, but then
also Just put a little color around
369
:what motivated you're writing it.
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:And, what are you thinking now that
you've done it, what you published in
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:three weeks ago or something like that.
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:Andy Rotherham: Yeah.
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:Two weeks ago, it was right before ASU.
374
:I put it on a Friday.
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:I will say it obviously hit a nerve.
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:An interesting thing I can tell
is I can look at on, on the sub
377
:stack, you get Edgewonk either by
coming to the website or get, or a
378
:newsletter, which is through sub stack.
379
:And you can always tell when you've
hit a nerve, when the sub stack, the
380
:open rates on the email, don't change
much, but the viewership, is noticeably.
381
:And then I checked the tiger, the
stats, I use tiger tech and I checked
382
:the stats and it was like, way out.
383
:pretty good over a weekend, which
readership's usually a little
384
:bit down on the weekends because
people read it, during the week.
385
:And so it definitely hit a
nerve and you could see that.
386
:Oh boy.
387
:What, I've actually got a list.
388
:I have a, I just have a spreadsheet
where I gather notes and gather string
389
:on things I'm thinking about writing
and it helps me hold myself accountable.
390
:To get through some stuff and all that.
391
:And I'd wanted to write this one for
a while, cause I just didn't get it.
392
:And the lead of it was a story that
like kept rattling around in my head,
393
:which was just like, sometimes like
why there's sort of things that aren't
394
:true and it, people keep saying them
and then there's things that aren't
395
:true and are counterproductive to say.
396
:And yet people keep saying
them and that's weird.
397
:So what motivated me was just like, I'm
sick and tired of going to meetings,
398
:listening to reformers bellyache, and
when they know it's not true and like the
399
:more extreme examples of this are people
saying just like ridiculous things like
400
:we've made no progress Since before the
civil rights act, we've made no progress
401
:since Jim Crow and it's, you're just, and
actually I saw, I haven't had a chance
402
:to read it yet, but I saw like a clip
from a podcast with a African American
403
:woman who was like, furious about this.
404
:Cause she was like, you
should be saying thank you.
405
:Like the reason you're able to
like, go to these meetings and say
406
:all this stuff is because of what
my generation did, older lady.
407
:And she was really pissed.
408
:And like all that has just, I've
been like, what is going on here?
409
:And it's not true.
410
:And there's plenty of evidence.
411
:I didn't even get deeply
into a lot of the evidence.
412
:I got into some of it, but gap, we've
got evidence on, the lowest performing
413
:kids, the ones that everybody said
is the reason that they do this work.
414
:We're making real gains and so forth.
415
:And so I just get sick of it.
416
:And it was like, and we're watching,
we're seeing this era of sort of
417
:philanthropic contraction in the sector.
418
:And some of that is funders
just getting sick of education.
419
:Some is they're deciding climate
change or something else.
420
:And like when that's happening, it
seems just completely insane to be
421
:running around saying nothing works
and we haven't accomplished anything.
422
:And again, I don't think
people actually believe it.
423
:I think it's wearing this
hair shirt, but it's bullshit.
424
:And they don't, cause these
are not stupid people.
425
:These are many cases.
426
:These people went to the.
427
:in the world.
428
:They don't believe this stuff.
429
:But they're saying it cause
they're getting rewarded for it.
430
:It's like this performative
thing you're supposed to say.
431
:And I was just like enough,
like, why are we doing this?
432
:Jed Wallace: I guess you're
you're more optimistic than me.
433
:You're saying that people are being
duplicitous in the presentation.
434
:I think that most of us are clueless.
435
:We actually bought into this
idea that we haven't made this
436
:kind of fundamental progress.
437
:If we still believed it, then I think
we would see more people moving forward
438
:with Moxie as they maybe, just try to
say the right thing at different times.
439
:But what I really believe is that
the lack of confidence that we've
440
:actually made significant progress
is leading to a dispiritedness that
441
:is taking spring out of our step.
442
:And it's the lack of spring and step
I worry about more than anything else.
443
:Andy Rotherham: Yeah you
say that's a good push.
444
:That's fair.
445
:It may be in some cases people
just haven't really dialed into it.
446
:And by the way, I did, I want to
make clear in the piece of the piece
447
:isn't Hey, everything's gone great.
448
:And if we just went back to 2004, 1996,
educational reform, things would be great.
449
:That's not the point of it at all.
450
:It's it, there's been plenty of
mistakes, plenty of hard one lessons.
451
:Tim Daly has been doing a really good set
of deep dives on some of those lessons.
452
:It's just that It is
not like, whoa, is us.
453
:There hasn't been any progress has
been so slow, steady progress that
454
:if you look at broad social policy
changes in the United States is not
455
:like wildly out of line with that.
456
:And there's been some noteworthy things,
including, charters that we've got.
457
:I mentioned the jet, I got into this
when I first got to know you, like
458
:people were like, I was literally
told by like the smart folks in
459
:education that I was like naive.
460
:One guy said I was naive to even be
that interested in KIPP because there'd
461
:never be more than 15 KIPP schools.
462
:Jed Wallace: Yeah.
463
:There's
464
:Andy Rotherham: 275 of them.
465
:Now there's 7, 000 charters.
466
:Nobody thought people thought
Clinton was just like, that was
467
:the most ridiculous hyperbole.
468
:When he said three, a goal of
:
469
:probably be like mocked for that.
470
:And like we blew past
:
471
:So yeah, so I think it's around and I do
think so some of it may be cluelessness.
472
:You may be more charitable.
473
:I'd have to think more.
474
:I just think a lot of people, I
think they know what they're saying.
475
:The fashion right now is to
be like, nothing's worked.
476
:It's all been really terrible and bad
and and you get rewarded for that.
477
:You don't get where you actually
don't get rewarded that much for
478
:saying everything's going well
because that cuts against the grain.
479
:And people don't like that.
480
:And they think you're oblivious
to the problems or whatever.
481
:So people are getting rewarded for that.
482
:And they're doing it.
483
:I just wanted to like, hopefully
in some small way, just reset the
484
:narrative to a more balanced place
that there's been like wins and losses,
485
:but like a lot of wins and progress.
486
:And by the way, social change in this
country doesn't happen overnight.
487
:And if you were expecting that
you're in the wrong line of work.
488
:Jed Wallace: Yeah.
489
:I've been writing about, is Charter
History a bunch of ashes and Ramona
490
:passing away, but also losing Don,
losing Linda, there's just become
491
:this moment to look at at their
accomplishments, which were multi
492
:decade in their undertaking which is.
493
:What the charter school movement is, too.
494
:And there are just very few reform
efforts that have a multi decade history.
495
:Most of them fall apart.
496
:They don't even make it that far.
497
:And we do.
498
:And we don't even, first of
all, we don't even stress that.
499
:We don't even stress that, which
is bizarre, but then we just lose.
500
:We lose track.
501
:Ramona was so great at being able to
remind everybody about how appalling
502
:public education was in the 80s and the
early 90s, and it's when you see that.
503
:And remember how bad it was and then
to see, you know what it looks like now
504
:after charter schools have grown to have
almost 50 percent of kids in charge.
505
:And are there all sorts of
problems that are still there?
506
:And is it not good enough and all that?
507
:Yes, absolutely.
508
:But if you look for everything going
back before that, decade after decade, No
509
:progress or things getting actually worse.
510
:So I've been signaling at Charterful,
I can't get it done because I just
511
:cannot publish something that sucks on
something I think is super important.
512
:And I feel like the Boston busing
thing is super, super important.
513
:This is the 50th anniversary Of the
climactic moments of it when the
514
:court cases were decided when Brett,
the Bradley case, Milligan Bradley
515
:was decided in July of 2000 of 1974.
516
:That's basically when the
Rehnquist court pulled back from.
517
:Broad integration efforts across
multiple school districts and said,
518
:No, Detroit, even though you're 97
percent black, you're going to do
519
:all of your integration efforts only
within the District of Detroit, right?
520
:It was a monumental decision
that they made in:
521
:And, the Boston busing instance and,
conflict and tragedy was informing all
522
:of those court cases as they happened.
523
:And, if you look at Boston,
Boston is an abject, tragedy.
524
:All the way to 1999.
525
:They basically, the Garrity the judge,
he imposed the court order in:
526
:There were 25 years of
busing, 25 years of busing.
527
:1999, he lets it all drop, right?
528
:Nothing had gotten better.
529
:Nothing had gotten
better in Boston schools.
530
:You go look at the press, you look at
Boston Herald, you look at Boston Globe.
531
:It's just tragedy after tragedy.
532
:What was made in 1999?
533
:Roxbury Prep.
534
:John King makes Roxbury Prep.
535
:And within 15 years, the charter
schools of Boston were kicking butt.
536
:They were the highest performing sector
of charter schools in the country, right?
537
:And in the, in, in question two,
that was:
538
:said, we're not going to allow
charter schools to grow anymore.
539
:That fall, there was a larger number
of applicants to charter schools in
540
:Boston than there have ever been before.
541
:And I think our world
doesn't understand this.
542
:We don't know this.
543
:Certainly our newcomers don't know it.
544
:And when those of us that have a
sense of hope, that are, that remain
545
:perpetually bucked up forget that our
world doesn't understand these things.
546
:It just speaks to, we got to go
back and tell the story again.
547
:So people retain the sense of
optimism that if we keep going,
548
:something profound will happen.
549
:Andy Rotherham: Yeah.
550
:I love that.
551
:Yeah, that's Yeah, when I first got like
very early in my career, my boss's boss
552
:had been an assistant superintendent up in
Boston during that in the early seventies.
553
:And he told me about literally
redlining parents would come up on
554
:the boards on these maps and they
would write with red magic markers.
555
:And I remember thinking, so this is like
the nineties thinking, okay, like we've
556
:at least like we've made, like I've
always been like fundamentally optimistic.
557
:Okay.
558
:We've made like blank.
559
:That at least now the boundary
disputes are like more subtle because
560
:people are scared to be like that
openly racist, which it doesn't
561
:mean we've solved the problem.
562
:And this is the thing.
563
:As soon as you say like anything
about progress, you're like we
564
:haven't solved the problem, right?
565
:We haven't solved the problem,
but we have made progress.
566
:we're moving in a positive direction.
567
:And you just have to keep applying that
sort of sustained pressure, which is
568
:why, and you talk about, which is why
like when the my, like that article,
569
:like that's, was basically my point.
570
:Like we've got to keep applying pressure.
571
:You can't.
572
:You can't let up.
573
:That's how change happens.
574
:And it's too easy to, I'd
add to your list of people.
575
:I totally agree with your history, but
I'd also add like Linda Brown passing
576
:recently, another person who just did
and the thing that like Linda, Don Ramona
577
:I wrote a piece about Don that also,
I think people are a little hungry,
578
:there's an appetite for this, the piece
about Don performed really well too.
579
:And I think it was basically
just about Don was not fearless.
580
:Or I guess reckless would be better.
581
:He knew the risks.
582
:He wasn't like he, but he did it anyway.
583
:He was courageous.
584
:He had courage.
585
:He was brave is what he, I remember
when I first met Don in the nineties,
586
:I was like, this guy's brave.
587
:He's walking away from a
very comfortable career path.
588
:All of that to do this other thing
with launching charters and I
589
:think the, to your point on telling
stories, I think also because you need
590
:people who are willing to be brave.
591
:And if everybody thinks there's
no, you can't be brave, you'll
592
:be punished for it or whatever,
then no, one's going to do it.
593
:It's becomes a really unvirtuous cycle.
594
:And so we need to tell these stories.
595
:Linda Brown was brave.
596
:Ramona was brave.
597
:Don was brave.
598
:Jed Wallace: Yeah, and I put a
lot of this on the leadership.
599
:I don't know if it's
leadership within schools.
600
:I really put it on the
leadership coming from advocacy.
601
:I think those people have
got to be crisp on it.
602
:And I will say I was a bonehead, at
during my 10 years at CCSA, I wasn't
603
:crisp enough on this, or I didn't
get crisp enough until probably
604
:the last two and a half years.
605
:And and then I was getting a little
bit better, but I don't think
606
:we understand when we don't have
charter school advocates that can
607
:tell these stories this quickly.
608
:Look at Kansas city, look at Kansas city.
609
:Kansas city is every bit as bad as Boston.
610
:Frickin horrible ending the amount of
money that they spent in Kansas City.
611
:I'm sure you know that history.
612
:There's nothing that's ever been done
in terms of volume of dollars per kid.
613
:And it achieved nothing.
614
:And, but now since then.
615
:Charter schools that came
along and we've grown to 50%.
616
:And if you look at, the credo studies
for the Kansas City Charter schools,
617
:they're, I, they're nailing it.
618
:Nailing it, but we won't even say it.
619
:And another thing that just
drives me crazy is we have nothing
620
:about what the next chapter is.
621
:Okay?
622
:We're at 50%.
623
:Woo-hoo.
624
:It's great.
625
:We've got an awesome story to tell.
626
:But what is the next chapter?
627
:People, let's go.
628
:And when we can't either tell
the history effectively going.
629
:backwards or saying how continued
work is going to get us to
630
:something that will long endure.
631
:That's where we find people
needing to be bucked up.
632
:And I put a lot of that on
the advocacy leadership.
633
:Andy Rotherham: Yeah, I know
your point of Christmas.
634
:I do.
635
:I feel like we've, part of it is
because we got a lot of walks.
636
:I don't think there's, there are
not as enough hacks in the section.
637
:What I mean by that, like Bruce Reed wrote
a great piece this years ago now with the
638
:Washington monthly that was about like
hacks need wonks and walks need hacks.
639
:And it's less stay in your
lane than you need both.
640
:And then he wrote about the
difference between and walks.
641
:And Bruce is the consummate wonk.
642
:And We haven't done, I think in this
sector, a fantastic job of the wonks
643
:do a lot of the here's how we should
talk about this stuff, but we talk
644
:about it in certain ways rather than
the hacks can teach you how to be
645
:crisp and how to sell it and so forth.
646
:I think that's a place we haven't
necessarily done are not just charters,
647
:but had reform generally done our politics
super 1 reason the politics haven't
648
:been as sustainable as they might.
649
:One thing before we move off of this,
I can't with Boston and this is a
650
:little bit personal to me because
these are schools that like help
651
:my family get a rung on the ladder.
652
:It's hard to miss.
653
:Also the response.
654
:This goes back to this idea of what's
politically fashionable and so forth.
655
:Like Boston.
656
:Now these selective.
657
:So some of the schools in Boston
were just fantastic public schools.
658
:So Latin girls, Latin, these schools,
girls, I doesn't, it doesn't really
659
:even exist anymore in the same way.
660
:Like the Response to frustration about
lack of whether we're making enough
661
:progress and pressure has been to erode
the things that made these schools iconic
662
:the same fights going on in New York.
663
:And elsewhere, obviously, out your
way in San Francisco, they have
664
:this fight, and I think it's really.
665
:It's illustrative, because it's such a
counterproductive way to respond, which
666
:is to try to then weaken, tear down,
go low as common denominator, rather
667
:than figure out how do we like expand
excellence, expand access to excellence.
668
:And it's really the antithesis of
the people we just talked about
669
:and others in terms of their.
670
:Their belief in what's possible for all
kids and that you can have much higher
671
:expectations for kids than we have now.
672
:And these systems are responding by
really doing the opposite, which if
673
:you're a public school person like
you are, and I am like, it's just
674
:very dispiriting to watch that.
675
:Jed Wallace: Yeah, I'm not going to give
you're not, I don't think you're going to
676
:budge me on selective admissions, Andy.
677
:I just, this is my
678
:Andy Rotherham: subtle effort to.
679
:I was trying to get your, I was
trying to get your slipstream,
680
:Jed Wallace: But I totally agree
with you that we keep things.
681
:We got to keep aspiring
toward greater academic rigor.
682
:And I just do not believe that
greater academic rigor and selective
683
:admissions are necessarily inseparable.
684
:And if you look, I don't know if you saw
fascinating a story down in Gainesville.
685
:There's a school that's connected a
public school traditional public that's
686
:operated by the university of Florida
or it's operated on the university of
687
:Florida campus, Penny Schwinn, who was
the secretary of education in Tennessee.
688
:And she's an old charter folks.
689
:She started schools here in Sacramento
and we helped get her elected to
690
:Sacramento County office of education.
691
:She's now working for the university
of Florida and her charge is that
692
:their school is ranked number 30.
693
:38 in the state and
that's not good enough.
694
:University of Florida
insists that they be top 10.
695
:So what does Penny propose?
696
:Let's change to selective admissions.
697
:That's the way they're going to
get themselves to the top 10.
698
:Then in the article that talked about
this, and there were, the article was
699
:basically about all the parents in
Gainesville that were upset about this.
700
:They did not want this to happen.
701
:It talked about the other 37
schools that are above the
702
:university of Florida school.
703
:35 of them are selected admission
schools and two are in Coral Gables.
704
:It's just,
705
:Andy Rotherham: I look at this less.
706
:I'm okay with some degrees and
you and I disagree on this.
707
:I know some degree of customization.
708
:And you can have different kinds
of schools and public schools
709
:that have requirements around
arts and things like that.
710
:I think I want to see a broad base of
things under that public education banner.
711
:I think that's how you make public
education durable and sustainable.
712
:But you got it to your point.
713
:You got to talk about this accurately
and you got to make clear these
714
:schools are not and an open enrollment.
715
:School that's hitting the cover
off the ball is not the same as
716
:a selective admission school that
might be getting the same results.
717
:And this is sort of me.
718
:I see.
719
:This is like an information communication
navigation challenge, not a reason not
720
:to have sort of a plethora of options.
721
:But you're right.
722
:We got to talk about this stuff.
723
:This honestly, this was my.
724
:Frustration with years ago, the way
that Newsweek was ranking schools.
725
:Yeah, they were a bank.
726
:A lot of traction in Florida
were a lot of the top schools.
727
:And you're like, these are not overall
like great schools, high dropout
728
:rates, big achievement gaps, but they
do a really good job with a small
729
:set of kids, which doesn't mean like
they should stop doing a good job.
730
:That set of kids, what means
let's talk about this honestly.
731
:And, this is what happens in DC,
like the charts in DC are constantly.
732
:compared to the selective
admissions public schools in D.
733
:C.
734
:And that's not a fair comparison either.
735
:Yeah,
736
:Jed Wallace: but I, this is one where
because we're not crisp on what we
737
:believe constitutes a great public
school, I, the, I think the favorite
738
:post that I've written at CharterFolk
over four years was about my dad's
739
:definition of a great public school.
740
:The eight public, eight words that define
a great public school that positively
741
:affects the rate at which children learn.
742
:And there's no reason why we can't.
743
:Have the data systems that would be able
to see whether or not schools accelerate
744
:the rate at which And then if we can
get a point of view that's in fact what
745
:it is, then we can start just you know
taking a you know Dismantling a system
746
:that just says hey if you're good at
recruiting already high performing Kids,
747
:you know that doesn't necessarily make you
a great public school But because we're
748
:not crisp because we're not crisp we end
up dragged down into the mire of things.
749
:Andy Rotherham: Okay, so question
for you Are we like the charters
750
:face an existential crisis?
751
:You and I have talked about my, my
concern that when the music stops,
752
:they don't necessarily have a place.
753
:Do charters face, he
got all this pressure.
754
:Some of them have.
755
:Felt pressured to adopt
practices, not dissimilar from
756
:traditional public schools.
757
:You've got the ESAs and a lot
of political energy heading
758
:in that direction, Democrats.
759
:And we can talk about some
of the political things
760
:with parents and so forth.
761
:Don't necessarily aren't embracing them.
762
:So you got Republicans going one
way, Democrats going another.
763
:The lines are getting blurry.
764
:Charters are giving up some
of the things that kind of
765
:traditionally gave them their edge.
766
:Do you think on this like being crisp,
which is a branding kind of thing, do you
767
:think there's like an existential crisis
where like in 15 years, like charters
768
:won't have a distinct if changes aren't
made and how we talk about and do advocacy
769
:and so forth, the charters won't have a
distinct brand or place on the landscape.
770
:Jed Wallace: I generally don't
worry about it, but it's the
771
:thing I worry the most about.
772
:I ultimately think we're going to be
successful, but it is possible that
773
:people could refuse to arm the Ukrainians.
774
:And if you don't arm the Ukrainians,
they're going to fricking lose.
775
:They're gonna freaking lose.
776
:It all comes down to whether Ukraine
folk are willing to keep doing it.
777
:And I think Ukraine folk are willing
to keep doing it as long as they
778
:got, the means by which to keep
trying to to defeat the Russians.
779
:And for our stuff, this is where, it
relates to your article about bucking up.
780
:I feel like the re, the reason that
you and I intuitively feel like
781
:our world needs to be bucked up is
because the challenges are deepest.
782
:In our bluest environments And at least
for charter schools, but I think a lot
783
:of ed reform, too That's where We went
to blue context because those were
784
:the ones that were the most broken and
those were the ones where the highest
785
:needs kids Were and all of that and
it's the place where it's just so
786
:Just it's so dysfunctional right now.
787
:And so given that The vast majority of
people who are in ed reform, the vast
788
:majority of them are Dems themselves, but
also they're stuck in these democratic
789
:contexts that are just dysfunctional.
790
:Their opinions then frame the
national chatter within the ed world.
791
:And and a part of this is that Republican,
I'm not Republican, our funders are
792
:saying, forget the blue context.
793
:Do not beat your head against walls.
794
:Go to places where you can make progress.
795
:And so that's the blue.
796
:Our CMOs and charter school operators
in urban context feel abandoned.
797
:They feel abandoned.
798
:And I don't think that's wise.
799
:I don't think it's wise because
ultimately, I think things are going
800
:to implode in those blue context.
801
:And things are gonna open up again,
and we want those people ready to
802
:pounce as soon as things do open.
803
:And look at Philadelphia
just this last week.
804
:It looks like the school board's
gonna change there, right?
805
:But the other part of it, too, is
these people really matter to us.
806
:They really matter to us.
807
:They have to feel like
they're being supported.
808
:They have to feel like
they're being honored.
809
:And and they will rub off on
all sorts of other people, too.
810
:So my sense, Andy, is as long as charter
folk have spring in step, As long
811
:as we keep going forward with moxie.
812
:I don't have any worry about things
I think we can keep up in florida.
813
:I think we can keep up in arizona I think
we can keep up in arkansas, and we're the
814
:only thing going in blue context but the
question is are we going to keep going?
815
:Are we going to keep
applying for charters?
816
:Are we going to keep pushing, for the
reforms that we need at school district
817
:levels and that kind of stuff and
without that feeling of wind at the blues
818
:backs You know That does make me worry.
819
:Andy Rotherham: All right.
820
:Riddle me this then.
821
:Okay.
822
:So if this is counterintuitive and,
I've talked about people have trouble
823
:getting their heads around it.
824
:One of Biden's biggest problems right
now is politically is erosion of
825
:support among Black and Hispanic voters.
826
:And there was a new poll, the YouGov poll
was written up in The Economist recently.
827
:We can put the article in the
show notes and access the poll.
828
:And basically it showed one of the
things that's highly predictive
829
:of being a Biden to Trump voters.
830
:So you voted for Biden in 2020 and
say, you're going to vote for Trump.
831
:And that's a big deal because the
election is so tight that voters who
832
:switch are especially valuable rather
than just like low propensity and
833
:other kinds of voters, just because
Trump has a, he has a ceiling.
834
:Both candidates are
struggling in their own way.
835
:And Trump has a seat.
836
:So those voters, they really,
those voters really matter.
837
:Was black and Hispanic
parents, people with kids.
838
:And those people said they were, some
of that was economic anxiety for sure.
839
:Inflation, these people,
they were they did not list
840
:education as their top concern.
841
:They listed They listed economic things,
but they are parents with kids and
842
:that, that stood out in the cross tabs.
843
:And there's only a fraction of
them moving from Trump to Biden.
844
:So like I think 3 percent sound like that.
845
:We can check that, but like the red,
like 10, 11 percent moving the other way.
846
:And it seems strange.
847
:So that's happening at the same time.
848
:The Biden administration's cutting support
for For the chart for the federal charter
849
:school program, which is at once, go
through the hill and everything, but it's
850
:symbolically, you don't have to do that.
851
:They're really not much of a friend
of charters and the Democrats
852
:generally don't have much of it.
853
:And it seems as you and I think
we've talked about a little
854
:bit before, education issues.
855
:These, do seem like it's a piece.
856
:There's a set of things.
857
:These are also
disproportionately conservative,
858
:Jed Wallace: right?
859
:Andy Rotherham: Going to be conservative
african americans, conservative
860
:hispanics who Biden is make is
losing and trump is making real
861
:inroads against now in the polling.
862
:So riddle me like why Hey, Why is
it such a struggle to get Democrats
863
:to put forward some kind of
agenda here that's not repellent?
864
:Jed Wallace: Let me first
underscore your your point with
865
:some additional data from Texas.
866
:Because I think that what Starling, and
it was fun for us to be there at Charter
867
:School Growth Fund, and there she was
in the audience, and I don't know, I
868
:was fawning over her left and right.
869
:What is going on?
870
:We can learn so much.
871
:from the advocacy that the Texas Charter
School Association is doing right now.
872
:And one of the things that
she's, you, when you're Texas,
873
:you, it's just a huge state.
874
:You could waste all of your money, on,
on who knows what political activity.
875
:And Starley's just been like, look,
let's focus on charter school parents.
876
:And we think we can turn more of
them out, and we think we can flip
877
:more of them, to charter support
than than if we tried to spend the
878
:same dollar on just any old voter.
879
:And she's got really stunning numbers.
880
:And numbers large enough to have
been the difference maker in several
881
:legislative races, and I think even
a couple of their state board races.
882
:And what they really found was that
these Dems, who would otherwise have
883
:voted Dem, when you tell them, that
their dam is opposed to charter schools
884
:and the Republican is supporter.
885
:They have a significant number.
886
:I don't know the exact numbers here,
but it's a significant number are
887
:willing to vote for the dam right now.
888
:So that just speaks to the level
of danger that I think Dems
889
:have to stay in that space.
890
:And I wish I could say they were getting
the message, but, you saw those posts
891
:that I wrote about the hearings in
Washington on charter schools where
892
:it was a very clear strategy, right?
893
:The Republicans just wanted those Dems
on that committee, and I got to be more
894
:precise in my language because when I say.
895
:All the Dems in Congress, that's wrong.
896
:No, it's the subset of Dems within
Congress that get appointed to those
897
:committees, which is a function of,
the unions telling the leadership
898
:who to put on those committees.
899
:The voters don't know that.
900
:And all they do is they
see that message come out.
901
:And I don't know if you saw, if you read
the post that I wrote, that some of the
902
:most ridiculous things that they said.
903
:Andy Rotherham: And look,
that, that ramps up or down,
904
:depending on it's hard to miss.
905
:It's the Democrats with Clinton and
with Obama were like good on this stuff.
906
:It tamped down some of the craziness
and like that presidential bully
907
:pulpit, you get you get some
cover, you can shape the narrative.
908
:You get some people will just be quiet.
909
:Cause they don't want to get in your way.
910
:They want to be good.
911
:They want to be good foot
soldiers for the party.
912
:All those things add up.
913
:And so it's just it's just
inexplicable to me right now.
914
:That the Dems aren't even making nominal
moves to try to use education to head
915
:this off, especially because the other
guy, it's, is not, Mitt Romney, or George
916
:Bush or whatever it's Donald Trump,
who I think like most people agree is
917
:like a real problem on multiple levels.
918
:Again, we're in election season
and the people who hate charters
919
:are the teachers unions and white.
920
:Progressives and they're not the
votes Biden has to worry about.
921
:Like the votes he has to worry
about are the votes in the middle
922
:and the votes that he's eroding.
923
:And so it's just, again, like
whatever the explanation is just
924
:politically in an election, you
should be doing everything you can.
925
:To address whatever your
political deficiencies are.
926
:And yeah, I just don't don't get it.
927
:And again, this election,
actually, everyone always says,
928
:yeah, every election is the most
important lecture of your life.
929
:But this was actually important
considering the backdrop.
930
:And yeah, I don't know.
931
:I don't it's, I hear you and
I hear the frustration and I
932
:don't that I it is inexplicable.
933
:Jed Wallace: Listen, I
know we're, near time here.
934
:I'm realizing that I'd like to just
go back and feather in one additional
935
:piece on this prior conversation about
the blues and keeping, ed Reformers
936
:and charters, spring in our step.
937
:I just.
938
:I know that many of our pros, our
advocacy pros, our comms pros tell
939
:us not to say anything negative
about traditional public schools.
940
:And I think that is ultimately a box that
Contributes to a lot of the problems that
941
:you and I have been talking about here.
942
:Why do we need to be bucked up?
943
:I mean if there's not any real
big problem Why are we going to
944
:run into anything anyway, right?
945
:And if there's not really been any big
problem then what's been the magnitude
946
:of the charter school's accomplishment
and if there's not any real continued
947
:problem why do we even bother going on?
948
:And I just feel like this is one of
the most I understand that ridiculous
949
:toxicity and you put, you brought
that up when we were in Arizona,
950
:there are some people that want to
fight just for the sake of fighting.
951
:And that is totally, and they
fight for unfair reasons.
952
:But if we are Chris, I come back to
this word again and again about what
953
:is fair game, what is fair game and
what is something that we can do.
954
:And I'm just starting to feel too.
955
:Like we need different policy
proposals, ones that I've
956
:never talked about before too.
957
:I'm pushing myself to get new stuff.
958
:We need something that rewards
those schools that are getting
959
:us where we want to go.
960
:And, I think there have been a
few places, Ohio tries to give
961
:like a funding increment to the
charters that get good test scores.
962
:But good test scores is not even
what we're talking about now.
963
:What we want are schools
that parents really want.
964
:That parents really want that low
income kids would be willing to get
965
:on a bus or drive, across a district
line to attend the suburban school.
966
:We want the suburban school to take them.
967
:What do we right now?
968
:What we do is we tend to penalize
that which is successful.
969
:That which is successful has money
sucked away from it generally to
970
:go into these really small, un,
unsustainable schools and more money
971
:ends up going to the schools that
people don't want than the ones we do.
972
:And I just feel like it's incumbent upon
us because to come up with new ways.
973
:To reward that which we want to see
in the future and our advocacy is just
974
:not imaginative along these lines.
975
:Andy Rotherham: Yeah,
no I generally agree.
976
:Yeah, the getting what do you do
helping parents move across these lines?
977
:How do you reward?
978
:I think there's a lot of things we could
do there for your more creative and
979
:policy than we have been here again.
980
:You're not going to you're not
going to see that the current
981
:administration was all kinds of
things you could see about helping
982
:good ideas, travel, helping rewarding
success giving resources to expand.
983
:And that's what we used to.
984
:We used to do more of that
kind of that kind of energy.
985
:I do think, You know the kind of person
you can find them on Twitter who like
986
:if they're a chart, if they're like
a choice person, every time something
987
:happens in public schools, they're
like, they're treating it around.
988
:And likewise, if they're they
consider themselves a public school
989
:person or a charter critic, anytime
something happens in a charter school.
990
:And these are in fact, things that happen
in both sectors, you get there's incidents
991
:of fraud or graft or whatever, or adults
do inappropriate things, whatever it is.
992
:Yeah.
993
:Those people are obnoxious.
994
:And I feel like the thing we should
talk honestly about with both sectors
995
:is what's the macro performance picture.
996
:I think there's places charters
are still falling short and
997
:we should talk about that.
998
:This place is a traditional
public schools are falling short.
999
:And then there's issues like you,
you told the story of Boston earlier.
:
00:48:22,604 --> 00:48:27,164
And I feel like on both, one thing you
find on both sides is I wrote an article
:
00:48:27,164 --> 00:48:31,804
years ago called like achievement realists
versus public relationists on both sides.
:
00:48:31,804 --> 00:48:35,694
You find these people who like, they
think the path that this is basically
:
00:48:35,694 --> 00:48:39,094
a public relations problem and a
public relations war to fight out.
:
00:48:39,474 --> 00:48:41,834
And then you've got the people
and I'm in this camp who are like
:
00:48:41,844 --> 00:48:44,454
the achievement realists are like,
people are going to figure it out.
:
00:48:44,624 --> 00:48:45,954
Sooner or later anyway.
:
00:48:45,964 --> 00:48:48,084
And so you might as well just be
straightforward about the data,
:
00:48:48,084 --> 00:48:51,534
talk about things, honestly, drive
towards improvement and so forth.
:
00:48:51,544 --> 00:48:53,104
That's why I guess I'm
an accountability guy.
:
00:48:53,154 --> 00:48:54,134
I want good reporting.
:
00:48:54,374 --> 00:48:54,934
I want good.
:
00:48:54,964 --> 00:48:56,944
I want good data on all schools.
:
00:48:57,294 --> 00:48:59,614
And I feel like that's the divide.
:
00:48:59,624 --> 00:49:01,964
And we have too many people on both sides.
:
00:49:01,964 --> 00:49:04,844
We're still in this public
relationist kind of posture where
:
00:49:04,844 --> 00:49:08,504
this is just, it's a PR war to be
won one way or the other or lost.
:
00:49:09,109 --> 00:49:11,189
One way or the other, rather
than these are just like
:
00:49:11,199 --> 00:49:13,529
substantive problems to solve.
:
00:49:13,869 --> 00:49:16,209
And again, going back to the
article, which we have done a
:
00:49:16,209 --> 00:49:17,609
decent job solving some of them.
:
00:49:17,609 --> 00:49:19,309
There's a lot of lessons
and learning there.
:
00:49:19,359 --> 00:49:21,259
But it's getting obscured
by all this other stuff.
:
00:49:21,869 --> 00:49:23,919
We've probably gone, we've
probably gone long enough.
:
00:49:23,919 --> 00:49:24,179
And,
:
00:49:24,249 --> 00:49:25,929
Jed Wallace: If you have a
link to that one, send it and
:
00:49:25,929 --> 00:49:27,079
we'll get it in the notes.
:
00:49:27,339 --> 00:49:32,069
That sounds like a really interesting one
and Hey, it's great to have caught up.
:
00:49:32,669 --> 00:49:34,319
It's great to see you as well.
:
00:49:34,319 --> 00:49:34,699
I hope,
:
00:49:34,729 --> 00:49:36,179
Andy Rotherham: Again, soon
we've got some upcoming, we've
:
00:49:36,179 --> 00:49:37,829
got some exciting guests coming.
:
00:49:37,829 --> 00:49:40,449
So we will I've been
traveling a lot as well.
:
00:49:40,449 --> 00:49:43,969
And so we will get back in a more
regular cadence regular cadence soon.
:
00:49:44,469 --> 00:49:45,179
Looking forward to it.
:
00:49:45,369 --> 00:49:46,249
Hey, great to see you, Jed.
:
00:49:46,249 --> 00:49:46,529
Bye bye.
:
00:49:47,109 --> 00:49:47,419
Okay.
:
00:49:47,509 --> 00:49:47,769
Bye.