Ben Somers
@ben_m_somers
Standing on shoulders. Tweeting about education & Building http://recess.gg — prev: early at http://synthesis.com
"we abide by Montessori’s maxim of never helping a child with a task that he believes that he can do himself"
me: Please do not help [2yo] open the door 5yo: But he can’t do it me: He believes that he can. In this house we abide by Montessori’s maxim of never helping a child with a task that he believes that he can do himself 5yo: But he’s wrong 5yo: That rule is silly
I built a game that helps kids learn to type BUT, instead of typing random passages, they copy famous quotes from books, speeches & poems Good for the fingers, good for the soul. What should I add to it next?
The fundamental idea of our company is that kids are looked at as either a nuisance or a profit center and we serve to combat that, to look at them as kids and people
Are you making a cool education product and want more users? Comment with a link to your product. We’re the fastest growing platform for homeschoolers, and we want to help distribute your product
This is a great book list If you are interested in teaching, highly recommend George Polya's "How to Solve it"
Whenever I see a Popper book someplace, I like to take a pic, noting the books that surround it:
We are working on a product that will change education forever It's a multi-modal AI "tutor" that integrates with all major curriculums. The product worries more about motivation than content delivery. First non-internal user tests begin on August 15th.
When you give kids a tool instead of a lesson, they become a builder instead of a student.
If you're curious about how AI will change education Don't look at MagicSchool or what's happening in schools Watch the gaming industry and see how they incorporate AI
To make a lot of money, you want to do jobs that have a lot of leverage AI makes coders more powerful, not less Programmers will earn more money, not less
Mike Rowe: “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code.” “Well, AI is coming for the coders.” “It’s not coming for the welders, the plumbers, the steamfitters, the pipefitters, the HVAC, or the electricians.” “In Aspen, I sat and listened to Larry Fink say we need…
Learning is an active process, not a passive process This is 1) why weird animated shorts will not lead to learning and 2) why I am excited about our upcoming product launch.
According to Nobel laureate Carl Wieman, lecturing is the educational equivalent of bloodletting. What's better? Rapidly alternating between minimum effective doses of guided instruction and active practice.
A kid on Recess is trying to convince me to help him become a defense contractor 😂😂
The adult world is flawed - riddled with anxiety and fear. If we spend too long here, we forget what we once knew as children, that there exists a radically better world. We train kids out of this knowledge and into anxiety, wondering at the end why we aren't all happier.
In startups, they tell you to always ride a wave. Paddle without a wave and you'll never stand up. Rn Education has a massive wave coming. - AI tutors now possible - Falling trust in schools - New school choice laws make govt $$ accessible
yes, this is also why you don't need to worry about your kid gaming too much they will want to graduate to the real world
life is more fun than a video game video games just happen at a faster pace and with more consistent loops
Recess offers exclusive access to the best teachers on the planet. Jesse has 245k youtube subscribers who turn to him to learn Blender. Now, your kid can learn directly from Jesse himself. This is not a pre-recorded class; it's a live cohort.
Every great person I’ve ever worked with has cared A LOT about their work Being obsessed is the strongest signal there is
What are the chances one of their parents did gymnastics?
life is more fun than a video game video games just happen at a faster pace and with more consistent loops