From Dave to REAL School

As a millennial who's taken a long series of roads less traveled in life to this point, I'm uniquely positioned to promote this transformative approach to modern adolescent education.  

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I spent my early teenage years as an overachieving academic and my late teenage years consumed by mental illness (Clinical Depression and Generalized Anxiety). I have deep empathy for the teenage experience, especially in the smart phone era... potential distraction for some, potential destruction for others.

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Throughout my college years, I found such meaningful purpose with Math Tutoring (peer support + community volunteering) that I began my own business at age 22. As I still do today, I loved connecting with students, understanding their perspectives, and guiding their progress with effective pace and style. Years into my career, I realized that my success was a product of much more than being a "Math person" with a strong work ethic.

 

What I saw was how well students responded to my attentive communication and thorough accountability for their concept awareness. I always aimed to address the "What, How, and Why" tiers of their progress in a way that engaged them to step up for themselves. This approach to education, formally known as Active Learning, has consistently been my idea of common sense to promote independent thinking and sustained confidence. 

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The 2020 CDD (Comprehensive District Design) and 2022 Teachers' Strike in Minneapolis respectively bookended the majority of Covid-based life. Over those 2 years my impulse to respond to the collective neglect and willful ignorance from MPS (Minneapolis Public Schools) leadership grew into a philosophy. Systemic administrative action that claimed to support students treated most as pawns in a political game. This opposed what many devoted teachers have done to support students' learning.

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As the sole parent of two children (ages 9 and 11), I've also reflected on the contrast in their elementary school experience when compared to student accounts of middle and high school. My kids have truly loved school as it has encouraged them to explore, connect, and grow. They've consistently been nourished by a community that values learning above performance. Similar to many elementary schools, they've been seen and heard with positive energy that's reinforced their reasons to try. This energy easily fades in most middle schools as opportunity tends to be overtaken by relentless burden and pressure.  

 

Adolescence is an inherently sensitive time. I'm not a licensed therapist, but in my tutoring career I've been approached as one enough times. Students of all backgrounds have struggled to stay motivated without an authentic sense of purpose. In middle and high schools, I know how hard it can be to see a bigger picture when preparation for life is replaced by semi-arbitrary to-do lists. Fear has prevailed in this world of doubt amidst organized chaos, so "success" is as much about relief as it is achievement.

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REAL School is a product of my teenage experience, my career as a middle and high school tutor, and my protective instincts as a proactive parent. American school systems and surrounding noise from the literal and virtual worlds likely won't validate most students as individuals. Incentives to do so simply don't exist from those with power to create system-wide change. This puts the task of redirecting one's mindset on school, learning, and purpose in the hands of students themselves. REAL School is my way of helping students to control this narrative of their own lives.