The Element of Surprise
💡 THOUGHT
“Why do you care so much about personalized education?”
When Ela asked Keri Mae this question on our podcast, her answer stopped us in our tracks:
“Love. That’s what it’s about at the end of the day.”
Keri described something every parent has witnessed: Kids arrive in this world as little sponges, vibrating with curiosity, ready to absorb everything around them. Eyes wide. Questions endless. Wonder unlimited.
Then something happens.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that squashed,” she says. “To see a kid in kindergarten going ‘I hate school’ or ‘I can’t read.’ You came in with such vibrancy… what happened?”
This is why we fight for open education. Not because of test scores or college admissions or future earning potential.
Because we love our kids. Because we see their spark. Because we refuse to let that spark die.
📊 TREND
Real Learning Happens in the Real World
A new report from Getting Smart reiterates what we can’t say enough:
👏 👏 👏 Learning sticks better when it connects to real life.👏 👏 👏
When researchers studied over 2,300 third-graders, students doing real-world projects outperformed their peers by 8 percentage points – regardless of reading level or background.
But the real evidence? Think about how your toddler learned to walk. They didn’t read a manual or take a “Bipedal Movement 101” course. They watched, tried, failed, adjusted, and tried again. That’s authentic learning.
Now imagine if we applied this to all education:
- Instead of memorizing business terms, start a mini-business
- Instead of reading about ecology, plant a garden
- Instead of studying local government, attend city council meetings
The classroom isn’t just a room with four walls. It’s everywhere your child’s curiosity takes them.
⚒️ TOOL
Spice Up Science with TED-Ed’s Periodic Table Videos
Looking to make chemistry less… elementary? Meet the delightful world of TED-Ed’s Periodic Table Videos, where every element gets its moment in the sun.
Take Meitnerium (element 109), for instance. Its namesake, Lise Meitner, could detect radioactive parcels in the mail before opening them (paging Professor X – we have a potential mutant). As the talking head narrator notes with classic British understatement:
“People weren’t quite so careful when they sent radioactive samples in those days as they are now.” 🤯
(MEME) OF THE DAY
(It’s not a real element… we checked…)
That’s all for today!
– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)