Speaker 0 00:00:00 Well, hello, they're friends and welcome to Rew Rewriting our Kids' Education podcast. I am your host Michelle, person and friends. We are on a journey. We are rethinking, reexamining and reeducating ourselves and our children. We talk a lot on this show about preparing our kids for the 21st century, but what does that really mean to me, it means making sure they have opportunities to think critically and creatively about the real world and its issues. I believe that our kids have the power to affect real change, and that they can work to make a difference to solve some of those issues. My guest today, Michael Trezza, believes those are important skills as well, and created an entire enrichment program to help students master those skills. I saw a quote on a blog a few weeks ago that read In the Future, children will be required to be creative, innovative, collaborative, have problem solving skills, and an ability to adapt to change with resilience. That's a tall order to fill. And how the heck do you teach that and Oh yeah.
Speaker 0 00:01:29 The term 21st century skills is generally used to refer to certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem solving that advocates believe educators need to teach to students to help them thrive in today's world. But in this era of mandated state tests slash school funding and teacher shortages, when is that ever supposed to happen? Enter Michael Tera, a technical c e o and entrepreneur. With over 20 years of experience in software development, Michael combined his love of creating compelling online experiences with his passion for education and created a supplementary high school program that teaches these important skills to create a and curious high school students. Hey Michael, how are you?
Speaker 2 00:02:15 I'm fabulous, Michelle. Thank you. How are you?
Speaker 0 00:02:18 I'm good. And thank you so much for being here with us today to talk about your, uh, your innovative afterschool program. I can't wait to hear more about it.
Speaker 2 00:02:26 Thanks so much. I really appreciate being here.
Speaker 0 00:02:28 So give us a little background. Tell us about your, what's your story like? How, what was your motivation for starting Giant Leaps learning? Where did it, where did the idea come from? Because this isn't your first, this isn't your primary business. This is something you came, you kinda came into, correct?
Speaker 2 00:02:44 Yeah, it is. It is my primary business now, but I've been in tech for the last 20 years. I've been an entrepreneur since I was 21 years old, give, give or take. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, um, my daughter, I'm 44 now. Just for a context, my daughter was born five years ago. She's, she's just over five now. And when she was born or when, actually when we found out that, that we were having a a baby, I just started every, everything changed. Are, are you a mother,
Speaker 0 00:03:10 Michelle? I am. I have three in my five-year-old also just turned is is five.
Speaker 2 00:03:14 Oh, wonder. It's such a fun age. It's such a fun age, you know, and everybody says like, having a kid changes you For sure. And I didn't, I didn't really understand what that me, what that meant until I realized I was having a baby. We, we were having a baby. When, when that came, um, when I, when I realized that, I started to just think about the sort of world that I was bringing her into. Um, I, like I said, I've been in tech for 20 years. I, I have a kind of a pulse and a bead on where, on how quickly tech is moving on, where the world may be going on the, the fascinating, uh, ad advances in science and computing. And, uh, you know, somebody asked me the, the question of what do you think the world is gonna be like when, when she's 18 or your age?
Speaker 2 00:03:57 And it, it just kind of put me on this like track of thinking of, of, wow, I think it's actually gonna be pretty different than my experience of 18 or 44 <laugh>. Um, and so that was the beginning of the, the sort of the genesis for giant leaps, um, was starting to think about where the world was going. And, and my, my wife being in education as well, she's owned learning centers for the last 15 years, is an educator herself. So we've always had conversations around education and we, we've had a lot of conversations around the deficiencies in, in, in traditional education. And I started to really look into how we were gonna prepare this, this, this little girl for, for the world. And I found so many gaps in what, what's being taught in schools today versus what we feel the skills of the future are. And yeah. So I can expand in any direction, but that's, that was the genesis. So that, that's, that was where Giant Leap started. Well,
Speaker 0 00:04:56 First of all, that's amazing because everything about, just Like Me presents this podcast. Um, our new micro school that we are, that we are launching is all about the gaps in traditional education. Like, just like me started out, cause there were gaps in literature, um, that grew into this podcast because there were gaps in education, which grew into our micro school because traditional work learning wasn't working. So, like that whole, once you realize it, it's almost like you have to take action. If you, if you want to make a difference, you know, you, it's almost like you, you can't just sit <laugh> and, and realize that there's this huge problem and not address it. Tell us more. How's that feel? Yeah, tell us more about giant leaps. Like what, what are your, what are your goals with the company? What, what is it exactly? Who do you serve? All of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:05:37 Yeah. There's some, there's some very big audacious goals with, with the company, but I, I know I'll, I can, I can start anywhere those, or the ground level. But the, but the idea is, you know, I, I believe we're, we're living in a world and in a time right now where, where there's a leadership deficit. Um, and if we don't step in quickly and begin to begin to empower our young people to become curious, capable, passionate, creative leaders who, who care about society in the future, then, then we're in a, then we're in a bit of a bind. <laugh> is how I see it <laugh> as society, right? Um, things are mo like everything from climate change to technological advancements, things are moving very quickly. And, um, we're running out of time to, to get these kids in positions, um, to, to do the best work that they can do.
Speaker 2 00:06:29 Um, so I mean, that's a sort of a, a on the grand scale, what our program is, it's an online afterschool enrichment program. And, and it's primarily designed for high school students mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And what the three things that we focus on are self-awareness, global awareness, and critical thinking skills. So what that, what that means to us is, uh, the self-awareness component. If you, if you help kids understand their natural strengths and interests, um, that produces things like reduced anxiety, that I improved confidence, things that all kids right now need. There's anxiety is, and depression is an epidemic in, in teens right now. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, the next thing is, uh, the next thing is Glo what global awareness and what that means to us is, you know, school does a good job of teaching kids where the, where the world has been and about history, but maybe not the best job of teaching kids where the world is going.
Speaker 2 00:07:24 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and somebody told me this a long time ago, to, to always skate where the puck is going. It's a hockey reference. Um, and, and I think it's a, it's a great one because if you're, if you're setting kids up for the world of today, the, like the career world of today, you're, you're way behind. By the time these kids get 10 years older and graduate high school, they're gonna be, they're gonna be behind the ball. Um, so what we do is wanna, we wanna introduce them to the concepts of, uh, the, the technological concepts that are changing the world, the influences that are changing the world, from AI to cryptocurrency, to gene editing, um, to, to these things that are gonna redefine the workforce, um, and get them curious about the, the po, the possibilities and the potentials of that world. And going back to the first one, the self-awareness.
Speaker 2 00:08:10 If, if they know their strengths and interest better, we can kind of overlay that with where the world is going and, and find, find some, some real synergy, um, for them. They, they can see themselves in, in this, in this world, in this future world. Uh, and then the third thing was critical thinking skills, which, which everybody needs. Um, and certainly the skills of the future are, I believe in, in critical thinking, how to discern or discriminate between good and bad information. How to find information online. You know, certainly we need to teach kids how to memorize things. You should, you should know your timetables, you should know, you should be able to memorize things, but that shouldn't be the focus of education. Um, it, it really should be, I believe, around creative problem solving and innovation and, and critical thinking. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and those are, that, that's the, the, the thrust of our program is giving kids digital literacy skills to succeed in the future. So those three things are, are, you know, what our program is about.
Speaker 0 00:09:08 And I guess my question is, those are all such important things. Yeah. Why do you think those, those skills aren't being taught in schools? And what can parents do to futureproof their children and prepare them for the jobs that don't exist yet? Love, like how, I love, how can we teach parents to follow the
Speaker 2 00:09:26 Puck? Yeah. I love that. Great question. I I'll answer the first one, uh, first because I think there's, I mean, uh, well anyway, the first one around like why schools aren't teaching those sort of things, it's, it's really difficult. So first of all, there's, the question of is, um, is the concept of confidence or depression and anxiety, like, is that, is that a school's role to, to get involved with those sort of things? Um, second I suppose is it's really difficult to teach critical thinking skills, um, or to test critical thinking skills. So a lot of these things are difficult to test. And, you know, what's the machine of education about? It's a, it's about testing and, and, uh, and rankings and money, right? And you can't test it. It's really difficult to justify some of these things. That's, that's in some reason, that's why I see things like art going away and creativity going away from schools, right? Um, there's a hard, there's a, there's a hard ROI or a, it's difficult to connect an ROI there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, as critical as they are, it's difficult to test for them. So that's one of the reasons why I don't think it's, it's really being addressed in schools. Um, I, I'd love some of your thoughts on that as, as well. I
Speaker 0 00:10:42 Mean, I agree. I agree wholeheartedly. I think that we're in a, we're in a culture where the most important thing is can you test it? Can you prove that they learned? And when you, when you, when you define learning specifically as a test score by a number, by a letter grade, um, you, you completely, you know, eliminate areas of learning that are just as important, but are not quantifiable. Exactly. And, and I think that, I think that we, we have got, and everybody there, accountability, accountability, accountability. Like, we have to hold everybody accountable. We have to hold people accountable. We, we should also be realistic. Um, and, and, and realistically, um, you know, I think a lot of intelligence doesn't exist in a vacuum. Right? Um, and, and there's a lot of gray and there is no room for gray, um, and education right now.
Speaker 0 00:11:33 And that's unfortunate because the gray is where the beauty is. Um, and, and so I love that. That's that you recognize that and that's why you created this program. Yeah. It's what can parents, yeah. So what can parents do to, to, to futureproof their kids? Because parents, parents are having the same thoughts you had when you found out you were gonna be a dad. Yeah. I wanna make sure that my kid is best prepared as possible for the world that's coming. Um, but obviously they're at school and the the school isn't doing it. So what can parents do? How can they step up?
Speaker 2 00:12:03 Yeah. I mean, kids need self-awareness. They need, they need control over their emotions. They need to know how to speak clearly and, and communicate with people. Um, these are things that parents can absolutely help with. Um, uh, kids also need to under to hold a sort of a bright vision of the future is, is, is how I think of it. So what, what that means, like for a parent is have conversations with the kid, um, Stressless conversations with the kid around where the world is going, what they might wanna do in that world, or what their interests are, um, about where the world is going. So, so not, so not ones about college and, and s a t scores and about your major. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, let's have some conversations with these kids about what are your interests, where, how do you see that interest applying over the next 20 or 30 years? And have some real conversations about possibilities and potentials that are, that are disconnected from, um, the, the kind of like hamster wheel stressful outcomes. And that kids are kind of kids in parent conversations usually have attached to them.
Speaker 0 00:13:12 Maybe
Speaker 2 00:13:13 Like one of the most important ones that I can think of
Speaker 0 00:13:16 Right now. And it's so, yeah. And it's so frustrating. I have a, I have a five year old and I have a senior or a rising senior. Ok.
Speaker 2 00:13:22 Yeah, there
Speaker 0 00:13:22 You go. Um, and so, and so my rising senior, um, where as we're talking about what she wants to do and where she wants to go, she is so, I mean, she's been a product of the traditional, um, school system obviously, and I put her in it so I accept some of the culpability. Yeah. Um, but in trying to get her to understand right now she's looking for colleges. She's been very narrow in where she's looking cause she wants one specific major. Ok. And if the colleges don't have that major, she's not looking at them
Speaker 2 00:13:48 Rule that. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:13:48 I'm like, well, and I'm like, well, you know, it's not really just an, you should really take some business classes. Most schools now have some entrepreneurship courses, you know, you should be looking at, you know, other, like, I'm trying to get in, in high school. I was like, you know, it's great that you wanna do creative writing. That's her thing. Creative writing only. Like, and I'm like, you know, what about like newspaper will give you some, some editing skills. You know, the, the, um, you know, there, there are other, the yearbook, it, it will help you figure out how to edit and to, and to, and to do layout and the things that will help you pay the bills for career that possibly don't exist yet. Yes, everybody can write a book, but there are other skills that you can, um, that you can hone in on. That you can explore. Yeah. And you don't necessarily have to major in the thing that you're going to do at college. College, you know, having that experience with the person who's been in and, and I, I have to laugh because she has, she has she drunk the Kool-Aid, you know, she Exactly. She has come out the person that school was supposed to make her
Speaker 2 00:14:45 Exactly the machine.
Speaker 0 00:14:47 And as her mom who is now growing into like you an, an entrepreneur, um, in, in their, in their mid forties, you know, I'm understanding that there's, there's flexibility there and that there, there are lessons I would like her to learn younger than I figure them out. Um, so yes, definitely those conversations I think are, are so key trying to honestly almost unteach what we, we spent so much time letting the schools teach our kids. Right? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:15:15 I think disconnecting that is important. And, you know, somebody was talking to me once about their kid, um, who's, who just interested in F1 racing and, and he was trying to get 'em interested. Like the parent was trying to get 'em interested in other kinda like more serious things. And we had this conversation that changed the parents kind of perception and it was around like, okay, that's great. The kid, the, um, your kid loves F1 racing in. If, if they're interested in that, they think about all the opportunities in that interest that they could take part in. They could be an engineer, they can be a designer, they can be an, they can be a, in a cfo. They, they, there are an unlimited number of careers that, that are exist inside of that interest area. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> that, that's what I kinda talk about a, um, a lot around parents is don't discount a kid's interest if you don't see it having a real world applicability, like straight away that you, you to think, think about mixing and matching things and being creative with, with the kids' natural interests and strengths and then tying real world applicability to it.
Speaker 0 00:16:17 It's funny cuz that kinda was gonna be my next question, which was kinda what advice do you have for parents to teach their teenagers? Cause I know your program is primarily for teens to be able to find opportunities and seize them and apply them to their interests. Um, so, you know, so you just talked about a little bit about having a parent have to have a mind shift. Yeah. Um, like how do you, how do you work with the kids? How do you work with the kids to get them to, to have that mind shift?
Speaker 2 00:16:44 Yeah, I mean that's, that's a, that's what our program does and what we do is we, we, we introduce concept. So first of all, we start with a strength finder assessment and then an interest assessment. So just baseline, we, we have a sense of what their interests are. The first module they get assigned to is, or they get assigned is something that's squarely in their interests. So it may be something like, you know, we've got a new student who's interested in, in medicine, neuroscience, um, and, uh, and, and gaming, which is a really interesting convers, uh, really combination. So her first module is, is on, um, life extension and, uh, is, uh, regenerative medicine. So the prompt that she gets kind of assigned at first is imagine a world where we could pause or reverse human aging. That's, that's like day one, right? That's a pretty heavy concept.
Speaker 2 00:17:34 So what that does is we're starting to, we're starting to have a, a blue sky conversation ar with, with this student around where the world is going. So just Michelle for a second, imagine that, imagine a world where we could pause or reverse human aging. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. What, and what about that interests you? Something must be interesting to you about that. There's almost no way that you could leave, right? Right. But is it like, what is, where does your mind go to, does it go to Oh wow. The cultural implications? I can't imagine what family dynamic looks like. Okay. What about, uh, maybe food shortages? That's an interesting one. Um, or, or e ecology, uh, over, you know, overpopulation and, uh, climate change. Okay. You see where I'm going? Like mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we, we take a prompt like that, that we know the student is interested in at some level.
Speaker 2 00:18:20 Mm-hmm. And then we ferret out where their, where their sort of other interests lead them. And then, then what we do, we start to have discussions around those things. So, so let's say ecology is what's interesting to you around that, or overpopulation, how, what do you think some of the challenges are gonna be in that world and how do you, um, how do you think we can overcome some of those mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So we do a lot of creative problem solving in, in there. And over the course of the weeks of the program, they start to, they start to picture how they can be involved in the solution of, of these problems. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And once they've done that one time, they can apply that thinking to a lot of different things. So in, in the, the problems that we see in the world, they can start thinking of, of how to be part of the solution and not be like a, you know, I hate to use the term victim, but not, not have the, the world be imposed upon them.
Speaker 0 00:19:11 Right, right, right. I
Speaker 2 00:19:13 Love that. Answer the question a little bit.
Speaker 0 00:19:14 It does. It does. It really does. And, and so can you share with our parents, um, before we, before we get outta here, like any other tips or resources for parents who are looking to cultivate those skills? Obviously giant leaps learning is one they should definitely check out. It's online, so I'm assuming doesn't matter where you live That's right. To be able to, to, to participate in the program. No, it doesn't. But are there any other tips or resources that you frequent or that, that you guys draw inspiration from or anything like that?
Speaker 2 00:19:40 Yeah, you know, we're actually putting a guide together. I've been getting that question a lot lately is like, where do parents find out about where the world is going? Right? If, uh, if we're talking about this with kids, we're, we're, we are putting a guide together for that and check our website. It's coming soon. But I would say things like, you know, just be careful of the news. You, you take in your social media feeds and start looking more at documentaries. Um, podcasts, uh, there's some fabulous everything from Tim Ferris to, one of my favorites recently is Lex Friedman. His podcast is, is on all sorts of fascinating topics, mostly revolving around, uh, where, where the world is going. Um, and, uh, yeah, that's the best I can give you at, at the moment around those sort of things.
Speaker 0 00:20:25 Yeah, well that's no problem because I'll, uh, everybody can, uh, can drop by the website and pick up that guy when it's ready and they can, um, check it out for themselves and they can share this podcast and any others that, uh, might interest them with other people and they'll just continue that learning and keep following that puck. Um, where, where Michael, where can listeners contact you if they wanna learn more about Giant Leaps Learning?
Speaker 2 00:20:45 Yeah. Uh, giant leaps learning.com com Straightforward is that, and you could, anybody feels free, um, to reach me
[email protected]. I'd love to answer your questions or start a conversation.
Speaker 0 00:20:55 Awesome. Michael, thank you so much for being with us today. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 00:20:59 Thank you, Michelle. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 0 00:21:03 Follow the puck, always look to where the world is going so you don't get left behind harder for some of us old fogies, but a mindset easily cultivated with kids. Thank you again to our guest, Michael Trezza and thank you to you for listening. Show notes and resources to the things we discussed are available on our website at www, just like me presents.com. Share this podcast with other parents and educators in your circle and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you like what you heard, leave us a review, reviews, help others discover our show and begin their woke journey. Have a great week. And remember, if our children can see it, they can achieve it.
