WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:26.892 --> 00:00:27.912 Eli Davis: Peace and blessings, everybody. 00:00:27.912 --> 00:00:30.972 Welcome to AI real talk, AI with Eli. 00:00:31.639 --> 00:00:34.909 I most definitely would like to, to thank everybody for listening. 00:00:35.629 --> 00:00:46.773 And all the feedback that I have been getting, the really good feedback, you know, is, is always something interesting When you start off something, you know, you're never as good as you will be. 00:00:46.982 --> 00:00:49.742 And that is a fact with, uh, everything. 00:00:49.742 --> 00:00:54.032 One of the things that I know this to be true by is me playing the guitar. 00:00:54.542 --> 00:00:58.442 And now I've been playing the guitar for about like 24 years. 00:00:58.892 --> 00:01:06.602 And when I started, I'm telling you that there is no way in which I would have been able to think that I would be able to play like I can play. 00:01:07.532 --> 00:01:10.682 I most definitely didn't think that I would be getting paid to play. 00:01:10.952 --> 00:01:15.362 So, you know, um, everything that I do from here on out. 00:01:15.722 --> 00:01:19.772 With the guitar is something that I never imagined. 00:01:19.802 --> 00:01:21.632 So there's always greatness. 00:01:21.632 --> 00:01:27.623 And this is what I, I think of that is I'm hoping will happen with um, this podcast and. 00:01:27.984 --> 00:01:42.747 The case in point, I guess why I'm making this, and this is a pre introduction to the podcast that I have done with I, you know, I kind of described her as the, uh, Horace Mann of education. 00:01:42.747 --> 00:01:48.717 Horace Mann is the known or noted founder of modern day education. 00:01:48.717 --> 00:02:00.695 You know, sit in the rows, do this amount of time, uh, what I likened her to was, you know, uh, the founder of this kind of education, this two hour. 00:02:01.397 --> 00:02:04.277 Artificial intelligence guided education. 00:02:04.277 --> 00:02:17.597 That is, that is, um, curriculum, curriculum paced, um, that is curriculum de designed for the curriculum specifically to the student and the pacing and the growth. 00:02:17.752 --> 00:02:22.312 and we know with artificial intelligence, what can happen is there is a precision. 00:02:22.732 --> 00:02:25.792 There is a, a, a, a surgeon. 00:02:26.182 --> 00:02:30.382 Like precision to artificial intelligence on many things. 00:02:30.862 --> 00:02:46.408 We know this to be true by the algorithms that are in our for You page on TikTok, the algorithms for all of our social media, and, you know, this is, this is one of the things that, you know, if. 00:02:47.068 --> 00:02:57.508 The social media, uh, or the algorithm on Amazon can get you to something where you didn't even know that you needed, that you needed, but all of a sudden you are like, Ooh, this is really good. 00:02:58.408 --> 00:02:59.428 And then you purchase it. 00:02:59.428 --> 00:03:04.798 Just imagine what it can do, how, how precise it can get with education. 00:03:05.158 --> 00:03:13.498 And so what I, what I did was, you know, I was able to interview, uh, the lady by the name of McKenzie Price. 00:03:14.278 --> 00:03:22.221 She is the founder of Alpha Schools and, uh, she's been on There we go. 00:03:22.221 --> 00:03:24.411 She's been, she's been on M Me, NBC. 00:03:25.011 --> 00:03:27.741 She's been on, uh, a lot of, a lot of things. 00:03:27.741 --> 00:03:30.441 You know, the first time I ever came across Mackenzie Price. 00:03:30.816 --> 00:03:38.616 Was, you know, on YouTube and watching, uh, her doing an interview on one of the major news channels. 00:03:39.066 --> 00:03:44.916 But for some reason, I didn't want to research her too well because I didn't want to know too much about her. 00:03:44.916 --> 00:03:56.556 I wanted to feel the energy, but because of her status you know, there is a level of intimidation that I started to feel and I most definitely didn't want to feel that. 00:03:56.556 --> 00:03:59.286 So I, you know, I had to pull back, I had to get into myself. 00:03:59.286 --> 00:04:00.876 I had to recalibrate. 00:04:00.886 --> 00:04:03.406 , when y'all listen to this interview. 00:04:03.841 --> 00:04:06.631 That I had with this, uh, McKenzie price. 00:04:06.811 --> 00:04:15.121 There comes a moment in which I realized that, oh, our ideas about education do not align. 00:04:15.781 --> 00:04:25.651 And this is just really curious for me and for y for those of y'all who, uh, who are not really into education, you gotta think of education like this. 00:04:25.651 --> 00:04:28.141 Education is a life force for our society. 00:04:28.591 --> 00:04:33.661 Everybody goes through some form of education or indoctrination or inculcation. 00:04:34.081 --> 00:04:52.501 This is, this is, this is a mandatory thing in our society, in our American society, is that you go through this, this level of indoctrination is a level of education, and there are different perceptions on how this education needs to be delivered through curriculum or instruction as well. 00:04:53.451 --> 00:04:54.261 Peace of love, y'all. 00:04:54.261 --> 00:05:18.075 I hope y'all enjoy, or even, even if you, even if it's not something that you enjoy, I hope that you analyze it and, um, think about, you know, times in which you have gone out of yourself as well to, to try to fit into or to mold yourself to something, um, because of perception, whether, Valid or not. 00:05:18.555 --> 00:05:18.945 Alright. 00:05:19.005 --> 00:05:19.665 Peace one. 00:05:19.665 --> 00:05:19.965 Love y'all. 00:05:20.294 --> 00:05:21.674 I'm getting ready to go ahead, start. 00:05:21.674 --> 00:05:27.434 I'm just going to welcome everybody who is listening to the podcast, artificial Intelligence, real Talk. 00:05:27.854 --> 00:05:30.344 What I like to call AI with Eli. 00:05:30.704 --> 00:05:31.694 That's catchy. 00:05:31.754 --> 00:05:34.424 Just to let you know, that's called catchy. 00:05:35.774 --> 00:05:36.224 You were 00:05:36.224 --> 00:05:38.204 McKenzie Price: born for this role, Eli. 00:05:38.204 --> 00:05:38.654 I love it. 00:05:38.714 --> 00:05:39.974 AI and Eli. 00:05:40.034 --> 00:05:40.454 I know. 00:05:40.454 --> 00:05:42.809 I'll forever think of you when I talk about ai. 00:05:43.774 --> 00:05:45.274 Eli Davis: Oh, that's, that's gonna be big. 00:05:45.514 --> 00:05:46.474 That's a real big McKinzie. 00:05:46.684 --> 00:05:49.354 Okay, so we have a really special guest here. 00:05:49.354 --> 00:06:02.397 And the first time I was introduced to, uh, McKinsey Price, I was watching the news and all of a sudden this person came on there and it says, Hey, news flash, we have AI and education. 00:06:02.397 --> 00:06:09.057 And, you know, she does it in two hours and she offers this ability to have the students to learn. 00:06:09.462 --> 00:06:15.092 And to, use different kinds of skills after they do the AI training. 00:06:15.332 --> 00:06:17.162 And, I just thought it was super amazing. 00:06:17.571 --> 00:06:19.701 Let me go ahead and give you an official, introduction. 00:06:19.701 --> 00:06:37.452 So, McKenzie Price is a Stanford grad and she's a mom of two co-founder of the two Hour Learning, a revolutionary learning platform that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence, uh, which gives kids what I, I really like is, the one-on-one personalized learning. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:39.574 Um, Her students excel academically. 00:06:39.974 --> 00:06:44.414 Spend most of their days learning life skills that set them up for future success. 00:06:44.834 --> 00:06:53.714 She's founded the first Alpha School, 10, 10 years ago in Austin, Texas, and now has eight schools and others opening. 00:06:53.924 --> 00:06:56.657 Y'all go ahead and give it up for McKenzie Price. 00:06:57.003 --> 00:07:05.963 So when I, think of you and I saw you, what I, thought immediately was this lady is transforming education. 00:07:07.548 --> 00:07:08.208 Seriously, 00:07:08.268 --> 00:07:09.078 McKenzie Price: I'm trying for it. 00:07:09.078 --> 00:07:09.768 I'm trying. 00:07:09.768 --> 00:07:10.308 I really am. 00:07:10.308 --> 00:07:12.438 I think, education needs to be fixed. 00:07:12.438 --> 00:07:13.728 It's a broken system. 00:07:13.728 --> 00:07:14.538 It doesn't work. 00:07:14.538 --> 00:07:16.338 It's not getting good results for our kids. 00:07:16.338 --> 00:07:17.148 It's failing them. 00:07:17.148 --> 00:07:21.858 It's not preparing them for their future, and it's hurting kids really across the board. 00:07:21.858 --> 00:07:24.758 It's, it's hurting our kids who are, struggling the most. 00:07:25.028 --> 00:07:31.032 It's hurting kids who, uh, would otherwise be advancing very quickly and are sitting in classrooms bored. 00:07:31.272 --> 00:07:32.412 And it was time for change. 00:07:32.412 --> 00:07:35.232 I sat with my own two girls and I knew we had to do something. 00:07:35.487 --> 00:07:36.327 Something different. 00:07:36.327 --> 00:07:44.463 So that's what I'm working on every day, and I, I, I really don't think there's a greater cause, uh, than unlocking human potential. 00:07:44.463 --> 00:07:46.623 And I think education is the key to doing that. 00:07:47.323 --> 00:08:00.279 Eli Davis: When I, when I think of you, in all honesty, I, I think of somebody who is revolutionary, who has the ability to, be foundational in a significant shift towards education, uh, what you're doing with the two hour learning. 00:08:00.909 --> 00:08:05.299 And, offering the ability for this human connection is, is very powerful. 00:08:05.449 --> 00:08:09.629 How did you establish that, that two hour process and, establishing the life skills 00:08:10.034 --> 00:08:26.174 McKenzie Price: I. I mean, if you think about it, in the traditional system, it's very hard, you know, really, frankly, impossible for a teacher, despite their most heroic efforts, despite how well-trained or how passionate or devoted they are to be able to meet every single student where they are. 00:08:26.453 --> 00:08:29.393 Um, And learning science is known for 40 years. 00:08:29.393 --> 00:08:37.823 There's been papers out of Oxford and Harvard and Stanford that have said that students have the ability to learn 2, 5, 10 times faster. 00:08:38.183 --> 00:08:47.832 When they're given one-to-one mastery-based tutoring, uh, and every one of those learning science papers starts or ends with, unfortunately this is not possible in a teacher in front of the classroom model. 00:08:47.982 --> 00:08:55.222 And so back in 2014, uh, when I started the first school, we knew that if we provided kids with adaptive apps. 00:08:55.252 --> 00:09:04.775 That met each child kind of where they're at, uh, that you didn't have to sit in class all day in order to not just do your academics, but crush your academics. 00:09:05.064 --> 00:09:15.743 Uh, and you know, We basically have found that, in two hours a day for K through eight and for high school students about three hours a day, uh, we can end up with classes that are top 1% in the country. 00:09:15.778 --> 00:09:17.968 It is possible to fill your head. 00:09:18.103 --> 00:09:24.643 With all of that academic knowledge that actually is important to learn because it's what helps make a great critical thinker. 00:09:24.643 --> 00:09:37.453 You've gotta have knowledge in your brain upon which to draw from in order to, you know, to be a great critical thinker and kind of take the next level of creativity and communication skills and collaboration skills and critical thinking. 00:09:37.723 --> 00:09:39.553 Uh, and that can be done in a couple hours. 00:09:39.553 --> 00:09:42.193 And then one thing I know for sure, and I'm a mom too. 00:09:42.708 --> 00:09:45.768 Parents don't want their kids to come home after two hours, right? 00:09:45.768 --> 00:09:46.728 School is a bundle. 00:09:46.728 --> 00:09:48.348 What are we doing with the rest of that day? 00:09:48.558 --> 00:09:55.638 And I'll tell you what, Eli, I was just out this morning on the streets of Austin, Texas, doing man on the street kind of interviews with people. 00:09:55.878 --> 00:09:58.278 And I probably talked to 30 different people. 00:09:58.278 --> 00:10:01.248 And every single one of those people said, gosh, you know what? 00:10:01.248 --> 00:10:02.503 I wish I had learned in school. 00:10:02.743 --> 00:10:08.568 I wish I had learned things like how to deal with credit cards and how to create a budget and how to pay taxes. 00:10:08.718 --> 00:10:10.338 You know, that falls under the category of. 00:10:10.358 --> 00:10:26.468 Financial literacy, but there's so many other life skills that we want our kids to be well prepared to do, and, and for us, that's everything from entrepreneurship and financial literacy, to public speaking, to teamwork, giving and receiving feedback, learning how to deal with failure, grit. 00:10:26.708 --> 00:10:32.798 Those are the skills that I bet you, if you and I were to compare war notes, you know, over our time on earth. 00:10:33.083 --> 00:10:40.913 We would probably say, gosh, it's those life skills that got us through something, or it was those life skills that we learned that have helped us to be successful. 00:10:41.093 --> 00:10:49.428 And, um, so what we've done is we've created this school day where our kids can get their academics done by getting this personalized learning experience. 00:10:49.698 --> 00:10:55.768 Um, And it helps kids that come to us struggling and helps kids who come to us bored, and kind of engages. 00:10:55.948 --> 00:11:01.798 And then what we spend the rest of the afternoon doing is life skills and central key to that whole model. 00:11:02.063 --> 00:11:03.743 Is our teachers. 00:11:03.953 --> 00:11:20.873 It's just that we've transformed the role of the teacher from having to create lesson plans and deliver lectures and grade homework to instead focus on motivational and emotional connection with the kids to get them fired up and excited about the things they're working on. 00:11:20.873 --> 00:11:22.628 And when you take a motivated learner. 00:11:23.038 --> 00:11:33.148 You give them the right level and pace of information and you give them life skills and you do it in such a fun way where they love coming to school, that's where the magic happens. 00:11:33.838 --> 00:11:45.162 Eli Davis: So I'm a special education teacher and you know, I. I try to tell, I try to explain people like what does it mean to get a PhD and how transformative it is, you know? 00:11:45.282 --> 00:11:51.702 Uh, and One of the courses that I took was about motivated learners, and I've been a special education teacher for a long time. 00:11:52.122 --> 00:12:00.537 And, what I'm seeing with using, artificial intelligence, uh, with some of my special education students is that. 00:12:00.659 --> 00:12:07.979 uh, using artificial intelligence and having a motivated learner with a disability is a game changer. 00:12:08.199 --> 00:12:13.059 because it, it, it sets apart something, you know, I can't really articulate what it is. 00:12:13.059 --> 00:12:14.649 I can, but I'm not. 00:12:19.674 --> 00:12:31.784 McKenzie Price: Well, you know, think about this, one of the things I think is really crazy about the traditional school world is, historically and typically the kids who do well in traditional school, there's kind of two attributes that they have. 00:12:31.784 --> 00:12:44.524 One is they're pretty smart, and two, they've got a high level of conscientiousness which shows that they're able to basically, dot the i's and cross a t's turn in the homework study for the test, arrive to class on time. 00:12:44.949 --> 00:12:46.299 Focus on paying attention. 00:12:46.479 --> 00:12:51.039 Those are the things that, that help a kid succeed in the traditional school world. 00:12:51.229 --> 00:12:56.029 And so oftentimes if a kid doesn't do well, it's like, well, it's 'cause they're not the sharpest knife in the drawer. 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:58.459 They're lazy or they're just disengaged. 00:12:58.619 --> 00:13:00.299 And I kind of take the opposite view. 00:13:00.389 --> 00:13:05.549 And in our system, in our model of schools, if a kid isn't doing well, then it's our fault. 00:13:05.579 --> 00:13:11.039 It's our systems issue because it means that we're not connecting with that kid in a way that motivates. 00:13:11.044 --> 00:13:11.134 Them. 00:13:11.794 --> 00:13:23.960 And I think that is why we can take a kid who comes to us in the 10th percentile and has been disengaged, uh, and we can help get that kid up to 50th percentile within a year and 90th percentile within two years, right? 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:34.229 We can take a kid who's, who's not connected, not engaged, we can take care of that IQ issue by giving them just the right level and the right pace of stuff. 00:13:34.229 --> 00:13:39.179 And that's why we see a lot of success with our diverse learners, kids who have learning differences, right? 00:13:39.329 --> 00:13:41.129 Give them material at their pace. 00:13:41.339 --> 00:13:54.464 Uh, kids who come in behind, give them material that maybe they should have learned three years ago, but they didn't, for whatever the reason is, you know, and help those kids connect with that and then allow artificial intelligence to, provide that. 00:13:54.764 --> 00:13:57.674 Specificity of education to the student. 00:13:57.794 --> 00:14:11.954 And then allow humans to do what only humans can do the best, which is that emotional connection and figuring out that fire and helping kids find that intersection of their passions and their talents and getting 'em to connected to the Y. 00:14:12.104 --> 00:14:18.515 And I think when we do all of that, uh, you know, we're really seeing that artificial intelligence allows us to raise human intelligence. 00:14:19.145 --> 00:14:19.595 Eli Davis: Okay. 00:14:19.895 --> 00:14:20.945 I wanna say that's what's up. 00:14:21.362 --> 00:14:22.472 that's, that's amazing. 00:14:22.835 --> 00:14:25.395 I come from, the inner city of Milwaukee. 00:14:25.395 --> 00:14:26.925 I come from the hood, right? 00:14:26.930 --> 00:14:27.030 Mm-hmm. 00:14:27.170 --> 00:14:37.077 Um, My educational experience was, latent with, struggles from my mom, uh, you know, um, not being engaged in school. 00:14:37.493 --> 00:14:39.713 I got held back in the fourth grade. 00:14:39.713 --> 00:14:40.313 I had. 00:14:40.885 --> 00:14:46.705 uh, didn't pass, uh, regular classes, multiple grade levels, and had to go to summer school to pass. 00:14:47.052 --> 00:14:50.772 but that, that, that stems from a socioeconomic standpoint. 00:14:50.802 --> 00:14:58.608 Um, uh, partially also, you know, some, some, some just internal struggles from my mom who now is the most beautiful person in the world. 00:14:59.033 --> 00:15:00.323 She is amazing. 00:15:00.478 --> 00:15:09.968 But, one of the things I know that we would've struggled with would, would've been this, uh, digital divide, so we would not have had access to the, the, to the internet. 00:15:09.968 --> 00:15:15.548 We would not have had access to these, uh, different kinds of technology, the power, artificial intelligence. 00:15:16.013 --> 00:15:25.613 Is there something that you're working on or that you, you're using that you are, under the cover secretly mapping out this genius plan to help everybody? 00:15:25.613 --> 00:15:25.643 I. 00:15:26.451 --> 00:15:27.471 McKenzie Price: Uh, We absolutely are. 00:15:27.471 --> 00:15:30.771 And I will say, one thing we do need, you know, it's so funny actually. 00:15:30.771 --> 00:15:40.655 I talk to, um, I talk to people you know all the time who have what I believe are misconceptions about what's required to have a great education. 00:15:40.805 --> 00:15:43.865 And a lot of times you'll hear this from teachers, you'll hear. 00:15:43.915 --> 00:15:47.235 From people that oh, the building, we gotta have better buildings. 00:15:47.235 --> 00:15:50.425 We have to be, you know, have better resources for a lot of things. 00:15:50.425 --> 00:15:57.732 And actually, I mean, there's so much information that shows that funding has not been in any way really tied to, uh, academic results and performance. 00:15:57.732 --> 00:16:00.612 In fact, as funding has gone up, our results have gotten worse. 00:16:00.727 --> 00:16:02.782 Uh, One of the things I always say is it's. 00:16:02.802 --> 00:16:06.552 Not about the building, it's about what happens inside the building. 00:16:06.792 --> 00:16:08.022 That's where we see magic. 00:16:08.202 --> 00:16:16.665 But I will say, uh, you know, we could do school in a parking lot as long as we had internet connectivity and as long as kids could have a device. 00:16:16.695 --> 00:16:24.495 And uh, we've actually seen this, we have about a thousand Ukrainian refugee students that have been doing our learning program the last two and a half years. 00:16:24.675 --> 00:16:27.135 Uh, And early on in that program, those kids. 00:16:27.335 --> 00:16:28.895 Didn't have a place to go to school. 00:16:28.895 --> 00:16:34.479 They literally, all they got was, you know, an iPad and, you know, having internet connectivity. 00:16:34.699 --> 00:16:39.739 Um, And we saw results where they were learning almost three times faster than us students were. 00:16:39.962 --> 00:16:51.792 Uh, you know, Again, when given the right motivation measure, which I will tell you the right motivation measure in that case was we paid them, you know, $2 and 50 cents a day was enough to get these kids cranking on math. 00:16:52.117 --> 00:16:53.437 Right and learning English. 00:16:53.597 --> 00:17:00.524 Uh, We're actually rolling out a program to refugees in Malawi, Africa as well, um, where we're able to kind of connect that. 00:17:00.524 --> 00:17:12.820 So, I absolutely recognize that there are so many, uh, students that, you know, are struggling and come from, from tough places, and, uh, I think it becomes even more critical in that situation. 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:19.250 To allow teachers to free their time up to try to focus on, you know, what's going on with that student at home. 00:17:19.250 --> 00:17:23.100 Where is, you know, where are their challenges, uh, that they're, that they're doing. 00:17:23.100 --> 00:17:29.640 And help them see a bigger vision about, you know, whatever hardships that are going on in, in their daily life. 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:31.170 What, what's that thing they wanna do? 00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:34.774 And, no comparing stories, but I grew up with a single mom. 00:17:34.774 --> 00:17:36.034 A daddy went to prison. 00:17:36.274 --> 00:17:39.364 I was in five different schools by the time I was in fifth grade. 00:17:40.025 --> 00:17:50.705 I think about some of those connections that can happen there where it helps a kid kind of see like, Hey, what is that thing you love to do and how can we help you see a vision for where you get your life, you know, going. 00:17:50.915 --> 00:17:55.415 And again, that's where those adults that are gonna work in our classrooms with us are gonna be. 00:17:55.565 --> 00:18:03.995 So key and critical and if we can use technology to enable them to free up that time to focus on that stuff, I think it's important. 00:18:03.995 --> 00:18:27.769 And one thing I think that's happening is, you know, if you put me in charge of K through 12 public education, you know, tomorrow, I actually believe that we have a lot of the keys, to success right there, which is we can find those teachers and those coaches, those currently, you know, extracurricular coaches who are teaching basketball and football and, and theater or whatever right now and move those. 00:18:27.784 --> 00:18:33.214 Move them into that role of being able to focus on motivation and get that technology out there. 00:18:33.214 --> 00:18:43.181 The other thing is, uh, you know, right now we do spend quite a bit of money on our ai, uh, system, which is what kind of oversees this adaptive learning platform that we've got for our students. 00:18:43.364 --> 00:18:55.437 Uh, But the price of that's gonna come down and I believe in five years, every student in the world is going to have the ability to, you know, for a thousand bucks a year, basically hold an iPad that provides them with. 00:18:55.632 --> 00:18:58.572 Information and knowledge that goes at their pace. 00:18:58.752 --> 00:19:05.352 Uh, And I think you're right, internet connectivity is a big one that one of the reasons we're working Malawi is because starlink just was delivered there. 00:19:05.502 --> 00:19:12.402 And so now they do have internet connection and once they have that, we can literally provide that one-to-one tutoring. 00:19:12.512 --> 00:19:15.632 Experience for students, you know, that goes at their pace. 00:19:15.792 --> 00:19:30.262 And I think the other thing is, you know, one of the things I hear about, we've been working on getting into the public sector through charter schools, and of course once you start going into public world, the fangs come out, you know, of people who say, well, this might work for your private schools. 00:19:30.262 --> 00:19:38.116 And, and again, mistakenly they'll say, oh, you got a bunch of rich white kids who are in your private schools, which is not accurate, uh, in our situation. 00:19:38.381 --> 00:19:43.061 we have not admitted students based on their previous performance or anything like that. 00:19:43.314 --> 00:19:45.984 Uh, We're a little different than a lot of private schools when it comes to it. 00:19:46.144 --> 00:19:54.544 But I think when we fundamentally look at the amount of money that has been thrown down, the drain of education that hasn't worked, it's time to do something different. 00:19:54.814 --> 00:19:57.424 And, uh, we're seeing great results with kids from. 00:19:57.644 --> 00:20:09.191 you know, Different socioeconomic classes with, uh, kids of all, uh, racial backgrounds, kids with English as a second language, kids who have dyslexia and dysgraphia, and a DD and A DHD, and who are on the spectrum. 00:20:09.371 --> 00:20:10.991 You know, learning differences galore. 00:20:11.171 --> 00:20:19.001 And the whole thing that unites this is that when you think of a child as this individual and you meet them where they're at. 00:20:19.571 --> 00:20:20.771 That's the key thing. 00:20:20.771 --> 00:20:28.031 There should be personalized learning for every single student, not a one size fits all, uh, answer that has been shown not to work. 00:20:28.691 --> 00:20:29.141 Eli Davis: Yeah. 00:20:29.141 --> 00:20:33.236 I, I 100% agree, uh, with the personalized learning. 00:20:33.661 --> 00:20:44.402 Part of my, uh, research that I do, you know, to, to get to, to this PhD, this, mythical thing that I thought I thought about when I was in, uh, uh, 11th grade. 00:20:44.762 --> 00:20:46.622 It's called myself, Dr. Davis, right? 00:20:47.102 --> 00:20:50.476 I do the research, what is called epigenetics and mm-hmm. 00:20:50.986 --> 00:20:51.226 Yeah. 00:20:51.226 --> 00:21:02.494 So I do the research on epigenetics and one, one did I do, one of the things I do is I follow the lineage, you know, uh, and then, um, and then I, I'm, I'm working in schools in Birmingham, uh, Alabama. 00:21:02.911 --> 00:21:10.206 And, um, I'm, I'm thinking about the lineage and the historical, uh, the historical components of, the trauma. 00:21:10.566 --> 00:21:13.686 That has been, been generational and generational. 00:21:13.949 --> 00:21:28.421 when we think about, some of the things that's needed, Can the two hour, process the AI learning process how could we use the, time to build on social emotional, uh, skills? 00:21:28.426 --> 00:21:31.926 Like, like what is, what is, uh, the things that you do, uh, in your schools? 00:21:31.926 --> 00:21:32.136 Yeah. 00:21:32.800 --> 00:21:42.139 McKenzie Price: Well, um, so I'll give you a couple examples of some of just the, the fun ways that you can teach kid life skill, teach kids life skills, and, make it exciting for them. 00:21:42.415 --> 00:21:48.355 Um, And one of the examples I, I just love to give, we ran a workshop this last year called How to Be a Spy. 00:21:48.625 --> 00:21:51.670 And it was this really fun workshop where kids are, are learning all these. 00:21:51.740 --> 00:22:02.035 Spy techniques, but what we were really teaching was how to read body language, how to engage in conversation with someone that you don't know, uh, you know how to make eye contact, things like that. 00:22:02.035 --> 00:22:06.731 And, uh, we had a student, uh, walk up to me and, this student is, uh, autistic. 00:22:06.821 --> 00:22:10.451 And you know, the moment you meet him, you realize that he is on the spectrum. 00:22:10.691 --> 00:22:14.681 And I walked into school one day and the class, the workshop. 00:22:14.691 --> 00:22:15.800 Uh, How to be a spy. 00:22:15.800 --> 00:22:21.920 I've been going on for a couple weeks at this point, and this little boy walks right up to me and he puts his hand out to shake my hand. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:25.820 He says, hello, miss Mackenzie, how are you today? 00:22:25.820 --> 00:22:27.530 And I said, well, I'm fantastic. 00:22:27.530 --> 00:22:28.430 How are you doing? 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:30.560 And then he said, do you have a busy day? 00:22:30.560 --> 00:22:34.430 And I said, I said, well, yeah, I've got a meeting and I'm gonna be doing this and this. 00:22:34.430 --> 00:22:35.180 What about you? 00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:36.860 And he answered the questions. 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:45.170 And then there was a. A little lull in the conversation and he looked out the door and he said, it seems like the weather is gonna stay pretty nice today, don't you think? 00:22:45.170 --> 00:22:46.760 And I said, yeah, I think it'll be good. 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:51.230 And then he said to me, have you noticed I've been maintaining eye contact? 00:22:51.410 --> 00:22:53.540 And I said, I have absolutely noticed that. 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:58.010 And a couple days later, I saw his mom at school and his mom came to me with tears in her eyes. 00:22:58.015 --> 00:23:01.555 And she said, these are the skills that I want my son to be learning. 00:23:01.555 --> 00:23:01.855 Right? 00:23:01.855 --> 00:23:05.815 I want him to learn how to engage in a conversation with someone that he doesn't know very well. 00:23:05.935 --> 00:23:11.815 I want him to be noticing things like his, his aversion to eye contact and how to focus on that, right? 00:23:11.965 --> 00:23:15.985 I want him to be doing those things, and it's just one example of so many of the different. 00:23:16.010 --> 00:23:17.510 Life skills that can be taught. 00:23:17.570 --> 00:23:20.360 I'll give you another one that's really fun that we're using AI to do. 00:23:20.706 --> 00:23:25.990 Uh, so we, uh, take our kids, uh, out to play a sport, uh, any sport. 00:23:25.990 --> 00:23:34.630 We've had 'em do basketball, volleyball, soccer, and we mic them up and we'll take, we'll assign kids to be the captain of their team, right? 00:23:34.630 --> 00:23:35.170 Each of them. 00:23:35.350 --> 00:23:38.530 And then we use AI to analyze. 00:23:38.845 --> 00:23:40.585 Their gameplay talk. 00:23:40.585 --> 00:23:41.815 Like what is it that they've said? 00:23:41.815 --> 00:23:47.124 How have they communicated with their teammates, uh, with their teammates, um, how have they communicated leadership? 00:23:47.124 --> 00:23:47.844 What are they doing? 00:23:47.874 --> 00:23:55.312 And you know, it's one of those things when kids get that feedback and awareness of like, oh yeah, here's what I was doing to work on my leadership and I. 00:23:55.312 --> 00:23:55.822 Team work abilities. 00:23:55.882 --> 00:23:58.582 We've done the same thing in those escape rooms. 00:23:58.582 --> 00:24:04.462 I don't know if you've ever been to one of those really fun escape rooms where you've gotta work as a team to try to try to get out within an hour. 00:24:04.702 --> 00:24:10.749 Um, But you know, when we use these, these experiences, you know, for, uh, using AI even to. 00:24:10.754 --> 00:24:14.264 Provide feedback to kids on how they can communicate. 00:24:14.424 --> 00:24:24.817 Uh, Public speaking is another great life skill that if you can be a great communicator and public speaker, there's so many different doors that open up for you, you know, as you're going through life. 00:24:24.997 --> 00:24:28.237 And, uh, we do this even with our kindergarten and first grade students. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:29.630 Uh, We'll use AI apps. 00:24:29.650 --> 00:24:41.854 So that they can start creating their speeches and then getting feedback on their intonation, the number of words per minute they're pacing, how many filler words they're using, uh, how can they make their stories more engaging? 00:24:42.004 --> 00:24:49.527 And, you know, practicing your speech in front of an AI app is a lot less intimidating than practicing a speech in front of 50 people. 00:24:49.527 --> 00:24:49.977 Right. 00:24:50.017 --> 00:24:52.117 But then we stair-step these activities. 00:24:52.117 --> 00:24:57.640 So, you know, for example, this year our students, uh, started out by using these AIOps to give feedback. 00:24:57.820 --> 00:25:02.890 Then they went to the Humane Society and they practiced their speeches in front of cats. 00:25:03.307 --> 00:25:05.587 Uh, 'cause cats are a pretty UNT intimidating audience. 00:25:05.587 --> 00:25:06.022 Too. 00:25:06.232 --> 00:25:09.832 Then they went to an old folks' home and they were able to practice there. 00:25:09.832 --> 00:25:13.122 Then they went to a local bookstore and they gave public readings. 00:25:13.332 --> 00:25:19.865 Um, And what this results in is building up confidence and competence, um, such that we have our youngest children. 00:25:20.090 --> 00:25:23.540 You know, giving speeches in front of audiences of a hundred people, right? 00:25:23.540 --> 00:25:31.580 And there's so many ways that we can use AI tools to help kids really develop life skills and develop, you know, their success. 00:25:31.820 --> 00:25:39.590 Uh, Instead of teaching them that AI is just something they could use to cheat, let's show them how these AI tools can help give them superpowers. 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:44.365 Eli Davis: Just, just 1, 1, 1 small little quick, question. 00:25:44.729 --> 00:25:50.712 So, so what I've, I've, I've noticed and just doing my, my research on you you talked to everybody. 00:25:50.712 --> 00:25:51.822 What, what is that about? 00:25:51.852 --> 00:25:52.812 Why do you, why do you do that? 00:25:54.342 --> 00:25:57.402 McKenzie Price: Well, here's what I kind of feel like, I wanna do. 00:25:57.402 --> 00:25:58.722 I want to. 00:25:59.034 --> 00:26:05.274 Help spread the word and raise awareness that there is a better way for us to be educating our kids. 00:26:05.424 --> 00:26:08.124 We do not have to just accept the status quo. 00:26:08.124 --> 00:26:18.004 I think when we think about school and education, uh, because all of us had our own personal experience growing up through a system, we kind of think, well, hey, this is just the way it is. 00:26:18.004 --> 00:26:18.904 You know, you gotta kind of. 00:26:19.139 --> 00:26:21.359 You gotta go through the motion, you gotta get through school. 00:26:21.449 --> 00:26:24.299 I don't know about you, Eli, but I was one of those kids who hated school. 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.919 I never liked school. 00:26:26.069 --> 00:26:27.449 I was so excited. 00:26:27.449 --> 00:26:32.309 When I finally finished, I remember literally tapping the top of my head and saying, I'm done. 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:33.989 The, this is closed. 00:26:33.989 --> 00:26:35.159 We're not going back to school. 00:26:35.159 --> 00:26:36.174 School for anything else. 00:26:36.354 --> 00:26:41.274 Of course, the irony that now I am in a school most days of the week is, is not lost on me. 00:26:41.424 --> 00:26:49.074 Um, But I want people to know that there's a better way and that they shouldn't just accept that, hey, some kids aren't gonna do great in school. 00:26:49.311 --> 00:26:57.201 Uh, Some kids are gonna hate it, you know, 13 years of our lives is too long to spend five days a week, all day long. 00:26:57.721 --> 00:27:06.691 Being a disengaged board or just going through the motions, which unfortunately in our traditional system is I think what a vast majority of students are doing. 00:27:06.934 --> 00:27:12.694 Um, So I kind of wanna be that person out there beating the drum to say, Hey, you know, there's something better coming out. 00:27:12.694 --> 00:27:17.464 And, you know, I've started with what I can do in terms of being able to expand. 00:27:18.009 --> 00:27:20.709 The students we serve and trying to get into the public world. 00:27:20.709 --> 00:27:21.849 Actually, I was very excited. 00:27:21.849 --> 00:27:31.153 I was just in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, uh, the author of the piece was saying, Hey guys, it's time to look at using AI to provide this better education experience. 00:27:31.243 --> 00:27:42.016 And so I think as we can get that to be done, and it's part of what I spend a lot of time on my future of education doing is helping parents and educators, you know, not be scared of what the future holds. 00:27:42.016 --> 00:27:42.316 Right. 00:27:42.316 --> 00:27:45.916 And especially again, with teachers, I want teachers to know. 00:27:46.121 --> 00:27:57.371 I actually think it's a really exciting time to be a teacher because I think their jobs are going to finally be able to change so that they can have the impact that they need to have and that they wanna have. 00:27:57.611 --> 00:28:06.521 But again, we have given, you know, in the model of education we've done of this, you know, one teacher with 15, 20, 25, maybe even 30. 00:28:06.791 --> 00:28:12.806 Students, uh, you know, it's like giving them a bucket with a hole in it, holes in it, and telling 'em to empty the ocean. 00:28:12.806 --> 00:28:22.976 It's been an impossible task and I think it's time for us to like, make teaching a noble profession again, one where our teachers can have great impact on our students. 00:28:23.156 --> 00:28:26.533 And, um, I believe that, you know, AI is an answer. 00:28:26.533 --> 00:28:29.923 AI doesn't care if a student is white, black, or brown. 00:28:30.038 --> 00:28:32.348 It doesn't care if a student is rich or poor. 00:28:32.468 --> 00:28:36.038 It doesn't care if a student is in the 10th percentile or the 98th percentile. 00:28:36.038 --> 00:28:37.328 It's infinitely patient. 00:28:37.478 --> 00:28:44.258 So AI allows us to raise the floor and blow the ceiling off of what's possible and doing it for every single kid. 00:28:44.258 --> 00:28:53.061 So I think ultimately it's gonna be accessible and it's gonna be scalable, and it's gonna change, uh, the role of teachers for the better, and it's gonna meet our students where they need to be. 00:28:53.171 --> 00:28:54.851 Which is, is gonna be helpful. 00:28:54.851 --> 00:29:05.891 So I, you know, I guess I was born always a pretty social gal and I like to talk and if I can talk about education and talk about how we can change kids' lives, like count me in, I'm up for it all the time. 00:29:06.386 --> 00:29:06.676 Eli Davis: Okay. 00:29:06.676 --> 00:29:07.316 That's really cool. 00:29:07.781 --> 00:29:08.141 Okay. 00:29:08.141 --> 00:29:08.621 All right. 00:29:08.621 --> 00:29:12.631 So, uh, thank you very much, um, Mackenzie Price for your time. 00:29:12.631 --> 00:29:14.941 I really appreciate it and well, thank you. 00:29:14.941 --> 00:29:15.001 Yeah. 00:29:15.886 --> 00:29:19.621 And, uh, thank everybody that's, uh, out here listening and, um, you know. 00:29:19.898 --> 00:29:22.748 think about some of the things that's, that, that's going on. 00:29:22.778 --> 00:29:32.116 Uh, Think about some of the, uh, the concepts that, um, McKenzie is offering You know, go out, go out there, go out there and create. 00:29:32.146 --> 00:29:36.106 This is, this is a very, uh, amazing, conversation and I appreciate it. 00:29:36.353 --> 00:29:37.994 And uh, we get ready to close out. 00:29:37.994 --> 00:29:40.184 Thank you for tuning in to. 00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:44.089 AI with Eli artificial intelligence, real talk.