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084 – Succeeding at Education with Ted Dintersmith
Succeeding at Education with Ted Dintersmith
[In This Episode][Guest Bio][Additional Notes][Text Transcript]
In This Episode
*
Why would an entrepreneur and noted venture capitalist zoom in on education?
*
How serious are the educational challenges we face in the US?
*
Is there a simple path forward to creating a better education for every student?
My guest today is Ted Dintersmith, noted venture capitalist, author, and executive producer of the Sundance-acclaimed education documentary, “Most Likely to Succeed.” Ted believes that with the best of intentions, we’re ruining the futures of our kids, and our country. He says we stubbornly cling to an obsolete education model that prepares kids for assembly line jobs that no longer exist and that failed policies have turned school into a dreary regime of testing and accountability. Worse, he believes that even our best students learn little, as so many lose curiosity, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and sense of purpose. Ted is fresh off a 50-state tour of schools and communities with his film, throughout which he has also seen the very best of learning experiences which have provided for Ted an inspiring vision of how schools can launch kids into lives of competence and purpose.
There are lots of opinions about how and why we should change the education in the US. If you only take one point away from today’s show, consider this. What would happen if suddenly tomorrow we told every teacher in the country, “We trust you to turn our kids into curious, thoughtful, productive humans”?
Parents AND students both tell us, “We can’t believe how much learning happened in just 4 days!”
We want to help you and your kids create the future!
Guest Bio
Ted Dintersmith is a father of two young adults, and concerned about the world’s future. He is retired from his venture firm Charles River Ventures, a top-tier early-stage venture firm, and now focuses his time, energy, and money on high-potential education-related initiatives. He spent the fall of 2012 in New York City, selected by the President to serve as part of the delegation representing the United States at the United Nations General Assembly, where he focused on education and entrepreneurship. Now, he is traveling way more than he ever did when he was active in venture capital.
Some four years ago, he started working on several initiatives dealing with the collision of innovation with our education system.
Here’s what he has accomplished so far. Mr. Dintersmith organized and funded a feature-length documentary on education that was directed by Greg Whiteley and his amazing team —Most Likely to Succeed. The film premiered at Sundance in January and has had an amazing run since. It’s been a featured selection at more than twenty major film festivals, has been the opening night film for a half-dozen top conferences on education, and was part of a reception in November, 2015, setting up the White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools. They have an innovative distribution model for the film, encouraging schools to show the film to their community. They get hundreds of requests each week.
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By Steve Kurti, Inventor, Inventing, Education, Purpose of Education, Teen Success, Learning, Maker Ed, MakingSucceeding at Education with Ted Dintersmith
[In This Episode][Guest Bio][Additional Notes][Text Transcript]
In This Episode
*
Why would an entrepreneur and noted venture capitalist zoom in on education?
*
How serious are the educational challenges we face in the US?
*
Is there a simple path forward to creating a better education for every student?
My guest today is Ted Dintersmith, noted venture capitalist, author, and executive producer of the Sundance-acclaimed education documentary, “Most Likely to Succeed.” Ted believes that with the best of intentions, we’re ruining the futures of our kids, and our country. He says we stubbornly cling to an obsolete education model that prepares kids for assembly line jobs that no longer exist and that failed policies have turned school into a dreary regime of testing and accountability. Worse, he believes that even our best students learn little, as so many lose curiosity, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and sense of purpose. Ted is fresh off a 50-state tour of schools and communities with his film, throughout which he has also seen the very best of learning experiences which have provided for Ted an inspiring vision of how schools can launch kids into lives of competence and purpose.
There are lots of opinions about how and why we should change the education in the US. If you only take one point away from today’s show, consider this. What would happen if suddenly tomorrow we told every teacher in the country, “We trust you to turn our kids into curious, thoughtful, productive humans”?
Parents AND students both tell us, “We can’t believe how much learning happened in just 4 days!”
We want to help you and your kids create the future!
Guest Bio
Ted Dintersmith is a father of two young adults, and concerned about the world’s future. He is retired from his venture firm Charles River Ventures, a top-tier early-stage venture firm, and now focuses his time, energy, and money on high-potential education-related initiatives. He spent the fall of 2012 in New York City, selected by the President to serve as part of the delegation representing the United States at the United Nations General Assembly, where he focused on education and entrepreneurship. Now, he is traveling way more than he ever did when he was active in venture capital.
Some four years ago, he started working on several initiatives dealing with the collision of innovation with our education system.
Here’s what he has accomplished so far. Mr. Dintersmith organized and funded a feature-length documentary on education that was directed by Greg Whiteley and his amazing team —Most Likely to Succeed. The film premiered at Sundance in January and has had an amazing run since. It’s been a featured selection at more than twenty major film festivals, has been the opening night film for a half-dozen top conferences on education, and was part of a reception in November, 2015, setting up the White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools. They have an innovative distribution model for the film, encouraging schools to show the film to their community. They get hundreds of requests each week.