IdeaSpark: Big Ideas in Education

Jaksot

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  NAEYC’s Michelle Kang on Keeping Learners at the Center 08.09.2026 16min

  Early childhood educators have the responsibility of helping shape a child's brain during its most rapid developmental window. How can we give them the respect and support they deserve, and what would it take to fix the broken economics behind early childhood education?In this new episode Richard sits down with Michelle Kang, CEO of NAEYC, joined by cohost Joseph South, Chief Innovation Officer at ISTE+ASCD, live from ISTELive in Orlando.Michelle Kang leads the nation's largest professional organization for early childhood educators, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Before taking the helm at NAEYC, Michelle spent more than 16 years at Bright Horizons building employer child care partnerships. In addition to discussing how the early childhood market actually works and where it is failing, Michelle walks Richard and Joseph through the broken economics behind child care tuition and educator pay, and the many different pathways into the profession of early childhood teaching. She also addresses how screens and digital noise crowd out the human connection young children need most.Listen in as Richard, Joseph, and Michelle discuss:What NAEYC's 100 years of advocacy reveal about the progress still neededWhy the profession requires more than just loving childrenHow CDA credential, Power to the Profession, and other frameworks define the professionHow technology can support, but never replace, human connection with young childrenWhat gives Michelle hope for the field's futureFollow Michelle Kang:NAEYC: naeyc.orgLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michellejkangFollow Richard:X: x.com/rculattaLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rculattaBook: Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online WorldFollow Joseph:ISTE+ASCD Staff Page: iste-ascd.org/staff/joseph-southLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/southjosephStay in touch with ISTE+ASCD:Website: iste-ascd.orgX: x.com/ISTE_ASCDFacebook: facebook.com/ISTEofficialLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/isteofficialYouTube: youtube.com/@isteInstagram: instagram.com/isteconnects
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  Ted Dintersmith on the Math Schools Never Taught You 08.09.2026 22min

  Why do fewer than 5% of adults use the math they learned in high school, and what would happen if a state legislator, school board member, or governor had to take the same standardized math tests they use to judge our schools? In this episode, Ted Dintersmith, an education advocate, venture capitalist, filmmaker, and author of Aftermath: The Life-Changing Math That Schools Won't Teach You, joins Richard Culatta to make the case for rethinking what, and why, we teach.Ted Dintersmith was once ranked the top-performing venture capitalist in the country. He spent two decades at Charles River Ventures before President Obama appointed him to represent the United States at the United Nations General Assembly. He then turned his attention to schools, producing the documentary Most Likely to Succeed. For his more recent documentary, Multiple Choice, he spent an entire school year visiting all 50 states to see what was actually happening in classrooms.In this conversation, Ted and Richard dig into why standardized math testing rewards what is easy to grade rather than what is useful; why accountability measures built for a pre-computer world are still driving what happens in classrooms today; and why the math that actually shapes people's lives, from reading a jobs report to understanding a school’s ranking, is almost never taught. They also talk about what it looks like when kids are given real, relevant problems to solve, and what Ted believes the rise of AI means for education.Richard and Ted discuss:Why the math and reading scores used to judge schools do not reflect the quality of learning happening inside themWhat standardized math tests actually cover, and why so much of it is leftover from a pre-computer eraWhy fewer than 5% of adults use the math they studied in high school and what that means for how we spend classroom timeWhat kinds of math genuinely shape people's lives, from jobs reports to school rankings to personal financeWhy Ted wants legislators, school board members, and governors to take the same standardized tests their policies are built aroundWhat a real story from The Wire reveals about making math relevant to studentsWhy Ted sees the rise of AI as an urgent, “code red” moment for rethinking what school is forFollow Ted:Ted Dintersmith's WebsiteTed Dintersmith on LinkedInFollow Richard:Richard Culatta on LinkedInRichard Culatta on XStay in touch with ISTE+ASCD:WebsiteXFacebookLinkedInYouTubeInstagram