Silicon Valley billionaires created AltSchool

Silicon Valley is working on ways to change the way that we drive, eat, live, and now thanks to a new type of school, the way our children learn. The school is called AltSchool, and it's the brainchild of a former Google executive, Max Ventilla. The school merges traditional education with the type of high-tech learning that you would expect from Silicon Valley. AltSchool has even funded itself like a startup, raising $170 million from investors like Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Following is a transcript of the video:
I’m Max Ventilla, I’m the founder and CEO of AltSchool. I had been at Google and left to start a company called Aardvark that they acquired in early 2010. And at the same time my daughter was 2 years old and we were in the thick of thinking about preschool. My daughter is such a different person than I am and the world that she's going to grow up in is so different than the world that I grew up in. That future is going to demand of her this ability to kind of constantly make her own path instead of, you know following a roadmap that’s given to her. And her education needs to prepare her for that.
It is really hard to run a bad school, let alone a great school. And so to kind of manage that complexity, to manage that challenge, traditional schools have to simplify and they do that through making a number of assumptions. Like, the future is largely similar to the past or 10 year olds are pretty much the same. None of those assumptions turn out to be true. You know in AltSchool if you look at “What are the objectives that 10-year-olds are pursuing,” the vast majority of them are not 10-year-old objectives. There are things that an 11-year-old, or 12-year-old, or 13-year-old would be expected to work on and in other areas maybe they're behind and you know they're working at a 9-year-old or a 8-year-old level in some domain.
Personalizing education is pretty easy to do on a screen. The problem is now kids are on a screen which is in many ways the last thing that you want. So the challenge for us is, how do you personalize education off of a screen?
A pillar of AltSchool and any school is assessment and assessment needs to be accurate, it needs to be actual, and it needs to be non-invasive. And that's hard. How do you get a signal about what kids are learning and what they know and what they don't know? You know, not just once a week but once a day, once an hour, once a minute. And again that's where technology can come in. You can allow kids to kind of naturally learn in an emergent way and you can give tools to teachers so that they can document in real time.
We believe a generation from now, the best education can be the one that the most kids get, rather than the fewest kids get. That education will be intensely personal, it will be intensely offline, but it will tie back to a digital representation of what's happening. So you'll be able to use technology to be much more flexible, to be much more coordinated, to be much more rigorous, and allow an experience that, you know, in many ways looks totally un-technical.
If you believe that to really be part of a solution, for you know, a very different education in the future versus now, you need to bring technology and great traditional education together.
Kids are different. Even two 10 year old twins are different and we need to be able to meet each child where they are in terms of, not only how has their academic and non-academic learning progressed to that point but what interests them what motivates them what frustrates them and we are nowhere near the level of personalization that we aim to be.
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[@z-army481]

It's cool and all until you hear about the 20,000 dollar tuition fee

[@like.clarkwork]

Z-Army It would be cool if it were cheaper and around the world

[@z-army481]

TechProRex Productions well yeah no shit

[@z-army481]

Deborah ` Oyebade let me repeat myself. TWENTY FUCKING THOUSAND DOLLARS. you could buy a fucking car

[@ArbitraryxIntentions]

For public education the average each student gets for school is around 11k. For students in states like New york they get even 20k or more. So actually its not ridiculous at all that there is a 20k tuition fee. What needs to happen is that the government needs to allow people to choose what school they want their child to go, rather than being forced to have to pay out of pocket if they want to choose a private school.

[@AceCrasher24]

Roshawn Terrell no, private schools are private because they are businesses. Academy's are similar. Normal schools should be free, tax should be for healthcare, education and all the important stuff. Parents shouldn't be able to send their young kids to special schools unless they have special needs. Schools need to be balanced out, no special schools for other normal kids with rich parents. When a kid is done with what ever the equivalent of primary school is (after nursery/pre school) they should have a choice what school they go to next, and then what they want their future to be. If they want to go to a specialist place then that's their choice, they can take a student loan and pay it back like everyone else. Heck, up north in Scotland they get payed to go to college. And students that work get free travel to and from work. (I will always think the American government is stupid, tax the wrong things, doesn't tax what's needed.)

[@Btt8]

These are the kids that eat avocado toast for breakfast

[@beevsbar4627]

lmao

[@michaelthetrent]

Teach them how to count, how to read and how to deal with disappointment and failure and you're already ahead of what I see on a daily basis.

[@aldogallegos3209]

Michael Trent and throughout the years make sure they practice quick multiplication, addition, and division skills. Cause my school district stopped doing that after 6th grade and now I find it hard to do multiplication in my brain. I forgot how to do division on paper and addition skills are still there.

[@wujing4882]

2:57 well the lesson definitely didn't work for that kid at the right

[@ggman1254]

;)

[@epicsamar3609]

// I suppose you considered that to be flattering but it rather showed your conscious stare of immaturity //

[@tw3638]

@@epicsamar3609 lol okay buddy

[@yeah61]

Making antisocial children since 2014

[@FRISHR]

Introverts ≠ Antisocials

[@Psycho-py6hw]

Introverts = Antisocial

[@adibejleri9664]

FRISHR Moms=Spaghetti

[@KanyeWestLyricalGenius]

c g anti social? They're in class with other students.....

[@KanyeWestLyricalGenius]

Adi Bejleri lmfao

[@MrDannyrico1]

could you imagine a kid that doesnt know how to write with a pen and paper, and only knows how to type

[@DakshGuptaCuriosium]

200 years ago it would have been ridiculous that kids are reaching adulthood never having learned how to work on a farm, but here we are.

[@blancaah6]

@@DakshGuptaCuriosium and lets not forget that 200 years ago the amount of literate people was much lower.

[@kevinboone2178]

Most can't type, they peck.

[@merkmurda2607]

Why are all these little kids dressed like hipsters already?

[@jellybutter3123]

i lost it when i saw one w grey hair

[@anismiles5yearsago912]

@@jellybutter3123 it's fashion, and expression. :)

[@ReddyEddy]

Rich kids school

[@marcusfigved7593]

Eduardo Castro yup

[@laraelkady3212]

I mean yeah it's in Silicon Valley and most people who live in that area are rich or make a lot of money.

[@yunhxpeofficialyt5114]

Vinnie Sifter naw it’s because chrome books are meant more for school work MacBooks on the other hand or more meant for business work.

[@Mickee1112]

more like alt+f4 school amirite guys

[@Hooli630]

Freddie Fresh came too far for this...

[@Adrianlovesmusic]

hell yeah

[@rangking1]

Making new billionaires are great, but instead of teach and educate maybe "millionaire kids of Silicon Valley" it's likely more valuable if u could create a place for unfortunate kids to enhance their skills and knowledge so u can make a better life for thousands of people out there

[@h.cheema7818]

But that wouldn't be profitable.

[@marzipanmango]

I totally get how the video cameras can help teachers teach better but it still creeps me out...

[@cobra4793]

A. Neufeld yeah, those born after 2025 will have little experience of life without being recorded. 1 side - always accountable and safe other side is no privacy - more so always being on display. Will they grow accustomed to being recorded or alwa6s carry the distinct feeling of being watched?

[@jstylezPictures]

why are they being filmed for thats the question

[@josephineventillaabelsnes2282]

Image how weirded out we were by them.

[@iamsorrybut2370]

3:00 extreme right that's me in the school lol

[@briantobias9212]

This is a great idea, obviously its catered more towards the upper class.

[@kevinboone2178]

Mr. Tobias, how is a tech-based education "a great idea" for being catered to the upper class?

[@adamklam1]

sort of light on details there. what exactly is an example of a days lesson plan? This sounds alot like one of the overhyped failed-to-deliver kickstarter videos.

[@Jmj0411]

only rich kids can study in this school with personal education poor kids like me are still struggling in normal school

[@themetagame2773]

CAN NOBODY DO IT LIKE YOU DO THE WAY YOU DO IT because you're not asking for help. 99% of schools have places to work and get help during lunch or after school. Its their job to help you succeed you're just not trying.

[@goldenrain4934]

True!

[@jacksonny1493]

CAN NOBODY DO IT LIKE YOU DO THE WAY YOU DO IT I highly doubt you're poor if you're able to watch this video.....

[@damiansconberg4715]

Princess Charlie what? you can be poor and be able to afford a phone

[@jacksonny1493]

Sarcastic Squash true, but why would a family struggling to make enough money buy an iPhone rather than a flip phone that costs a lot less.

[@tnlockchalek]

wtf with those hair colors

[@thieney]

Traduttore Traditore edgy Asians.....

[@awilduser895]

Traduttore Traditore rich edgy Asians lol

[@PixelGunner3D]

What does edgy mean?

[@zeppyjenjen]

lol I thought the same thing. How do parents allow such young children to get their hair coloured?

[@hafsa1698]

rain jen I heard Asians have stronger hair than the rest of us and that their hair can better withstand harsh treatments. Could just be bs though ..

[@kentvandervelden]

Thank you, "personalized education off screen" with emphasis on "off screen." Where I'm at, in public schools, parents are expected to get each child an iPad (and not anything but iPads), with the iPad being used for absurd things like hall passes, because "that's going to prepare them for the future." I'm not sure this man has it quite right though that children today will need to make their own path in the future. That was always a possibility, but perhaps not encouraged in public schools (and his school is not public), because it's not a healthy expectation to force on everyone. Regardless, his heart seems to be in the right place, and I wish anyone the absolute best of success in any endeavor to better education.

[@martergaming]

yea but chromebooks are crap

[@marcusfigved7593]

marter1234 gaming better than nothing

[@juancena1117]

marter1234 gaming for gaming they are....Not that you would want them for that hm?

[@martergaming]

it's mainly the touchpad on them, the small size makes it crap and not to mention the keyboard. for the touchpad and keyboard, i would prefer my acer laptop

[@sambulleit6191]

Yeah, but when you're considering that this school is buying them by the truckload to be used by children for accessing the Internet and Google docs then it makes sense. Should they be using Razers or something?

[@catfreak]

So they learn to be surveilled from early on.

[@cjezinne]

This is a great model, but I think we need to focus on helping poor schools in places like Baltimore or rural Utah. These schools are already at a disadvantage with a severe lack of funding and hopefully, technology can fix the divide. In Prince George's County, MD. They have opened up some amazing charter school which focuses primarily on poorer families and they have had great success getting the kids into great colleges.

[@kevinboone2178]

Interesting. What are the names of those charters, as Prince George's has been recalcitrant in allowing such schools to operate there, if at all? I'd like to check the veracity of your claims. With due respect, sir.

[@alvareznivek2780]

or move to Germany

[@Mksterk1998]

Dennis Reimer That's not true. Germany has one of the best education systems in the world. It's one of the reasons Germany is performing so we'll economically.

[@ucum1829]

What the fuck you talking about 😂 germans are fucking robots

[@itsfinnickbitch63]

Yasar #1 wait why are they robots?

[@RudyOMP]

Gamer_ 14j are you dumb fam.

[@TheMontyFox]

Germany is has one of the strongest education systems primarily because only the brightest go to Universities.This is primarily because of the Apitur which gauges whether if you should go to perhaps a University or just instead learn a trade. But here in the US everyone is treated the same and we all can choose what we want to be when we grow up. Thus making the playing field broader and less focused on precise skills

[@nonchalantd]

I had to listen to his last statement twice because I wasn't sure if he was asking a question or not.

[@futureofeducationforprogre3396]

I will like to know more about Alt school through video format, where could I find it?

[@smks8er]

I’ve heard that recall and comprehension levels drop when studying from a screen as opposed to printed words. Something about the refresh rate of panels and the brain not concentrating as much

[@LifeDesignPodcast]

We definitely need a different approach to education -- nice to see an innovative approach to the issue.

[@kevinboone2178]

Innovation, yes, but not segregation and tokenism.

[@mrchocolatebean8878]

Lol im my class we act like 2 years olds!

[@DoodleDoo]

so it's "offline" in a school where they have to go but when they are at the school, they get "online" on their laptops. just brilliant!

[@iggyandhercat1856]

3:01 yo that kid is intensely hipster

[@saga2795]

So everyone is hating on this school just because it’s private. My school’s tuition is $30,000, but it’s one of the best in the U.S. Do you really think my family can afford that? I had to work hard to get awards, maintain good grades, earn excellent test scores, and have many extracurriculars just to be accepted, let alone get financial aid. Many of my classmates don’t even have a working printer at home. Although many of them are, don’t assume everyone who goes to these schools are rich.

[@siddhanthshetty5599]

This concept is the Gurukul system of schooling which was practiced in Indian since ages until the British colonised it and got the so called Morden schooling

[@robertmwaniki7659]

It seems to me like the educational system in America is like an on-going experiment. Would it make more sense to look at countries like Singapore, who have the highest reading, math and science marks, and come up with something that works?

[@meh23p]

Please, copy Finland, not Singapore.

[@gabrielmondragon6932]

I may never become a billionaire, maybe not even a millionaire, but I will definately will be able to afford to send my kids there.

[@charmanater]

nice use of double will's in the same point

[@Rohitsingh2410]

Gabriel Mondragon believe me you are lucky.

[@Rohitsingh2410]

Vinnie Sifter yes I'm poor , right now...but believe me that kind of education should not be forced to kids at that early stage.

[@personalinformation8678]

rohit singh why

[@personalinformation8678]

rohit singh you literally have no basis for your statement and no understanding how the School works. This video was so incredibly brief.

[@eight-chloestrong-teen8720]

3:05 she looks fiiineeee :P(don't judge me) and that note on white board says: "Buddy **ck off"

[@meh23p]

Eight-Chloe Strong-Teen it clearly says check off.

[@olg06]

Eight-Chloe Strong-Teen Eeww and I think that's a boy😆

[@tek1645]

I thought it was a school for coding because I would totally be in this school.

[@finallygotitbeats9618]

A 3-Year Outcome of this Assessment..ought to be required before further and rather wider implementation.

[@eycke6101]

Well, actually it sounds like a Steiner School ( or Waldorf School) but just without the laptops!

[@qrstpoiu862]

The kids at this school don't seem to ever interact with one another face-to-face. There is too much technology and this leaves very little room for creativity and expansion of the imagination. Children learn best through movement and handwork. They need to feel, touch and use all their senses. Sitting in front of a laptop all day surrounded by high levels of toxic electric magnetic radiation and harmful wifi-rays can result in potential health and mental health issues in the future.

[@alfredhitchcock45]

It's like Montessori? Well, when your daughter grows old she turns out to be Katy Perry.

[@douglasnyenke2505]

there was one black person in the entire school.

[@2Shainzz]

Do they have sports teams? That's pretty important for children

[@kevinboone2178]

Why didn't you know sports are left to the robots, Ladaveon?

[@pvr17]

2017-18 monthly tuition for Lower School is $2,705, Middle School is $2,760, and Spanish Immersion is $3,015, with a 10-month minimum per year. Lol until now only College was expensive! But here we are.

[@openmind2161]

at this age of internet you don't need education ,you can download anything from internet

[@DC9848]

Offline learning will be very important aspect

[@huyvo467]

Looks like a place where rich kids learn at an accelerated rate.

[@catchmeifyoucam]

They say that most learning takes place offline but in almost every shot, kids are on their computers. They didn't really explain their approach they which I thought was the point of the video but it seems like a cool idea not sure if it'll really work though

[@rawaserwan3071]

£170 million for this. Meanwhile their are still schools that can barley afford to feed their students.

[@emmag7488]

Damn, all I get at my school are worksheets and tests

[@kevinboone2178]

Poor child. Sue them for malpractice.

[@itz_alice_chan4385]

This is the school for me :)

[@edwnx0]

this reminds me of the school Bart when to when he cheated on his SAT test.

[@brax0789]

Organic education. Im with it

[@channelbangmamat7119]

Lol. Those kids coworked since primary school 😂

[@jedgar6653]

lol everyone's complaining about it being a school only for rich kids, but look at your private school next door with tuitions of $20-30k. Look at where all the private school students go

[@darbymortenson7602]

KOTH predicted this stark reality in their "Pro-Pain" episode.

[@deversandbello]

It's good, education needs to make a change. 6th graders are doing harder homework than college dissertations. When u take it down to a scale, the work these young kids are doing can only hit a ceiling at some point

[@kevinboone2178]

You can't be serious -- their pupils are not doing "harder homework" than PhD students/lmao, Johnny.

[@StrawberryNinjaNibbles]

So it’s an online Montessori school...?

[@muddlen7928]

Wow, nice fund this school and not the others atleast this school's food isnt worse than a prisons

[@princessseraphina8990]

I wonder if this will come into Guyana?

[@aghosh5447]

The fun they had Issac asimov Classic story

[@dannycarlos5595]

This is amazing, what makes reading from ur laptop different from a book, the laptop has more important and updated information. and btw nobody gives a fuck if u can't afford it

[@fmartin59]

Exactly. We don't need everyone to be able to afford this. Just enough to keep society running.

[@makhanlalkar3111]

Good. Within 5 years, it will be very common because many NGOs are providing e learning to many poor students.

[@richardrackley2430]

Call it out of touch with reality, but imo public schools should find a way to realistically apply some of the points they are making here. School manages to often teach and foster learning in the most inefficient ways for a lot of students; they teach in an unpersonalized manner that has been done for decades/a century. I know that if there was some sort of mandatory test that at least judged how I learn or evaluated my thought process during learning and then there was a system where you are matched with a teacher that can teach you in the way you learn, I would have done much better in middle and high school. I learn extremely inefficiently from lectures but love hands on or practical learning and that's a big reason why I didn't do as well as I could.

[@anotherbutt4chair454]

Isnt this that movie called the 100 ?

[@plutobaby9996]

now I understand why education sucks in America, think about it, if these programers/math geniuses get paid enormous salaries to work on projects, imagine how much it cost to have them teach this stuff in a classroom and then compare all of that to your average school teacher and their level and desire to teach.

[@eleanoraquitaine2966]

Constant real-time monitoring of students and teachers including reviewing what the teachers taught each day, AFTER it's done gives those in charge the ability to deveop powerful new algorithms for manipulating the learning process (as they define it) and manipulating the brains and learning processes of the students and the teachers to get the results they want to prove themselves right.

[@Tysongranger47]

They'll never have those bloody fights we had in junior school.. I once stabbed a sharp pencil through a boy's palm to stop him punching me and leaving him bleeding.... No competition for higher grades(best part)... No disappointment(it's great now but will backfire later).... They'll be run over in the real world

[@Joelenz]

Meh im good with my free education for now.....................

[@abhilashpatel3036]

So they all sit around laptops all day? I call it murder of childhood

[@aidancullen852]

My friends brother goes to this school

[@ezra-keto]

Two people saying that they are 2nd, seriously?

[@venuyanamala69]

Every Kid should enjoy their childhood without thinking bout tomorrow but because of their parents they are catching the laptops learning the algorithms.This is 21st century chaos!!

[@alfredhitchcock45]

What do you mean by enjoy? Is being stupid an enjoyable activity

[@carlossegura889]

Yeah startup schools... let’s innovate the way we learn. so new age. Tech bro

[@leodavee7392]

Even better if we make public schools teach lessons that will be relevant in the future

[@simeonjones3590]

Guessing their calligraphy looks like jack since all they use are laptops.

[@kbtken]

The cameras aren’t for security they are for analyzing the lab rats. If you have money to burn get private tutoring for you children. Have have them join sport martial arts music or artistic cubs if you worried about them not being around children their age.

[@iMrYazeed]

I like their hair colour it's gives them more personality 🤔

[@kevinboone2178]

Dawg, hush.

[@FcBarcelonaKid]

So basically a school for rich kids

[@alfredhitchcock45]

Yes

[@moodydolly]

I tried to understand what they do differently, besides using computers, but this video doesn't really explain it. He talks about personnalizing education, but doesn't say how, only that it is difficult. As a future teacher, I'd be interested in having more details... Cameras to check how your lesson plan worked that day? I figure comptetant teachers know how their class is going moment by moment. And when or if they notice something they make a note to remember working on it for the next time, or the next day. Don't they?

[@kal-muzel875]

moodydolly (future teacher here too!) well personalizing education isn’t that hard if done in the right environment such as small groups where you can see the pace of every child and so on I think the video idea is similar to weekly teacher meetings in finland but there you actually get other teachers’ feedback too to see what way worked for each student so next time your way of teaching would be one the student easily understand I’m sure they do reflect on their teaching either way but maybe for this school since we don’t know much the teacher has to try and see how they changed bu themselves and compare it to data?

[@richardb2837]

Why aren't schools made like this in the south side of Chicago lmao

[@merkmurda2607]

These kids are not gonna be the same as kids who go to normal schools

[@Hakshavalah]

They might wanna change the name to something less inflammatory in the US right now, like Hydra Academy, or SS Elite School, or even Facebook Jugend. Just bad, bad PR.

[@EloiseInParis]

So a guy with no educational background starts a school. He asks "questions" that are addressed at the undergraduate and graduate level. He uses tech to seemingly personalize education, when the real solution he's using is smaller classrooms. I'm sure the kids are getting a good education. But there is nothing revolutionary here. Good teachers, low student to teacher ratios, and funds for the best/newest/ and plenty of educational materials for students. It's a private school with more cameras and lesson plan software than most. $170 million dollars to start up and a $20,000 dollar tuition fee? For an elementary school? People threw money at something because it had Alt in the title. Somebody call Joanne the Scammer, I think I found a location for an iconic endeavor, lol.

[@ReevansElectro]

The teachers get to use Mac laptops but the students are forced to use cheap junky Acers. They are losing right off the bat.

[@thomassa8088]

"The best education can be the one that the most kids get, rather than the fewest kids get. The tuition will be 20,000 dollars".....lmao

[@kevinboone2178]

It is a fantastical, yes?

[@TheSiaubakas]

That's the way schools should teach children in XXI century.

[@Me-by8qi]

Sooo... What is AltSchool?

[@fawnjenkins5157]

This is a common theme arising with kids working at their own pace. It confuses me. We've worked to create this curriculum and these government programs to give everyone the same level of education and nobody is left out of that and it seems like we're throwing it away. 10-year-olds working at a 12-year-old level is amazing and a result of this program. But a 10-year-old working at the level of an 8-year-old is not an okay thing. Definitely not "going their own pace". I personally do not believe that should be encouraged.

[@bartsimpson9226]

so college?

[@timgantumur5750]

Hi my name is Larry. I am 12 years old. AND MY PARENTS ARE RICH!!

[@sapnabora8241]

Computers had replaced books!

[@slv1377]

Not all the classes have 4 walls.we should know that

[@audreyli9000]

don’t really get how this video gets 4.8k likes and 200 ish dislikes yet videos on other schools like basis independent silicon valley get mass disliked

[@silvanamartos]

I dunno. Seems seclusive. Not all kids wanna develop apps but I reckon that's where all the app developer's kids will go.

[@ouf._.1305]

1:56 this kid got red hair?

[@secreteee2572]

GODDAMMIT JIN YIAN!!!

[@n00z94]

Right...... you don't fool me, you guys are making cyber solders

[@csgonoob3955]

Can I get a croissant there

[@OmarSaif24777]

I hated school. Schools should be virtual.

[@marcobbg]

that eyebrow tho

[@marquisdehoto1638]

You can't even be sneaky... it's all on camera.

[@itzdcx7991]

those kids don't look like a normal typical student , so thats how rich kid school looks like?..... odd