The OpenEd Podcast

How do great authors build compelling worlds? Jennifer Jenkins, bestselling YA author and StoryCon founder, reveals the essential questions behind every great story. Whether you're a methodical plotter or spontaneous "pantser," discover how understanding writing rules lets you break them effectively. Perfect for young writers, creative writing students, and anyone interested in the craft of storyt...

COVID created a deep shift in education, uniting parents like never before. In this conversation, Grant Hewitt – VP of Partnerships at OpenEd – unpacks how Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) have evolved from simple school choice to true educational freedom, and why the movement is exploding across America.(00:00) - The COVID Moment That Changed Everything(01:00) - The Evolution: From Public Scho...

What drives parents to switch schools in 2025? From microschools to homeschooling, traditional to charter, National School Choice Foundation's Andrew Campanella reveals why 220% more parents are exploring alternative education - and it's not what experts predicted.(00:00) - Why School Choice Isn't About Politics (It's Personal)(02:29) - The First Step Most Parents Miss When Choosing Schools(03:50)...

OpenEd podcast sits down with the director and showrunner of the hit 2024 movie “Homestead” from Angel Studios to talk about how unconventional education led them to success in Hollywood. From touring with major bands to directing feature films, discover how thinking outside the box and learning through real-world experience shaped their creative journey. Featured Guests: Ben Smallbone - Director...

The greatest skill you can teach a child is believing they can fly before society tells them they can't. Our latest podcast guest Mark Hyatt has been teaching kids to do just that - literally - through Falcon AeroLab , an OpenEd partner course that pairs an online curriculum with an opportunity to take a live flight with a trained pilot. Listen to learn: Rapid growth of aerospace education program...

Open education student success stories! Matt and Isaac share examples of young entrepreneurs and answer your biggest homeschool questions. From teaching financial literacy to handling family criticism, this Q&A episode tackles real homeschool challenges. ✨ SUCCESS STORIES & TOPICS COVERED:00:00 Teen turns garden box business into $150k success02:30 Small-town teen builds thriving dog bree...

A former award-winning teacher and principal shares his journey from dedicating 14 years to public education to becoming an advocate for educational freedom. This conversation reveals why our education system needs transformation and how innovative alternatives are already showing the way forward. Follow guest at @Principal_Jon on X. Chapters 00:00 The Unchanging Face of Education 00:26 Introducti...

"A system that prioritizes a kid's address over his aspirations... it's not one I aspire to." – Derrell Bradford The education landscape is evolving, from traditional public schools to innovative hybrid models. Derrell Bradford, president of 50CAN, shares insights from their 20,000-family survey and discusses why the future of education isn't about choosing between public or private – it's about r...

After 12 years in public education, Peggy couldn't ignore what her training in human development was telling her - the system wasn't working for kids. Now running Apogee Utah, she shares how giving children autonomy, respecting their developmental needs, and allowing them to fail forward has transformed their learning experience. From 15-minute lunch breaks to rigid testing schedules, she reveals...

"I think the biggest why is love really. I love my children. I love children in general. It's what got me into education in the first place." – Keri Mae What if personalized education wasn't just for stay-at-home parents? In this eye-opening episode, former public school teacher and single mom Keri Mae shares how she crafts individualized learning experiences for her three boys while working full-...

Featuring Cassie Shepard of Home Centered Learning Just when you figure out how to teach one way, everything changes - it's like having a baby. You have to adjust to different stages, but that's the beauty of homeschooling." – Cassie Shepard When Cassie Shepard noticed her twin daughters' spirits dimming in first grade, she took an unexpected leap into homeschooling. Five years later, she shares h...

Featuring Sandy Grant, Homeschool Mother of Six "Sometimes you have to put the relationship before your desire to have them meet all of your check boxes." – Sandy Grant From a $50 total budget for three kids to navigating high school calculus, veteran homeschool mom Sandy Grant shares her raw, unfiltered journey of educating six very different children over two decades. After seeing five graduate...

With Special Guest Andrea Fife, ADHD Education Specialist "Try different, try again. Don't just try harder, try something different." – Andrea Fife In this packed Q&A episode, we tackle the tough questions parents face in alternative education. Special guest Andrea Fife delivers a masterclass on supporting ADHD learners, revealing why traditional approaches often fail and how technology, dopam...

When Krystle's daughter was struggling to read at a first-grade level at age 10, multiple diagnoses and years of Orton-Gillingham programs weren't helping. Then she discovered something surprising: it wasn't dyslexia at all - it was a treatable vision problem called convergence insufficiency. Today, her daughter reads 800 words per minute at college level. In this eye-opening episode, learn how vi...

When Jamie Lesko - a former special education teacher, first started homeschooling, she did what many teachers-turned-homeschoolers do: she recreated school at home. Desks. Rigid schedules. Planners. Her son regularly melted down on the floor. Then one day, she found all three kids doing schoolwork atop a closet loft. Her first instinct? Worry. But then she had an epiphany: "Why do they have to le...

You don't have to choose between work and customized learning. Build around the system, not against it. Sunny Simkin, a single working mom reveals how she transformed her children's education without leaving public school. After struggling with math herself, she refused to let her daughter face the same challenges. Instead of fighting the system, she built around it - combining public school with...

Charlynn Chambers didn't set out to revolutionize education. She just wanted to help her kids learn. But somewhere between the pandemic and pancakes, she stumbled upon a profound truth: education isn't separate from real life. For her children, traditional schooling had been a struggle. Sitting still, focusing on worksheets, and regurgitating facts for tests seemed to dim their natural curiosity....

From factory settings to farm life, Apogee Strong founder Matt Beaudreau reveals why traditional schooling may be holding your child back. Learn how real education happens outside the classroom and why parents are better equipped than "experts" to guide their children's learning. Matt shares insights from his journey founding his microschool network, working at Stanford, and transforming education...

Chapters 00:00 Understanding Negative Thinking in Kids 00:21 Introduction to the OpenEd Podcast 00:23 Meet Joey Mascio of Sidekick to Hero 01:07 The Importance of Open Education 01:53 Joey's Journey from Teacher to Sidekick to Hero 02:36 The Missing Piece in Education: Self-Development 04:35 Teaching Self-Development Through Humor and Stories 05:18 Joey's Disney and Improv Background 07:05 The Imp...

Kerry McDonald, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and host of the LiberatED podcast, discusses the revolution in alternative education models. Key topics: Rise of homeschooling and microschools Impact of COVID-19 on education choices Technology's role in enabling new learning approaches Blurring lines between traditional and alternative education Growth of low-cost private s...

When was the last time you outran a bear? These kids did it last week. Dive into the wild world of Nature Kids Connect – a part-time nature-based enrichment program that meets every Friday in the Salt Lake City area. No phones. No screens. No limits. See how unplugging from tech and plugging into nature is creating a generation of fearless leaders. Bears don't care about your Instagram, and neithe...

Today, we're diving into our first-ever Q&A session. Matt Bowman and Isaac tackle some of the most pressing questions from our amazing community of parents and educators. Here's a taste of what we cover: 00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer 02:00 Is obsession with one subject okay? 05:00 How to balance freedom and future prep? 08:00 Is it normal to feel like I'm winging it? 10:00 How to assess le...

Learning is often simple. The hard part is unlearning the limitations others have placed on you. Meet Daniella Park, who left school at 16 with severe dyslexia and nothing but a business plan. "I begged my parents and teachers to just give me a chance," she recalls. That chance paid off. Today, Daniella is a successful entrepreneur and the head chef at @Baketivity, where she's cooking up a revolut...

The greatest threat to your child's potential isn't bad grades. It's an outdated education system. In this episode, OpenEd CEO Isaac Morehouse discusses his first principles approach to education, breaking down the five building blocks of open education: Education is inherently human Curiosity drives learning Every child learns differently Real-world application trumps theory Education should adap...

Most students will spend 15,000 hours in classrooms. But how much of that time is spent actually learning, versus wasted? Hannah Frankman – the thinker behind the popular @rebeleducator Twitter account as she and Isaac Morehouse challenge traditional education norms and explore the power of critical thinking. Discover how to shed limiting beliefs and embrace a more effective, personalized approach...