Wes & Ted's Excellent Conversation: Recent Episodes
Wes Carroll & Ted Dorsey
Pro tutors Wes Carroll and Ted Dorsey share insider views on American high-school education... and more. We gab, we gripe, and sometimes we even get to work solving the real problems affecting all of us and our kids. // See the conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO0u6vZhrFyu9h0Z11h31Q
Wes and Ted debate individual vs group instruction. Why is individual instruction so much better? The person you're teaching is always more complicated than the subject you're discussing.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:37 Casual introduction of Wes and Ted and what has been going on lately
06:15 How can I tell if Ted's class would be the best option for me?
09:00 Chaos's role in creativity
10:20 Choosing your own methods of organization and learning styles
19:50 WC: A teacher's ability to go wherever the student wants is limited only by the teacher's ability to follow
20:45 Personal responsibility of the student and the ways in which either encouraged or discouraged at the systemic level
22:40 Embodied cognition vs. our reinforced cultural model that all thinking happens in the brain
30:44 WC: Individual variation means maybe I use it as my go-to and maybe someone else uses it like once in a blue moon - it exists but used in different frequencies
32:05 WC: When the stars align, we learn like sponges.
33:35 Advantages of being the only learner in the room
34:26 TD: Is an effective teacher essentially the same as an effective pastor/faith leader?
38:45 Ineffective teachers
47:07 A teacher's role: building the systems and the incentives that lead to good student outcomes
51:10 The extreme value of feedback, especially negative
55:20 "Narrate your thought process."
56:50 Metathinking - awareness of one's own thinking
58:25 Jeremy Wolfe (and the McCullough effect)
1:02:51 Why did that lecture matter?
"Plato scratched things in the dirt." Wes and Ted unpack that very cryptic quote that's been sitting on our planning spreadsheet since the beginning.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
Wes and Ted don't parent their students, do they?
Tutor Ted knows that he connects with students in a way that a parent typically cannot. Wes, both a tutor and a parent, weighs the similarities between tutoring and parenting... and the differences that everyone can learn from.
What can parents do that tutors can't... and vice-versa?
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
Wes and Ted have been thinking about how changes to the traditional school structure affects students—in bad ways and in good. Today they venture (eventually!) into a chat about what specific aspects of school under pandemic might help us as we exit our quarantine—and hope these changes make education even better.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
Wes and Ted answer deeper questions about excellence.
If we agree that excellence should not be an end goal, what should be? Does excellence represent craftsmanship rather than artistry? Is Bill Gates excellent? Is Mark Zuckerberg excellent, or something else? If excellence travels along a linear path (from, say, inept-to-adequate-to-good-to-excellent), what does that imply about the flexibility and utility of it? Is excellence an end-state or a waypoint?
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:01 Random discussion about excellence and introduction of Wes and Ted
03:45 There's a lot of nuance in the word excellence
04:22 Excellence is an artful juggling of different mental frameworks
07:15 Excellence is being an accomplished or skilled craftsperson
10:55 Comfort being the enemy of fulfillment
12:32 Is excellence built to your psyche a helpful tool?
16:53 We're behaving as though we live in a one-dimensional world
21:39 Excellence is between 2 or 3 standard deviations above the mean
24:44 You shouldn't make excellence your stopping point
27:00 Move into a realm where you are defining what a better direction is
35:10 Attempting to achieve excellence in a certain stage of cultural human development
38:00 What is the thing that you want to get?
42:14 Situated Cognition
48:40 Mark Zuckerberg aimed for excellence and kept going in that direction even after achieving it instead of noting that there's a pivot point
50:35 Excellence is achievable and after achieving it, take a pivot
54:30 Excellence earns you a seat at the table and what you do with the seat at the table is up to you
58:36 Part of what makes it beautiful is that you recognize it's a path along a presumably twisty path
Wes and Ted discuss their old frenemy "excellence," and come to some surprising conclusions. Among them: Ted is not sure he endorses the pursuit of it.
Why do we pursue it? What are we really after?
Wes and Ted offer practical steps for achieving excellence (in case they haven't talked you out of pursuing it).
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
01:20 Intro
06:50 Topic of the day: Excellence (or burritos?)
10:20 Excellence was part of the set of expectations in general
11:10 Is there a standard for assessing, vetting or judging excellence?
13:47 Framing excellence as being better than someone else
18:41 By focusing on excellence you lose sight of other greater goals
23:42 Regret - feeling a lost opportunity
28:16 Many of success-oriented influencers agree that the most important thing is to be kind
30:10 Kindness is good for your self-actualization. Self-actualization is good for your life span.
34:43 Scientists have an obligation of being morally aware
35:54 Motivation behind pursuing excellence is the rationalization of the energy spent
39:47 Is excellence an end zone?
44:15 Becoming cogs in an extremely powerful and successful innovation and value generation machine
46:14 You are not limited to only pursuing excellence
46:44 Excellent is not the word you use for someone who does something brand new
50:21 If you want to achieve some goal, you have to spend a third of your time and energy
51:53 We forget the part of the work of experts is to help us define the path
59:44 We all ought to strive to be the best we can be
1:00:08 We're getting into the long tail versus winner takes all phenomenon
1:02:53 Pursuing every goal with personal passion
1:06:47 Big part of excelling is knowing what step you're
While Wes mourns the loss of the problem-solving of the Math Level 2 Subject Test, Ted kicks dirt on the grave of the tests he considers completely pointless.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:12 News on this day, January 20, 2021
01:12 https://wescarroll.com/poignant/
05:00 Who are Wes and Ted?
13:15 Puzzle hunts
15:15 Getting past brick walls
20:37 Why solve puzzles?
22:15 QAnon as a puzzle hunt
24:12 Humans are natural problem solvers
25:20 SAT Subject Tests are cancelled
26:43 Wes & Ted argue over whether the test was good
28:20 If I'm going to be tested on a thing, it's only fair that I'd be taught the thing
29:22 Why you learn math in high school
30:40 What you learn in one field applies to other fields
35:45 What do the symbols of math really mean?
41:02 What's the "right amount" of abstract thinking?
42:50 Out of what you've learned, what parts do you want to keep?
47:53 What is the ACT really testing?
49:09 What is the SAT really testing?
49:55 Marketing the SAT
53:48 Get good at the game. (Any game.)
55:15 But also, get good at making new games!
57:36 The AMC is going to get more important
58:06 How we agree: critical and creative thinking
How come there's such a gap between what we want to do and what we actually do? And how can we close that gap? Wes & Ted get real.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:09 "Have a less unpleasant day!"
01:04 Process - What do you tell yourself to get stuff done?
06:48 Can I program myself (like a computer)?
08:30 You can't make a perfect thing
11:59 Change your mind all day long
13:00 Study your own brain really carefully
14:34 Are our brains monolithic agents?
17:27 What works for me is not always going to be the same as what works for you
18:54 Estimate proactively
21:05 Vague unexamined anxieties
23:10 Process tool: Competition
25:37 Problem-solving technique: Rubber ducking
29:18 Clear the obstacles by thinking through the "why"
34:22 "Thank you, brain, but I've got this."
38:22 Identify the overlap between productivity and enjoyment
40:35 You have to be honest about what your goals and aims are
44:44 Focus on how you manipulate yourself
47:40 Aim for the middle ground
51:24 Process tool: Set the bar improbably low
52:46 Process tool: The Gym Door Rule
55:34 Do actions come from decisions, or from habits?
1:05:40 Service orientation: don't underweight what needs to get done
We get to witness our students transition from children to young adults. Along the way, they develop self-direction—the means and desire to shape their own learning. We talk about what students need in order to successfully attain this critical quality.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:10 Warming up and topic introduction: Self-direction
03:26 Different priorities: what matters to us
05:12 Everything that we do is a reflection of our personhood
08:24 Process your inputs
11:08 Be authentic
12:00 Learning as an obligation vs. a chance at self-discovery
15:25 Control moves from parents to kids
18:44 Within self-direction, there's a huge spectrum
19:17 The degree to which you can manage your own locus of control is a function of which culture and society you're embedded in
24:44 Whatever goal you think you have may be difficult in the time scale you're used to be thinking of
29:25 What's the goal and what are you trying to do
34:31 Motivation and direction
47:34 Focus on winning
48:57 What motivates anyone to win
50:14 Looking out for the best, and using information from other people in order to get there
54:10 There's a certain joy in setting a goal for yourself and then achieving it
55:16 Self-awareness is a vital part
58:54 As professionals, we have to gauge the goals of the students and parents
1:02:42 Inevitably, every person is going to be an outlier in some ways. It's helpful to meet someone and help.
1:03:30 Be aware of your own goals, then be aware of your own abilities
1:07:56 Just asking yourself: where you are headed?
1:10:34 What's a small thing that I can do now?
Every trade requires a trusted toolkit. What tools belong in the kit of a great learner?
Wes and Ted weigh in.
https://wescarroll.com | https://tutorted.com
01:35 Tools - What works best?
02:37 Every time I hear about the latest platform, I'm inherently skeptical...
04:18 Digital Minimalism
08:21 Managing your own dopamine loop
10:37 Losing focus on the ultimate goal
11:38 Trying to have a comfortable and fulfilling life
14:38 Specific tools that can help
15:45 Tools for memorization - Quizlet
18:58 Tools as a solution to education
20:22 Tools that fit the learner
22:44 How does my brain work?
25:11 Very common needs that students have
27:00 Calendars
31:10 Commitment to other people and yourself
31:43 To-do list
34:43 Breaking into bite-sized chunks
37:10 Know thyself
39:15 Breaks are an important thing
41:51 Recreation is super vital
42:32 Tools for communication
47:42 Feeling unmotivated and confused
49:44 Step back and fix your tools
51:49 Spaced Repetition
54:51 Use the platforms and tools that will help you be yourself
57:20 Apps as extension of your brain
What do students need to do in order to make online learning effective?
Wes and Ted have strong opinions on the matter—as always.
https://tutorted.com | https://wescarroll.com
00:00 Intro
01:05 Brainstorming and Introspection
07:00 Learning Under COVID -19
08:40 ADHD as a Continuum
10:20 Audio Learners and Visual Learners
13:45 The Absence of Socialization in COVID Education
14:38 The Novelty of the Classroom
16:36 What do Want to Accomplish [In Education]?
18:50 Administrators
21:05 Teachers
22:21 Parents & Students
26:23 What are the problems and what are the solutions
27:39 Stress acknowledgement and management
28:26 Self-awareness and Resilience
31:35 Formative and constructive experiences
32:11 Things to do to help students
32:46 Psychological Space
36:25 Setting Expectations
38:40 Responsibility and Flexibility
39:50 Own your own locus of control
42:33 Better Creative Solutions
46:12 Three Drives - Competent, Autonomous, Connected
48:02 Focus and Distraction
51:57 Why does COVID threaten the SAT and ACT?
55:20 Institutions can't adjust as fast as people can
58:03 Why I paid for college before?
1:00:21 There are a lot of options
1:0
Wes and Ted gripe, gab, and get to work highlighting the problems we've all known were there.
Do they solve 'em? Watch and find out!
https://wescarroll.com | https://tutorted.com
1:07 Digression #1: "Kabuki" & "Inertia"
3:53 Ted rocks the SST Korean test
5:15 COVID-19 reveals flaws in the education system
9:26 Specialization and teachers
12:12 Three massive questions
15:10 "Our education system isn't perfect..."
19:49 Knowledge or tricks? A false dichotomy
24:41 The emotional side of learning
26:18 Our infamous teachers: Sr. Enriquez & Dr. Chuck Bayless
31:25 Tone and emotions in the classroom
35:10 Why is tutoring so powerful?
36:30 Classroom dynamics and cultural decisions
39:40 Unschooling, and learning how to learn
41:50 Problem-solving and self-learning
44:10 Being lost in a classroom can mean you're doing it right.
46:10 What's the motivation?
50:20 Digression #2: Let's embarrass Wes about his touring-musician past
54:13 What COVID-19 is teaching schools
56:30 School's job depends on who you are
59:32 W.E.B. DuBois and Jackie Robinson
1:00:24 What's the goal of the classroom?
1:01:23 What do you want us to field next?