In this S5E5 Schoolutions Teaching Strategies BONUS, I reflect on my conversation with David K. Richards—breaking down the three most powerful takeaways about microschools and education transformation and show you how to apply them RIGHT NOW, whether you're in a traditional classroom, homeschooling, or anywhere in between. What if entrepreneurial thinking isn't about starting a business—it's about reclaiming your agency as an educator?

Three Game-Changing Ideas:
✅ The Operating System is Broken - Why we need to stop "fixing" education and start rebooting it entirely
✅ From Compliance to Entrepreneurship - How to shift from "who will fix this?" to "what can I do right now?"
✅ Bringing Back Intimacy - Reclaiming deep knowledge of students in massive bureaucratic systems

You'll Learn:
- Why we can't ask kids to be autonomous when teachers have zero autonomy
- The parallel pedagogy disconnect stifling innovation in schools
- How to identify where you've been waiting for permission (and what to do instead)
- The smallest step you can take RIGHT NOW without asking anyone

Resources:
💫Summit Public Schools' advisory program (14 kids, 4 years):
🌐 Learn more: https://www.changemakereducation.com/
🎧 Changemaker ED "U" Podcast

Key Concepts:
- Parallel pedagogy and modeling for adults what we want for kids
- Education transformation through agency, not permission
- Instructional leadership and empowered educators
- Student success through intimate knowledge and whole child approach
- Effective teaching strategies within system constraints
- Parent communication and home-school connection
- Teacher coaching focused on autonomy and entrepreneurial thinking
- School improvement through small, excellent innovations
- Culturally responsive teaching and inclusive classrooms
- Pro-kid mindset over bureaucratic compliance

Innovation doesn't have to scale to 100% to matter. It just has to exist and be excellent. Stop waiting for permission. Start asking "what can I do right now?"

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Introduction: Stop Waiting for Permission
1:00 - What We Covered with David K. Richards
2:00 - Welcome to Friday Bonus Episode
3:00 - Big Idea #1: The Operating System is Broken (Not Just "Problems")
4:00 - Montessori's Paradox: The Cognitive Dissonance
5:00 - Parallel Pedagogy: We Can't Ask Kids What We Don't Model
5:30 - Reflection: Where's the Disconnect in Your Sphere?
6:00 - Big Idea #2: From Educator to Entrepreneur
7:00 - The Shift from Compliance to Autonomy
8:00 - Entrepreneurial Thinking = Agency, Not Business
8:30 - Challenge: Identify Where You've Been Waiting for Permission
9:00 - Big Idea #3: Center the Families (Not the Politics)
10:00 - Bringing Back Intimate Knowledge of Students
11:00 - How to Create Smaller Communities Within Large Systems
11:30 - Advisory Programs: Small Innovations That Scale
12:00 - The Three Big Ideas (Recap)
12:30 - David's Vision: 5-10% as Laboratories of Innovation
13:00 - Innovation Doesn't Have to Scale to 100% to Matter
13:30 - Your Next Step: What Will You Do Monday?
14:00 - Email Challenge & Monday's Preview (Dr. Rebecca Winthrop)
14:30 - Final Invitation: Stop Waiting, Start Acting
15:00 - Closing & Resources

🚀📚 Watch the full S5E5 @schoolutionspodcast interview here.
📧 Connect: schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com 
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.