Patrick Skinner - edu/acc

“The only limit is the speed at which we learn.”-@sama | @ns C1 | @gauntletai C2 Grad | Prev Ranger Medic | building for @alphaschool

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

For those who are interested in working in EdTech, I need to be honest with you about what you're signing up for.

You probably shouldn't apply.

EdTech's graveyard is full of brilliant engineers. AltSchool raised $200M and closed. Knewton raised $180M and sold for scraps. 2,148 edtech startups in India shut down in the past five years.

They didn't fail because of a lack of technical skill. They failed from mission drift.

Here's what working in edtech actually means:

You're not building software. You're building a theory of how children learn. - @MitchForest

When you're 2 months into the same feature, and it still doesn't work, you won't have the dopamine hits of shipping fast. You'll need something deeper.

For the engineers who build learning apps for @AlphaSchoolATX, they are REQUIRED to spend 2 hours every day studying. Not coding. Studying and reading papers on cognitive load theory, motivation research, and translating learning science into applications.

Two hours. Every single day.

Engineers like @yiran__c write about the neuroscience of handwriting. @arpangup shares the Harada Method. @LamarDealMaker explores AI for skill development.

This isn't optional. It's the job.

Your success metrics will lie to you.

High DAUs don't mean kids are learning. Viral engagement doesn't mean mastery. The metrics that drive consumer tech success actively undermine educational outcomes.

The money will tempt you to build the wrong thing.

EdTech market: $400B by 2030. That capital creates pressure to optimize for pitch decks instead of classrooms. Byju's hit $22B before collapsing.

An MBA analyzes constraints. A builder changes reality.

What we require:
➡️ Mission Alignment
➡️ Agency
➡️ Strong Engineering Skills

If you're chasing market opportunity or building for your resume, don't apply.

But if you're a builder who sees broken systems and feels an overwhelming need to fix them? If you believe high standards create happy kids? If you want to change education for a billion children?

Before applying, read the link in the reply.

And if you're still interested after understanding what it really takes, let's talk about joining us in building the future of EdTech.

[Rachel @rachelgoodlad]

Everyone wants to talk about the AI @Alphaschool, and it’s understandable, because the software is impressive and continuously improving…but my daughter went from hitting her learning goal 0 days a week to all 5 a week in a month, and the difference came from her guide. 🧵

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@dealflow_guy Someone get me into this group!

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@MarioNawfal I went to Haiti with the army back in 2010 during operation unified response. We had one run-in with a Haitian gang.

It was so comical that it almost ended before it even started.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@leerob @poteto Bots should be able to edit the bot labels, and they should also be able to create sections and move bots within sections without that having to be manually done.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@nateliason @mattshumer_ You too, eh?

Welcome to the club. 😬

I should fly up to NYC.

[Pamela Hobart @gtmom]

“I have seen the MAP data, so I know Alpha students are legitimately performing well ahead of the pack. How much are the results to date selection effects? Chattering classes want to know…

To me, the better question is: can the world’s best learning scientists create a comprehensive, cohesive curriculum, instruction, and assessment system that can deliver breakthrough outcomes regardless of the student population?

On that question, based on what I’ve observed, I’ve voted with my feet to join Alpha.

My fervent hope—and belief—is that Alpha will soon move from startup to pace setter, at a moment when K-12 education desperately needs one.”

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@nateliason @mattshumer_ @Avivsh Bro, tell me about it.

The AI psychosis is real.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@beffjezos Damn I thought mine was bad.

Also, I feel like a real G that you even respond to me at all.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@CharlotteK747 Short-form Video.

Higher bar than the other two, and you'll almost learn the other two by proxy by learning short-form video.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@Austen CLI is pretty solid. I love some of the UI aspects of the GUI, but their remote tooling within their GUI is terrible.

Also, I think there are better Agent SDKs at the moment, but that's less of a measurable difference and more based on preferences.

[lauren @poteto]

You Can Ship Everything

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

Every time one of the engineers I work with have an opportunity to tour @montessorium, I practically BEG them to ask for one of the guides to give them a lesson.

The lesson could honestly be on anything, I simply want them to experience it.

@miss_hannahmc and @annamorgsmiley are absolutely second to none. They embody what it means to nail lesson delivery every single time.

EdTech engineers should really learn and experience what it means to deliver scripted lessons with stage directions.

[Matt Bateman @mbateman]

An interesting thing about Montessori is that every lesson is not only scripted but scripted with stage directions.

Sit to the right of student and use your right hand so as not to block the student’s view. Move the materials in this exact way. Say only this, don’t say that.

And yet…

…Montessori teachers almost never complain that this scripting is inadequate or creatively stultifying. They love it, use it, and depart from it cautiously and with reverence and with the guidance of hundreds of strong, fully explicated model lessons.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

This is pretty legit. A lot of what was published recently about harness RL by @huggingface seems to track with what @GoogleResearch has done.

[Sydney Runkle @sydneyrunkle]

harness² from @GoogleResearch offers techniques for RSI on the harness, with a fixed model

they call it "harnessing", but you might already be familiar w/ this process! it's also called "hill climbing" or "continual learning"

more in 🧵 !

[Zach Groshell @MrZachG]

Update - I'm getting distracted.

Unrelated: Marcy Stein is my co-author in Teach Your Child Foundational Math in 100 Easy Lessons.

This is the answer to getting your child engaging in math before school starts teaching them mis-rules through random exposures to toys.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

@poteto No! I actually had a long convo with some of the @cursor_ai team about this yesterday.

We’ve already abstracted from code, we’ll abstract from chat next.

[Matt Bateman @mbateman]

Montessorium

@camera_nocta

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

Call me childish but today had me feeling like the 10yo kid in a comic book store that I once was.

My daughter came to me asking me to make her like Pepper Potts in Avengers: Endgame for Halloween. But, she wanted to glow in the dark.

I used AI to find some open source STL files for the Mark 49 Rescue Suit, resize them for her head and send them over to the 3D printer.

Meanwhile, I watched a car fly today.

I feel like we’re all witnessing, or maybe even living in, the arc of a Marvel comic.

[Pessimists Archive @PessimistsArc]

The year is 1897, horseless carriages are denied permission to be on roads by Washington D.C.

The year is 2026, people are trying to deny driverless carriages on the roads of Washington D.C.

[Patrick Skinner - edu/acc @PSkinnerTech]

Me hitting traffic on MoPac:

“Hey @grok, let’s make Tony Hawk proud.”