Technology supercharges kids’ learning.
Kids use tech all the time after school. But Primer kids use it *at* school.
“Screen time limits” don't have to be in the vocab if screens become something kids use to relentlessly achieve their academic goals.
To teach kids about financial literacy, we gave every student a bank account.
They earned weekly pay. Then, they were given the choice between spending and saving their earnings on real goods.
When you take kids seriously, amazing things happen.
What kids tell us they love about Primer:
• new friends
• new knowledge
• new work
• new mastery
• new start (for some)
• new excitement to be at school
It’s not because of us. It’s because kids are at the center of their education at Primer.
At Primer, we focus on teaching kids how to think, not what to think.
Memorizing things has finite value.
Knowing how to learn is an infinitely replicable skill.
Here is my full conversation with
@delk
. In which we talk about:
- How he moved to the Bay Area and broke into tech at the age of 19
- The way he builds relationships for the long-term
- How his history being homeschooled and learning from his mom shaped his views on education
-
Kids take their education seriously when we take them seriously.
That’s why Primer kids:
• set their own goals in core academics.
• complete those goals over a five-week sprint.
• present to their classmates on how they did.
And it’s working.
Every afternoon at Primer is magic.
Students dive deep into their interests through projects. Like starting businesses, writing plays, or learning to code.
They’re solving real-world problems before they reach 4th grade.
School works better when students have agency.
We give students choices like: "Do you want to be at grade level in math, or do you want to get a grade ahead?"
Why? Because agency creates intrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation creates lasting academic outcomes.