Every school principal has that graveyard:
Dusty iPads in storage closets.
Abandoned SMART boards gathering cobwebs.
That "cutting-edge" software that nobody uses.
We've blown millions on shiny tech while students escape to TikTok the second our backs are turned. Well, our very own content creators Kevin Ostrowski and Sam Wasylenko decided enough was enough.
If teenagers can binge 4-hour video essays about cereal history, the problem isn't attention spans. It’s the educational content stuck somewhere between a MySpace Top 8 list and a flip phone with a pull-out antenna.
Their four-step method proves that when you stop insulting student intelligence with PowerPoint cartoons from 2003, magic happens.
Here’s what’s on the dashboard this week:
Today’s Deep Dive: Make lessons binge-worthy in 4 steps
Reading Rainbow: AI gaps, budget fails + kid genius
From Our Desk: Ana spills the tea on EdTech life
Watch of the Week: Poke! It’s Hamlet (wearing a hoodie)
Show of Hands: Turkey math or nah?
Make lessons binge-worthy in 4 steps
When Kevin and Sam joined Subject, their job was simple: find out what makes students engaged in the classroom instead of falling asleep.
But these fresh-out-of-college social media creators walked into an uneasy truth. Students consume YouTubers with Hollywood budgets and TikTok creators who've mastered pacing like seasoned directors. Then they encounter educational content that looks like it was filmed on a potato in 2003.
That reality check hit hard. "Someone with 10,000 followers, or even 500 followers, probably has better content abilities than [the content of] these billion-dollar EdTech companies,” Kevin says. It also doesn’t help that the glaring content quality gap is something students notice, too.
Fortunately, their breakthrough came from reflecting on their own student experience—analyzing what made them zone out completely versus what actually sparked their curiosity and kept them engaged.
Instead of accepting the status quo, they developed a four-step process that challenges everything we think about educational engagement.
Step 1: Know Thy Enemy demanded brutal honesty about production quality. Audio requiring subtitles and lighting that made everyone look vampiric weren't charming quirks—they were barriers to learning.
Step 2: Break the Lecture Marathon revolutionized delivery through dynamic cycles: bite-sized video segments flowing into group discussions, hands-on activities, then back to video. Think educational variety show, not documentary marathon.
Step 3: Authenticity > Scripted tackled authenticity head-on. Sam's philosophy became their north star: "Have fun. If you have fun making it, they'll have fun watching it." Students detect manufactured enthusiasm from miles away.
Step 4: Track Real Engagement redefined success entirely. Real engagement meant voluntary participation, peer sharing, and genuine excitement about learning—not just completion rates.
The content upgrade was remarkable. Students’ feedback captured everything: "I can tell this platform was made for us."
Not dumbed down. Not riddled with fake enthusiasm.
Just intentionally designed for how they actually consume information.
One student also described our content as "intelligent, but easy.” Proof that we hit that sweet spot: Content smart enough to respect student intelligence, but accessible enough to actually be useful.
If billion-dollar EdTech companies can learn from bedroom YouTubers, so can you. Get Kevin and Sam's complete guide to what sparks joy for today’s teens.
Gen Z Teachers Are AI's Biggest Fans: Younger teachers are embracing AI at nearly 90% rates while Baby Boomers hover at 19%, proving that growing up with autocorrect makes you less afraid of robot tutors. Somewhere, a Millennial teacher is still trying to figure out if ChatGPT counts as cheating or collaboration.
The 60% Problem Everyone Ignores: Schools spend 40% of their budget finding the perfect technology, then completely skip the 60% that actually matters: teaching people how to use it for learning instead of expensive paperweights. It's like buying a sports car and never taking it out of your garage.
Kids Are Better Teachers Than We Thought: Elementary students checking each other's math work creates more learning than waiting for teacher approval. Turns out peer explanation beats adult validation every time. Who would’ve thought kids are actually really good at explaining things to other kids?!
Small Towns, Big CTE Dreams: Small districts are sharing specialized programs across towns because apparently you don't need to reinvent the welding class in every zip code. Only took us three decades to figure out that pooling resources might be smarter than educational isolationism.
Finally, A Teacher Who Dresses Better Than His Students: Tom Ward proves that dressing like peak John Travolta while teaching 13-year-olds about the Civil War is exactly the energy education needs. His message hits different: style isn't about money, it's about showing kids that effort matters. Students notice when you care enough to iron your disco shirt, even if it's older than their parents.
On the Subject #64 - Our very own Ana Romero spilled the tea about her journey from weekend warrior to startup life and breaks down why education desperately needs a shake-up. She shares behind-the-scenes stories about what it's really like building something new in the notoriously slow-to-change world of education (it involves a lot of coffee and existential questioning).
Our pick of the week: The Social Network
Why We’re Obsessed: It’s basically Hamlet, but with hoodies and depositions. It’s the rare film where group projects actually feel accurate—one guy does all the work, the rest fight over credit, and everyone ends up crying in the principal’s office (or, in this case, federal court).
Recommended lesson integration:
Communication & Conflict Resolution: Role-play how different characters could have handled disagreements better using "I" statements and active listening. Apparently Harvard students need the same conflict resolution skills we teach in kindergarten.
Media Literacy: Compare how the film portrays tech culture versus reality and discuss storytelling bias. Like, unfortunately, how real Silicon Valley has more energy drinks and fewer boat parties—unless you’re Jeff Bezos.
Digital Citizenship: Use Facebook's origins to discuss online privacy, digital footprints, and responsible social media use—because if Mark Zuckerberg had thought twice about those early blog posts, we might all have better privacy settings today—and fewer awkward family photos getting tagged.
English/Language Arts: Analyze the film's dialogue and character development through Aaron Sorkin's signature rapid-fire writing style. Students can study how screenwriters use conversation to reveal personality while practicing their own dialogue writing. Bonus points for anyone who can recite dialogue at a pace quicker than students bolting when the lunch bell rings.
History / Social Studies: Compare Facebook’s world domination to the printing press, the telegraph, or basically any other tech that made old people panic. Then ask: does Zuckerberg’s “move fast and break things” philosophy apply to history? (Yes, but usually the thing being broken is… society.)
Economics: Examine how Facebook's business model transformed from college networking to global advertising empire. Perfect for understanding how "free" platforms actually make money and why your data is worth more than you think. We’re basically the free sample at Costco, except Zuckerberg charges advertisers to nibble.
Government/Civics: Discuss the real-world implications of social media on democracy, privacy laws, and free speech. Use Facebook as the ultimate civics case study. Debate whether Silicon Valley billionaires should get to cosplay as world leaders, and ask the eternal question: does Congress even know how Wi-Fi works?
Last week’s question: What was your favorite "teaching moment" that wasn't in the lesson plan?
Last week’s winning answer: The moment when a struggling student finally "got it."
Now on to this week’s question!
How do you approach holiday-themed lessons?
Thank you for joining us for another edition of On The Subject. We’ll see you again in a week, with more stories from the hallways.
The Subject Team
Want to learn more about our curriculum offerings? Contact us today.
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