Shulman: Do teachers get credits or CEUs with the program?
O’Mahony: Teachers get CEUs and clock hours (STEM clock hours as well) for attending our professional development institutes.
Shulman: Is there a cost?
O’Mahony: Mostly, we provide these workshops for free for teachers by arranging to have a local business or school district comp them these credits. Neural Education has been providing free institutes since 2016 so that teachers can attend and learn the methods and model that is so vital for their success in school.
Shulman: What’s the typical cost for a teacher to take a course with your organization?
O’Mahony: In 2019, we offered courses for teachers for $99.00. In the future (when funding will allow) teachers will be paid to take this training. It’s ridiculous to think of how much money has been squandered on an outdated model that never worked.
Shulman: If you were running the K-12 education system, what would you change today?
O’Mahony: Very simple. Teachers are critical. Adopt a neuro-lens. Stop all labeling and stratification. Switch focus away from content and into circuits and transmitters—neuro. Teachers don’t usually plan lessons with norepinephrine or oxytocin in mind, but if they did, learning would be immediate and forever. Planning in this manner is so easy to accomplish, and results are self-evident.
Shulman: Can you give me an example?
O’Mahony: When children misbehave, teachers don’t automatically think, “Oh, Johnnie’s superior longitudinal fasciculus is not fully formed, but I know what to do to help grow that structure.” Also, I would eliminate all high-stakes testing. Instead, I would use co-created online spaces to highlight childrens’ accomplishments and love of learning. Research has shown time and again that as soon as we remove stressors (social and emotional maturational regulation) from learning, all students excel. Thousands of teachers experience every day the truth about learning—humans are hardwired to learn, and this confirms Neural Education’s model and method. Teachers are hard task-masters. If it didn’t make sense, or if it wasn’t working, Neural Education would be out of business a long time ago.
Neural Education is changing the world every day. When teachers, children, and parents know how the human brain works and how children learn, life gets easy.
Shulman: What is your main thesis surrounding this topic?
O’Mahony: My thesis is simple: If children can remember 10,000 Pokemon characters, they can learn and understand five essential things about their own brains. Every teacher can learn how to grow important neural structures so their students can learn. If parents knew how to build relationships with children, if they knew how critical sleep and exercise and nutrition was for learning, we would have a different world.
Shulman: You were able to get your work into public school districts, which is usually a challenging task. Can you tell me how you went about obtaining these critical initiatives into the public education system?
O’Mahony: This question is an easy problem to solve. Teachers are starving for two things: time and a reprieve from stress.
Shulman: If you were talking with other potential education entrepreneurs who wanted to launch a company or nonprofit, what are the top three lessons you’d share with this audience?
O’Mahony: Motivation is critical. If you are doing it for an external driver like pride, money, prestige or ego, it is easy to lose hope; inevitable to burn out. Three driving factors that align with how the brain works and how humans find fulfillment are outlined here (adapted from Daniel Pink).
- Autonomy: We are hardwired to be self-directed and hard working. So why not go with this? Figure out what to do, be your own boss, and stay true to your inner instincts.
- Mastery: We are hardwired to learn. With dedication and focus, it is easy to get good at doing something. Make it count. Don’t get caught up in ego stuff; stay true to your autonomy and purpose.
- Purpose: We are hardwired to contribute. Watch any child. Humans find most satisfaction when they can help a fellow, rescue an animal, or give something anonymously. Actions of this ilk fill gaping holes inside that cause people to waste time, effort and money on pleasure-seeking through external spheres.
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Robyn — When I read pieces like yours a great interviews, btw – my reaction is one of hope and despair. The “hope” part is that someone is talking about real education reform. The “despair’ part comes from the fact that we’re trying to adjust things way down stream, one school at a time rather than upstream in colleges and universities. Maybe some of “NED” learning is making its way into the higher ed curricula, but I’m skeptical. Am I wrong? We must be doing something wrong upstream if we have to retrain teachers at the cost of billions of dollars in PD every year.