On Episode 18 of The KindlED Podcast, hosts Kaity and Adriane are joined by Garrett Smiley, co-founder of Sora Schools. Garrett shares his journey into education, driven by a desire to revolutionize traditional education methods. They delve into how to help students discover their passions and develop a deeper sense of purpose over time. They also talk about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, emphasizing the importance of embedding multiple meanings into activities to keep students engaged and the importance of mindsets over content. Tune in to learn how you can balance autonomy and rigor and empower kids with personalized, purpose-driven learning. 

ABOUT THE GUEST: 
Garrett Smiley is the Co-Founder of Sora Schools. Garrett has also worked as a software engineer and a venture partner.

Garrett Smiley has always been interested in technology. Garrett started their first software company while they were still in college. After graduation, they worked as a software engineer for Madison Reed. Garrett then joined True Ventures as a TEC Fellow, where they worked with startups and studied the startup ecosystem.

In November 2017, Garrett joined Contrary Capital as a venture partner. As part of this role, they evaluated dozens of companies and sat on the investment committee for pitches from other universities. In May 2019, they left Contrary Capital to co-found Sora Schools.

Garrett Smiley's educational career began with a Field in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Garrett then went on to earn their E Lab Certificate from Teachers College, Columbia University.

RELEVANT LINKS: 
Episode 4 of The KindlED Podcast - https://youtu.be/ql_CS8IRjQs

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About the podcast:
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.

Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.

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