Why AI Alone Won’t Fix Education—MacKenzie Price Explains the Missing Ingredient

20 snips

May 19, 2025

MacKenzie Price, a Stanford grad and co-founder of 2 Hour Learning, discusses the critical role of motivation in education. She explains how AI can enhance personalized learning but emphasizes that technology alone isn't enough without human connection. MacKenzie describes how teachers are evolving into motivational guides, helping students build life skills alongside academics. She also unveils the exciting future of AI in education, focusing on immediate feedback and the alignment of learning with students' passions.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Motivation is Key in Learning

A great learner needs the right level and pace of material delivered timely and strong motivation.
EdTech delivers pacing well, but motivation remains the often ignored key ingredient.

ANECDOTE

Personal Drive to Found Alpha Schools

MacKenzie Price founded Alpha Schools because her kids were bored and unmotivated in traditional education.
She recognized that teachers are overloaded trying to serve students at varying levels simultaneously.

ANECDOTE

Motivation Focused School Day

At Alpha Schools, students start with a motivational activity called Limitless Launch.
Teachers focus on motivation and personalized learning pace using AI tutors rather than traditional lecturing.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Send us a text

MacKenzie Price is a Stanford grad, mom of two, and the Co-Founder of 2 Hour Learning - a revolutionary learning platform that harnesses the power of AI to give kids a 1:1 personalized learning experience. Her students excel in academics while spending most of their day learning life skills that set them up for future success. She founded the first Alpha School ten years ago in Austin, Texas and now has eight schools, with others opening in the fall.

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why motivation is the missing key in EdTech.
How AI enables personalized, mastery-based learning.
The new role of teachers as motivational guides.
How to build life skills alongside academics.
What’s next for AI in education—and why it’s exciting.

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:03:19] MacKenzie on Founding Alpha Schools to create a better model for her own children.
[00:06:36] Why tech alone can’t drive student success without human connection.
[00:12:54] How Alpha Schools deliver two hours of academics and a full day of life skills.
[00:21:56] Teachers become motivational coaches, not just content experts.
[00:28:11] The power of AI to connect learning with students’ passions.
[00:38:05] Rethinking assessments: AI makes feedback immediate and actionable.

😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders!

Follow our Podcast on:
Sign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.
Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn!

🎉 Presenting Sponsor/s:

Innovation in preK to gray learning is powered by exceptional people. For over 15 years, EdTech companies of all sizes and stages have trusted HireEducation to find the talent that drives impact. When specific skills and experiences are mission-critical, HireEducation is a partner that delivers. Offering permanent, fractional, and executive recruitment, HireEducation knows the go-to-market talent you need. Learn more at HireEdu.com.

Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead.

As a tech-first company, Tuck Advisors has developed a suite of proprietary tools to serve its clients better. Tuck was the first firm in the world to launch a custom GPT around M&A.

If you haven’t already, try our proprietary M&A Analyzer, which assesses fit between your company and a specific buyer.

To explore this free tool and the rest of our technology, visit tuckadvisors.com.