Audio file
Jamie Pander Interview.mp3
Transcript
00:00:00 Kim Monson
We have to make sure that our kids know how to learn or know how to read and write and do arithmetic and all these things. And I have on the line with me, a woman who is stepping forward to to, to really change education in her sphere of influence. And that is Jamie Pander, Jamie, welcome to the show.
00:00:20 Jamie Pander
Hi, Kim, thank you for having me.
00:00:22 Kim Monson
So tell us, what are you up to?
00:00:27 Jamie Pander
Well, you know I I say to my own students, your your line, what you just said, freedom versus force force versus freedom. Like if I have to force you to do it, I need to think about what I’m asking you to do. And so gosh.
00:00:45 Jamie Pander
When when the kids?
00:00:48 Jamie Pander
Don’t want to go to school? I’m. I’m really questioning why. Because me as a kid, I love school. I loved going to school. Admittedly, most of it was social. The aspect and me wanting to be there to see my friends, you know. And then I did the academics to keep my mom off my back, you know? And thank you, mom, because years later that.
00:01:07 Jamie Pander
Paid off, you know.
00:01:08 Kim Monson
Yeah.
00:01:09 Jamie Pander
And I just want them to.
00:01:12 Jamie Pander
Love school again, love learning actually like, not necessarily at school, but love learning. That’s what I’m looking for.
00:01:19 Kim Monson
OK, So what are what are you going to do about that?
00:01:24 Jamie Pander
OK so.
00:01:26 Kim Monson
So you’re a teacher now? Yes.
00:01:31 Jamie Pander
Yes, Hope Online is an existing charter school through Douglas County Public Schools, and I partnered with them to open an alternate education campus. And what we’re doing is taking the existing infrastructure and just.
00:01:49 Jamie Pander
Turning it a little bit, we’ve got all the support of everybody, but we’re approaching it from a different.
00:01:56 Jamie Pander
Just approaching it differently. So when when you’re in high school, you know you’re asked to, like, arrive at the same time, leave at the same time, have the same schedule as everybody else, but you don’t have the same dreams as everybody else. You don’t have the same gifts as everybody else and. And so I think right as we send.
00:02:15 Jamie Pander
Kids into high school. We’re right there. We’re automatically doing them a disservice. Is my history experience with freshman college kids. When I was teaching at that level like the number one reason that freshmen drop out is time management.
00:02:31 Jamie Pander
So like why?
00:02:32 Jamie Pander
Are we waiting to teach some time management until 19/20/21 years old when when gosh, that’s a skill that needs to be learned much, much, much younger. And So what I want to back up and do is is teach these.
00:02:46 Jamie Pander
Work skills, job skills, things, things that that we we’ve dubbed adulting, you know, like, oh, adulting is hard. Well, when you don’t practice, yes.
00:02:54 Kim Monson
Right, right.
00:02:56 Kim Monson
Right. I remember as a kid, I I was certainly a child, but I also was always being taught to be prepared, be preparing to become an adult. And I think that’s really important. So so you’re you’re partnering with a charter school, so you’re you’re opening.
00:03:16 Kim Monson
Kind of a new charter school, is that right?
00:03:20 Jamie Pander
Not not not. A new charter school hope online has been around for over 20 years. What I’m doing is opening an alternate education campus within the Charter school so that way it gives us the best of both worlds that we can have really small student to teacher ratios.
00:03:39 Jamie Pander
With the support of the full public school.
00:03:44 Kim Monson
OK. And will this be online or is it a physical school place? People, kids go go to?
00:03:53 Jamie Pander
Both both. That’s that’s part of the beauty. Just like our jobs. You know, we typically have like, a a main office that that we go to and we have somewhere that we’re accountable and we can go to for support and and whatnot, you know, they’ll be the main hub. But the goal is to build the skill set for you to be able to do this.
00:04:13 Jamie Pander
Online you should be able to do it on your own and that that’s going to develop. You know your stress management like part of the reason that that.
00:04:22 Jamie Pander
People fail at jobs and fail in school is.
00:04:24 Jamie Pander
Is running into a roadblock and not reaching out for help and and I know I look for that in my own.
00:04:34 Jamie Pander
Employees that if I have to keep checking on you like that, that puts a lot of time on me. I need to be able to depend on you that when you need help, you’ll come to me. And that’s what one of the things I want to instill in the kids.
00:04:47 Jamie Pander
As well.
00:04:48 Kim Monson
OK, so where where will this be? How can people get more information? I guess what the other question you mentioned you liked school because of the social aspect. These students will have both opportunities. They’ll be managing their time if they need to do something online, they can. But if they want to go to the.
00:05:07 Kim Monson
The actual school they can as well. There’s those options. Is that what I’m hearing from you, Jamie?
00:05:13 Jamie Pander
Yes, ma’am. That’s exactly right. We’re basically going to be open like seven to seven is is about the typical hours because you know if if you’re a teenager who’s who’s starting a yard work business, you’re busy in the middle of the day, you’ve got, you know, the landscaping and and you’re working the entrepreneurial and think of all the skills you’re actually.
00:05:35 Jamie Pander
Learning like are are you? You’re you’re. You’re not leaving school to go sit and do nothing. You’re going and working, which you’re gaining work experience and with hope Online we those avenues, we have avenues that we can give you high school credit for your work experience like we recognize that that’s actually valuable and.
00:05:55 Jamie Pander
If you don’t have work experience, you can come into the center and work at the center and serve each other, and then all through the day. If you think more like like choosing your college classes, you know and you’re building your work life balance.
00:06:09 Jamie Pander
With, you know, I hate getting up in the morning. I’m not choosing that that class. Well, as a freshman, you kind of got to choose that class. It’s the only option and you know. Wait, but when you choose something, it is so much easier to push forward and do a hard thing when it’s your choice and they’re not forced into it.
00:06:28 Jamie Pander
Like someone else or and especially not told and not and and not really understanding. I mean a lot of people tell you like why you need to go to school. But I I don’t think it clicks until they get to a job.
00:06:43 Jamie Pander
And realize oh, I’m missing some skills and I want them to have that realization while they’re still in school and they can come back to me and say, hey, you know, I’ve been blowing off percentages, but now I’ve got to use percentages and my dog every day and I’m having to do mental math. And I wasn’t doing that either. And they start making the connections and.
00:07:03 Jamie Pander
One thing to learn.
00:07:03 Kim Monson
MMI was listening. Somebody had sent over a Joe Rogan podcast and.
00:07:12 Kim Monson
He was talking with someone about how he became a success and I this is such great advice. It’s it’s not rocket science, but yet it is, he said. What I started to do is I would do the toughest things first. The things that I didn’t really want to do, I did those first.
00:07:32 Kim Monson
In the day and that has really been a great piece of advice for me because there are some things that I will put off. And then by the end of the day, it’s it’s like, oh, I’m a little tired. I’ll do it tomorrow. And I thought that was great advice. Jamie pander.
00:07:50 Jamie Pander
Oh my goodness. That my husband told me that years ago. I don’t know if him and Joe Logan, huh, but my goodness, they he did. He said the same thing I was. I was complaining that I was procrastinating on this silly little task and he was like, when you go into work, he said, what do you want to do? And I was like, oh, this this fun project, right?
00:08:11 Jamie Pander
And he’s like, well, don’t allow yourself to do that fun project until you.
00:08:13 Jamie Pander
Complete this little task and I was like, oh, OK.
00:08:19 Jamie Pander
And that’s it. First thing in the morning, just go.
00:08:19 Kim Monson
Well.
00:08:21 Jamie Pander
X.
00:08:22 Kim Monson
Absolutely. The other things now that you mentioned, first thing in the morning, perhaps you’ve seen that that video of it was a commencement address, I think maybe University of Texas or one of the Texas schools from an Admiral and he was talking about Navy seals and training. But he said do the little things.
00:08:43 Kim Monson
As well, so first thing in the morning, make your bed and I. If you’ve not seen that speech, all of you out there, just just do that. I put. I think I’ll check and see if you can put in. Admiral, make your bed. But it is such such a powerful piece as well. And make sure you take care of the little thing.
00:09:01 Kim Monson
Things. These are all all I think such important life skills for for kids that it will make them a success in the future, Jamie.
00:09:11 Jamie Pander
Totally agree. I love that video of make your bed. I whenever I see the kids are unmotivated and like they’re struggling to do the little things I I tend to think of that video and pull it up and and remind them, like my mom used to, to I I remember watching her as a kid. We’d be getting ready to go on.
00:09:32 Jamie Pander
Vacation or something? And and she’d be frantically cleaning the house. And I’m like, we’re leaving. Why on?
00:09:39 Jamie Pander
Sir, is she? You know? But but when you come home and you watch her like, just be in peace. Because the house is already done.
00:09:49 Kim Monson
And I I can totally relate to that Jamie Pander. How when is the school change years go back and going back to the school, when is the school going to open? How? How could people get more information about enrolling? What does all?
00:10:02 Kim Monson
That look like.
00:10:05 Jamie Pander
Absolutely. The school’s first day of school is August 13th. You can roll enroll anytime. I know some kids like they want to give their their old school just just one more try. Like it. Maybe it’ll be different this year and then they get to school and they’re like, darn it. It’s not different. And. And so we actually end up enrolling.
00:10:24 Jamie Pander
A lot of kids later, like when school started and they kind of have that realization that they do want a change so many times like like I believe there is. There’s your purpose is is to love and be loved and then and then you’re calling is.
00:10:42 Jamie Pander
Is noticing what gifts you have, noticing what comes easy to you, and it’s difficult for someone else and a lot of times we don’t notice that until we’re looking at someone like why can’t you do that? That is like the easiest thing on the planet and and really what you’re you’re noticing is you actually have a gift and then and then where we are right now.
00:11:04 Jamie Pander
I refer to as as your assignment like and sometimes.
00:11:07 Jamie Pander
When when our assignment is so far from Our Calling, we can’t see its purpose. In the assignment, you know. So. So when when you tell kids to go to school, they think that’s the calling and they’re. But I don’t want to.
00:11:22 Jamie Pander
Go to school.
00:11:24 Jamie Pander
Like there’s more and and that’s what I’m I want.
00:11:27 Jamie Pander
To agree with them on is I I agree there’s more. Let’s talk about what stuff is already easy for you, because wouldn’t you want a job of things that are easy for you and hard for?
00:11:39 Jamie Pander
Someone else’s, like, isn’t that your your blessing to the world of of let me do this thing that that is going to take you five hours and takes me an hour. Like I hire those people all day long. It takes me five hours. I’m looking for someone who can do that task in an hour and then then we’re a good pairing and.
00:11:59 Jamie Pander
And I want kids to know that that school is is the assignment on the way to your calling. You’re just picking up skills along the way. I love the story of Steve Jobs. I don’t know if you’ve, you know about him. Like he dropped out of college. Right and.
00:12:15 Kim Monson
Right.
00:12:17 Jamie Pander
Yeah. And he started. He started auditing classes, which is where, like, you pay the money. You just don’t get the credit for the class. And and he wanted to do that because when you do that, you get.
00:12:27 Jamie Pander
To take the classes.
00:12:28 Jamie Pander
You choose. They don’t care what class you take. You don’t have to follow a degree plan and do it their way and and follow all these things.
00:12:35 Jamie Pander
So he just went off.
00:12:37 Jamie Pander
And and wanted to take the classes he wanted to take popped into a calligraphy class. You know the fancy writing that we all love and and seemingly.
00:12:48 Jamie Pander
Unrelated assignment with where he was at the moment. Fast forward years later and that’s how we have the beautiful fonts on computers with his calligraphy class that he opted to take. Like when when we can’t see that our assignment is filling and fitting into Our Calling and and we’re not choosing it. It’s so hard to fulfill.
00:13:10 Jamie Pander
But when you’re.
00:13:14 Jamie Pander
When you’re when you’re filling.
00:13:18 Jamie Pander
When, when? When you understand that you’re just picking up skills and letting your calling happen.
00:13:26 Jamie Pander
You go a lot.
00:13:27 Kim Monson
Further, OK, so basically I’m hearing very possibly kids that may not like to go to school and and I’ve I’ve interviewed a lot of World War 2 veterans and other veterans that they said, hey, I wasn’t that great at school, but then they’ve gone on to be great successes.
00:13:47 Kim Monson
And it sounds to me like this for somebody that.
00:13:50 Kim Monson
May may not really like what’s happening at school. This is a place where you can help them get their education to a point where they understand why it matters and get them ready for life. Am I hearing that correctly?
00:14:06 Jamie Pander
Oh, you hit it right on the head, Kim. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, if if. If things seem disconnected, you know, if you agree that school is not the end goal or or your current situation is not working like go to innovationacademy.org find us on social media you can call me 720-990-7427.
00:14:25 Jamie Pander
Like, just get a hold of me. Let’s have a conversation.
00:14:28 Jamie Pander
Again.
00:14:29 Kim Monson
That while we like having conversations one more time, a little slower, the website and your phone number.
00:14:37 Jamie Pander
Yes, ma’am. Novationacademy.org.
00:14:41 Kim Monson
Is that Nova and the spelling is NOVATION.
00:14:41 Jamie Pander
Or you can find it on social.
00:14:43 Jamie Pander
Media.
00:14:47 Jamie Pander
Yes, ma’am.
00:14:48 Kim Monson
Is that right academy.com or.org?
00:14:51 Jamie Pander
That.org yeah.
00:14:53 Kim Monson
Novationacademy.org and that phone number.
00:14:56 Jamie Pander
720-990-7427.
00:15:02 Kim Monson
Love it, Jamie pander. Thank you so much for your positive solutions to for these kids. And again, that’s innovation. Academy.org, 720-990-7427. Let’s stay in touch. I really appreciate it.
00:15:18 Jamie Pander
Thank you, Kim.
00:15:19 Kim Monson
And these are, this just gives me such great hope and such great hope for our children. And these discussions are so important.
