Investment in People: We need to pay our teachers more. I absolutely believe that. I also think we need to take things off of their plates and streamline administrative burdens, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching rather than paperwork. Currently, an average teacher spends about 43% of their time teaching. That number needs to go up, which will require an infrastructure-level change.
As a part of our interview series about the things that should be done to improve the US educational system I had the pleasure to interview Ian Zhu.
Ian Zhu is the founder and CEO of SchoolJoy, a learning system that understands student identities beyond grades and test scores. His professional journey began in consulting and later transitioned to the tech industry. As Ian continued in his career, he expanded his involvement in the education sector as a volunteer and strategic advisor, recognizing the opportunities to improve how data is managed for administrators, teachers and students. This, paired with his own journey as a student, inspired Ian to co-found SchoolJoy.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
I founded SchoolJoy to create a more personal world for our students. Our mission is to give students the joy of feeling seen, and a lot of the inspiration came from my own experience.
Throughout my entire life, I have always felt invisible. When I moved to the U.S. at a young age, throughout high school, college and even when I entered the workforce, I constantly felt like who I am, my skills and my passions were lost in translation.
I think it’s time for our students to feel seen for who they are.
That said, I know it’s incredibly difficult for every teacher in a district to know every student on that intimate level. Our goal at SchoolJoy is to lean on technology as a tool for bringing people closer.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The story I usually share revolves around my time working in consulting. I was working on a project for a major enterprise SaaS company, and despite being certified in their technology, I found that critical thinking, communication and Excel proficiency were what actually led to my success on the project.
I realized that the knowledge I gained from college and high school was not directly applicable to my daily tasks. This realization underscored a significant gap in our educational system’s preparation for the workforce.
It made me think: How do we evaluate professionals’ readiness for their roles, extending to both K-12 and college education? Presently, much of corporate training focuses on job-specific skills rather than task-related competencies, and I believe there’s a pressing need to align training content more closely with the daily requirements of employees.
This experience remains one of the most impactful in my career.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
SchoolJoy is a learning system that takes into account who the students are and allows their teachers to quickly understand their students’ interests, passions, skills, and strengths. Teachers can also create learning experiences that are personalized to every student’s career and industry interests.
When considering AI education, content and tools to support teachers are crucial. However, what truly matters in education isn’t AI itself, but rather proven and data-driven efficacy.
AI’s adoption should focus on enhancing learning and teaching processes, not just delivering content. While AI won’t replace teachers, it can actually evolve their role in the classroom so that teachers can focus on deeper learning and relationship-building with their students.
For example, one school district we’re working with is leveraging our system and using AI to create self-paced, personalized learning courses tailored to state requirements. This shifts the teacher’s role towards providing deeper support and understanding students’ individual needs.
With AI, this model becomes scalable, offering a solution to today’s teacher shortage. No longer dependent on a single teacher to cater to all students’ needs, this approach allows for diverse layers of instruction. While basic instruction remains consistent, teachers can now offer more personalized support, a shift that will have a seismic impact on the education system.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority in the education field?
I am a conveyer of the ideals and aspirations of some of the most respected educational leaders in the country.
I am building the tools and technology to help our champions more effectively deliver what they know to be the right vision for our education system.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. From your point of view, how would you rate the results of the US education system?
It depends on what we’re measuring.
I am a product of the U.S. public education system. I worked really hard, and I was lucky enough to secure job opportunities and have the privilege to work on a startup. I do think our education system works for some, but it’s incomplete.
In conversations with districts across the country, it’s clear that many students struggle with basic math and need significant support for social and emotional learning. Therefore, I don’t think we can say that the U.S. education system is good or bad. I don’t think that’s an effective way to measure it.
So what are the right metrics to measure in education? Should state test scores be the sole metric for assessing learner success?
Success encompasses more than just grades. Equally crucial is whether education leaves us fulfilled and equipped to tackle workforce challenges. These broader questions demand consideration when evaluating the effectiveness of our education system.
Can you identify 5 areas of the US education system that are going really great?
Our higher education system continues to be the envy of the world. Everyone still wants to attend college in the U.S. because our research institutions and the private sector continue to push the boundaries of human knowledge.
As far as K-12 education, our focus to support the whole student is more advanced than in some other parts of the world. Speaking from personal experience, having also navigated another education system in a different country, I find that the U.S. K-12 system does a better job of prioritizing holistic development for each student.
Can you identify the 5 key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
- Relevance: Ensure that educational content resonates with students’ future aspirations, making learning more meaningful and engaging. It’s important that we meet the students where they are. One innovation is a more distributed curricular ecosystem that allows more industry-specific and standards-based content to be generated to make learning more relevant for every student.
- Skills Development: Traditional learning management systems often assess student success through a simplistic calculation of correct answers, overlooking nuances and critical thinking skills. By leveraging technology to recognize and reward broader skill sets beyond academic achievement, we can paint a more holistic picture of student growth and development. In other words, we can see a more accurate picture of who the student actually is.
- Career Pathways: Expand opportunities for students by collaborating with more industries to introduce diverse career options and provide resources for pursuing alternative pathways beyond traditional college degrees.
- Deeper Personalization: Tailor education to meet individual student needs and interests, fostering a supportive learning environment that acknowledges diverse learning styles and backgrounds.
- Technology Integration: Reduce the burden teachers have from having to navigate dozens of systems just to understand how the student is doing holistically. We need fewer and better technology systems in the education system.
How is the US doing with regard to engaging young people in STEM? Can you suggest three ways we can increase this engagement?
With the emergence of AI, a lot of nonprofits are effectively engaging students in literacy. Aiedu.org and AI in Education are doing an excellent job making AI more accessible in educational contexts.
I believe we should increase investment in AI tools, as students will encounter them in the workforce. Embracing AI prepares students for future job roles. Rather than focusing on changing student behavior regarding traditional homework assignments, we should innovate our assessment methods to align with technology usage and capabilities.
Can you articulate to our readers why it’s so important to engage girls and women in STEM subjects?
Why stop at STEM subjects? I think the world needs to be run by women. My greatest inspiration is my mother. She’s an educator and I look at what she does on a daily basis and every female leader that I’ve come across, and I’m in awe of their resilience, attention to detail, empathy, and compassion in how they treat their work and the people around them. I think that’s exactly what it takes to lead a great organization, and we need more women in every single subject and leadership position, including STEM.
How is the US doing with regard to engaging girls and women in STEM subjects? Can you suggest three ways we can increase this engagement?
There are some remarkable organizations like the Grace Hopper Celebration and Girls Who Code, that I deeply respect for their significant work in this area.
However, let’s challenge the premise of this question: Why only focus on girls and women in STEM and not the liberal arts? Is there an imbalance in emphasis between STEM and other subjects in education?
While bridging the equity gap in STEM is crucial due to the higher-paying jobs, we should also explore ways to increase pay in other fields. Personally, I’m intrigued by the nuances we can explore further from these observations. Success extends beyond boosting women in STEM fields; we should aim for a version of success where all subjects contribute equally.
If you had the power to influence or change the entire US educational infrastructure, what five things would you implement to improve and reform our education system? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- The School of One: This concept refers to every student getting exactly what they need on a social, emotional and academic level. This approach reflects the ultimate goal of every school, and advancements in technology bring us closer to realizing this vision, with AI in education facilitating a holistic understanding of success beyond mere homework completion. Achieving this will require systemic infrastructure changes.
- Cultural Shift: Acknowledging that college isn’t the only pathway to success. We need to shift our culture and mindset of what success looks like.
- Investment in People: We need to pay our teachers more. I absolutely believe that. I also think we need to take things off of their plates and streamline administrative burdens, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching rather than paperwork. Currently, an average teacher spends about 43% of their time teaching. That number needs to go up, which will require an infrastructure-level change.
- Measurement: we need to rethink the definition of what we’re measuring. Assessing student success solely based on test scores may not reflect real-world readiness. States like Indiana and Ohio are pioneering innovative approaches to redefine measurement standards, indicating a potential shift towards state-led reform efforts rather than a national initiative.
- Accountability and Agility: Once we determine more holistic and practical ways to measure success in education, we must have the infrastructure and willpower in place to iterate based on the results we see. The system needs to be held accountable while being allowed to make mistakes and iterate based on the outcomes.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The model I live by is “Be Good, Do Good.”
I also want to challenge Google’s former motto, “Don’t be evil.” I don’t think it’s enough to simply do no evil because you can sit around and do nothing and still be doing no evil. I think we need to be a lot more intentional with our purpose and how we want to advance humanity in a positive way. We need to be good and do good things. It’s that simple.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would love to meet with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, because I think we need to dramatically increase the number of high-skilled semiconductor workers in the U.S. A lot of that talent and expertise sits in Taiwan right now, and I would love for Mr. Huang to be able to sponsor curriculum and learning content so that we can develop a stronger semiconductor workforce in the U.S.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iazhu/
https://app.schooljoy.com/login
https://www.linkedin.com/company/schooljoy/
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Ian Zhu of SchoolJoy: 5 Things That Should Be Done To Improve The US Educational System was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.