Erik Twist & the education system's issue with systems

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy sits down with his close friend, Erik Twist, to discuss how school leaders can transform America’s K-12 education system. Erik Twist is the Principal Partner and President of Arcadia Education. From 2008 to 2022, Erik helped build Great Hearts Academies into the largest network of classical schools in the country. He served as president of Great Hearts Arizona from 2017 to 2022. Erik was a member of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools from 2016 to 2021, as well as a member of the Arizona Charter Schools Association.Jeremy and Erik start by analyzing Great Heart Academies’ development into the largest provider of classical education in the public sphere. During this new age of ideological monism, classical education is the bright light for many parents and students looking for a sanctuary in education. Erik shares that the best classical school are apolitical. They foster rich discourse where students are challenged to hold an idea and pick it apart. To put it simply, they are learning how to disagree and then play together at recess. The hope is that children fall in love with this type of education and will become better citizens through it.Erik also shares the advice he’d offer to education entrepreneurs, nothing the importance of systems and guidance on hiring teachers. He points out how the school must curate an environment where adults want to be. So often teachers are stuck doing the arduous work of educating students without proper support from leadership, leading to a host of issues within school faculties. And to close the conversation, Erik offers where he thinks the future of education is going—pointing out where it flickers with hope and where it grows increasingly dim.Interested to learn more from Erik Twist and Arcadia Education? Join Erik Twist and renowned Shelby Steele about the impact of CRT in our school on Thursday, May 5, from 4:30-6:00 pm MT. Jeremy also chats with Jason Lloyd, a managing consultant at American Philanthropic. Jason shares three ways to effectively steward donor relationships if you’re a faith-based organization. You might find his call for humility a little hard to swallow. You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel