Associate Dean of Parents at Alpha School Fort Worth
Joined March 2010
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kevin libick retweeted
Joe Liemandt of Alpha School on why AI is today's 1910 tractor moment, and why parents once again have to rethink their kids' future:
"In 1910, 90% of America had an 8th grade education. There were basically no high schools. And over 30% of America is a farmer. So everybody's on the farm, 8th grade was enough."
"Then in 1910, the Case tractor rolled up on the American farm. You can go look at the ads, it literally looks like an Anthropic ad. 'Does the work of 50 programmers. Does the work of 50 farm hands.'"
"Literally everybody in America realized 30% of the jobs are going away. That path is gone, and we have to get our kids ready for this new future. And it was that same recognition I think that parents have today."
"What America did back then... they voted to fund an education that they never experienced. They knew they had to do something different than their background, see the world differently, to get their kids ready and get them the good jobs."
"That school system became the industrial system we've had the last 100 years. It served us really well for 100 years, but now it's time for the next change."
@jliemandt
What should school look like if AI can help students learn dramatically faster?
Alpha School principal Joe Liemandt joins a16z's Erik Torenberg and Gagan Biyani of Horowitz Andreessen Academy (HAA) to discuss Alpha's model, where an AI learning engine compresses core academics into two hours a day and students spend the rest on teamwork, entrepreneurship, and other real-world skills.
They explore why high standards make kids happier, how HAA is using motivation and real-world building to redesign college, what parents need to believe before choosing a new kind of school, why Joe expects AI to drive an explosion in entrepreneurship, and why Gagan thinks students should pick what they care about over whichever field seems safest from AI.
0:40 How Alpha reinvented the school day
4:47 Making Alpha believable at scale
6:13 Why kids want to do hard things
8:30 Fifth graders vs. the Wharton MBA test
10:48 Keeping kids in the 80 to 85% zone
13:08 Gagan on redesigning college
15:00 Why Stanford and MIT kids are terrified
19:30 Why college lectures are dying
22:45 Why Ivy League parents want a new path
25:00 The 1910 tractor moment for education
27:02 Why families should take the risk
34:35 Joe's dad on his Stanford dropout
42:10 What to study when AI is everywhere
48:33 Founders School's $1M guarantee
51:53 A 14-year-old cold calls Jensen
YouTube: youtu.be/T4u2FoIm3pw
@jliemandt @gaganbiyani @eriktorenberg
kevin libick retweeted
hey youth workers and parents in the Houston area: my friend Kara Powell and I are the speakers at this sure-to-be great event, open to anyone, on Friday and Saturday, Nov 6 & 7. Would be happy to have any of my friends bring people from their churches. mdpc.org/event/24453695-2026…
Got this bbq steal of the century…American Wagyu brisket for $66. Rolling smoke tonight. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
kevin libick retweeted
There are 5 criticisms here that are actually features:
1. "Alpha students are participating, essentially, in an experiment." → Yes, that's the whole point. It explains why early families tend to be more entrepreneurial.
2. "classroom guides were energetic but often lacked formal education training." → Credentials and competence are hardly synonymous in education. You remember the educators who motivated you.
3. "Experts caution that public school students using Alpha’s model may not perform as well as affluent private school students." → Expert statisticians will caution that this could be true even if both groups were made much better off.
4. "Like many other learning apps, TimeBack makes academics feel like a game." → TimeBack is a poor exemplar of this actually, but making academics 'feel like a game' would be a great goal when you understand that good games are built on agency, growth, scope, and sustained pursuit. "Hard fun," in the words of Seymour Papert.
5. "About a fifth of Alpha’s private school students scored at or below the 50th percentile nationally in math last fall..." → Most of these kids would be denied admission at private schools that screen for academics. One of the primary benefits of individualized learning is that students are not forever trapped by their academic past.
My deep dive on the "A.I.-driven" Alpha School, revealing their internal learning and enrollment data for the first time, just as the network expands into public education.
There is a big gap between the marketing and reality.
nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/al…
kevin libick retweeted
Living in an age of outrage in the West, if the people you’re listening to, either personally or on podcasts, etc., serve to merely stoke you’re anger and outrage, measure that against the fruit of the Spirit believers should seek after (Galatians 5:22-23). It’s fine and good to be informed, but there are a lot of angry influencers out there (even those we may agree with) and it’s worth assessing what you’re giving yourself to. It’s shaping you whether you realize it or not.
kevin libick retweeted
Nine peer-reviewed studies point to the same unsettling truth: parental warmth shapes children’s faith, character, mental health, behavior, learning, and resilience.
And fathers’ warmth may matter even more than we thought. 2/2
anthonybbradley.substack.com…
kevin libick retweeted
Nothing like a little irony here in Iowa. In a game built, in part, around the story of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his second chance after being banned as part of the Black Sox scandal, there are gambling ads in each outfield corner.
kevin libick retweeted
KEVIN LIBICK is a 25+ year student ministry veteran with a passion to help teenagers take the next step in their walk with Jesus. He also loves helping youth workers grow in leadership so they can maximize their ministry impact
youthminhub.com/2026/07/10/f…
1- MLB has a major problem on its hands. The league batting average is .240 and all but 4 teams in the American League have a losing record.…
2- You even if you pay to watch your favorite team, you can’t watch them because of blackouts and “nationally” televised games behind paywalls on various streaming services. Plus, there will almost certainly be no 2027 season because of a lockout.…
kevin libick retweeted
PICARD: Data, shields up
DATA: Brilliant! Shields can reduce damage we sustain. Not immunity. Not hubris. Just prudence. It's not precaution—it's strategy.
[camera shakes]
WORF: HULL BREACHES ON NINE DECKS
DATA: Here's what happened: you told me to raise shields, and I didn't
kevin libick retweeted
I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.
Take a moment and listen to this 81 second response from Victor Glover after being asked if he had any thoughts leading up to Easter.
I don’t quite think it can be overstated how perfect this crew is for the job.
kevin libick retweeted
I love sunrises and sunsets. Can you see the bands of color? They remind me of the scripture in Psalm 30, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” It seems darkest just before sunrise. I wish you all love and light. Goodnight from the @Space_Station.
