🐴 Study like a lion, not like a cow

82% of students can't do math at grade level despite billions in funding. PLUS: A free alternative to paid content screening tools.

March 20, 2025

3 Quick Bites:

🍎 Naval Ravikant on why humans should hunt in sprints, not graze all day
🍎 Why Newark's "disappointing" math scores are actually catastrophic
🍎 Screen YouTube videos and podcast for inappropriate content

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💡 THOUGHT

LIONS HUNT IN SPRINTS

"We're not meant to graze all day, right? We're meant to hunt like lions."

Naval Ravikant

Humans aren't cattle. So why do we structure education and work/study like we are?

Naval Ravikant points out the obvious: intellectual performance doesn't follow a linear 9-to-5 pattern. What matters is intensity, not duration. Quality, not quantity.

The most effective approach: Train hard. Sprint. Rest. Reassess. Repeat.

Stop grazing. Start hunting.

📊 TREND

82% CAN'T DO MATH

BREAKING: 82% of students in Newark can't do math at grade level. 70% can't read at grade level.

Educators call these results "disappointing," which is a bit like calling a tornado a "stiff breeze."

To be clear: There's nothing inherently wrong with a child developing at their own pace, mastering concepts when they're ready rather than when an arbitrary system dictates. Children aren't standardized, and their learning shouldn't be either.

The traditional education system itself created and enforces these grade-level standards. It's failing by its own metrics.

At what point do we acknowledge that our educational shortcomings are based less on funding problems than a misalignment with how children actually learn?

🔨 TOOL

SCREEN BEFORE YOU STREAM

For $5/month, the YouTube & Podcast Screener gives you visibility into content before your kdis watch or listen, analyzing videos and podcasts for:

  • Language concerns

  • Violence

  • Sexual content

Alternatively, if you are willing to jump through a few hoops yourself, try this:

  1. Open any YouTube video

  2. Open the description and click "Show transcript"

  3. Copy the entire text (Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+C)

  4. Paste (Command + V) into an AI model of your choice along with this prompt: 

Analyze this content for language concerns, violence, sexual content, and other themes inappropriate for children,

And bingo! You just saved $5.

For podcasts, most platforms now offer transcripts you can analyze using the same approach.

That’s all for today! See you tomorrow.

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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