Ted Dintersmith

Career-based learning across a whole range of skills, you know, from plumbing to carpentry to welding to cybersecurity to healthcare to AI to digital media.

But the key and the reason I made the film is this is important for all kids to do, not those kids.

And so you have this center that almost serves like a microcosm of national service.

So you might be really good at 10 things, and I might be bad at all those 10 things, but maybe I'm good at one thing you're not good at.

And we're side by side.

And suddenly we both develop some appreciation for the ways we're talented, the quite distinctive ways we're talented.

And they build those skills, by the way, based on what the local economy needs.

So suddenly they're developing a pipeline of kids that come into their community.

Some go away to college.

Because all kids have to do it.

They're not penalized for welding instead of AP chemistry.

So the college kids actually benefit.

But the ones that go directly to the workforce, which in their case is half, have explored careers, developed skills, and they're off to a running start.

And I think we've sort of convinced ourselves, and it's been a colossal mistake, that there's either the college academic path or the career workforce path.

not only are they different, but one is way better than the other.

You know, and you look at the college signing days and the pennants and the, you know, I mean, I was a big supporter and know Barack and Michelle Obama well, but I used to just almost break my heart when it would be college signing day.

You know, you can do it.

Every kid, you know, and a lot of kids just, they're not academically inclined or they find their passion in different ways.

And it's like, if we respected all these paths,

And if kids, I give this, I use this video on my talks.