The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 19 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Wojcicki: Students Gladly Revise Work When There Is No Grade Penalty
“You know, and so if there's no penalty for revision, kids have no problem doing it again. The reason they don't want to do it again is if they get a D and they're like, oh my God, she's never going to change my grade. You know, why am I going to ever do it aga…”
Esther Wojcicki: University Class Sizes Are Backwards for Freshmen and Graduates
“The classes are huge. 800 people in a class. And then I get to graduate school, and in graduate school, there's like eight people in a class. So this is upside down. I needed it when I was a freshman. I don't need it now that I'm a graduate student. I know wha…”
Wojcicki: Tenth graders take eight weeks to find passions due to school conditioning
“Kids have a hard time figuring out what they're interested in when they're in the 10th grade. That's when I get them. And the reason they have such a hard time is because they're so used to being told what to do. It makes them You know, at least eight weeks to…”
Esther Wojcicki: Kids Must Code One Hour for Every Gaming Hour
“My theory with gaming is for every hour that you game, you should spend an hour coding games.”
Wojcicki: Involving students in rule-making eliminates the need for enforcement
“If you bring them in, and allow them to come up with some of the rules of how we're going to be doing this, then you don't have to enforce it. Because they came up with the rules.”
Esther Wojcicki: Do Not Give Children Smartphones Before Age Five
“One thing that I recommend is don't give your child a phone until at least They're five years old or older, because what's happening is when they're zero to five, and you're training them, that whenever they're bored, they're going to be able to use an electro…”
Esther Wojcicki: Independent Student Teams Enable One-to-Seventy Class Ratios
“Like in my classes, you know, I can have one to 70. Well, why do I have that? Because the kids are working in teams. They're independent learners. They don't need as much control.”
Wojcicki: Extreme Wealth Makes Forming Genuine Friendships Unusually Difficult
“I've seen people who have a lot of money, you know, millions and billions, and they have a really hard time making friends. And I'm talking about friends, people who really care about you and have a good relationship with you. And part of the reason they have …”
Esther Wojcicki: Journalism Is the Essential Curriculum for the 21st Century
“Journalism is the subject of the future. It's the curriculum for the 21st century.”
Wojcicki: Involving kids in team decisions enhances their self-regulation
“When they see themselves as part of a team effort, it's much easier for them to self-regulate because they know that they're part of a group, part of a team.”
Wojcicki: Teaching Children Is Easier for Teachers Than Parents Due to Emotional Detachment
“Well, I'll tell you, it's easier, it's much easier for a teacher to teach something to your child than it is for a parent, and I think one of the reasons we have teachers is because there's this emotional bond somehow that, you know, if your child isn't doing …”
Wojcicki: Without childhood trust, young adults constantly crave reassurance
“You need that kind of trust in order to believe in yourself. Otherwise, what happens is you grow up, you become, you know, an 18 or twenty-year-old who's always needing reassurance, always needing to be told that, you know, they're doing things right.”
Wojcicki: 18 years of dependency cannot suddenly become adulthood independence
“If you have the first 18 years of your life where you've been taught to be dependent, well, what do you think is going to happen on your 18th birthday? You think all of a sudden independence? No. Habits are very hard to change, and the way you mold the child i…”
Wojcicki: Collaborative screen time rules are easier to implement with children
“Then, after five, when kids are using devices, again, I suggest that it be collaborative. They need to understand why it's not a good idea to use it as much as they would like to use it, and so if it's collaborative, then it's easier to implement.”
Esther Wojcicki: Building genuine empathy requires real-world, face-to-face interaction
“Well, you ruin empathy by not having an opportunity To interact with other people. I mean, when you interact with other people, and you see how they feel, and you see their emotions, and then you can put yourself in their shoes, that builds empathy.”
Esther Wojcicki: Teams Must Hold Weekly Meetings Celebrating Failed Experiments
“It has to be embedded in the culture where you're meeting once a week and talking about some of the things that you tried that didn't work out, and it's ok, and that you're being celebrated for trying. And for doing things that might not have worked out.”
Wojcicki: Critical thinking develops best through active practice like journalism
“The thing that helps critical thinking development the best is doing it. And that's where the whole journalism thing comes in because you have to think critically every day when you are writing stories and analyzing data and figuring out who said what and does…”
Wojcicki: Real learning occurs through discussing books, not solitary reading
“Just reading the book by yourself, I mean, you can do, you know, it's helpful, but the learning comes, comes about in the discussion and the speaking and talking about things that happened.”
Esther Wojcicki: Bill Campbell's Coaching Mirrors Her TRICK Educational Framework
“And actually, his message is the same as my trick method. But it's written from a corporate perspective. It's the same thing. Trusting your employees, respecting them, giving them independence, promoting collaboration, and then treating them with kindness.”