
← The OpenEd Podcast28. Aug. · 1 Std. 00 Min.
FORMER TEACHER: I Told My Students They Didn't Have to Come to Class
<p>Tanner Bowman taught computer science in a public high school for ten years, deleting one classroom rule per year until attendance in his class was optional. </p><p><br></p><p>He now runs Optio, an accredited K-12 program built on one move: start with what the kid already cares about, and let the subject arrive as a requirement of the goal. A sixteen-year-old who hated online algebra was doing mathematical analysis of the stock market on his own time. That analysis became his math credit.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode: </p><p>0:00 – Cold Open: The Kid Written Off by School</p><p>0:27 – Meet Tanner Bowman & What Optio Is</p><p>1:03 – Inside Optio: Quests, Not Grades</p><p>4:10 – Tanner's 10 Years in Public School Fighting for Autonomy</p><p>10:06 – Sage on the Stage vs. the Gardener</p><p>14:13 – The "Kids Who Don't Want to Learn" Myth</p><p>18:09 – Rethinking Curriculum for the Internet Age</p><p>25:23 – Turning Passions Into Math, Science, and More</p><p>29:47 – Why Optio Killed Letter Grades</p><p>36:42 – Scaling Personalization With the Quest Model</p><p>41:47 – Detoxing Kids From "Public School Brain"</p><p>46:18 – Helping Kids Find What They Actually Love</p><p>53:44 – Rapid Fire: Advice for Parents & Teachers</p><p>57:04 – Optio x OpenEd: Turning Passion Into Real Credit</p><p>59:35 – Where to Find Tanner & Optio</p><p><br></p><p>GUEST</p><p>Tanner Bowman, founder of Optio</p><p>Website: https://optioeducation.com</p><p>Instagram: https://instagram.com/optio_education</p><p>Email: tanner@optioeducation.com</p>