Education is one of the biggest concerns for parents today—and for good reason. Only 1 in 3 U.S. students are performing at grade level in math and reading, and despite massive spending, our schools rank among the lowest globally.

On this week’s MomShine podcast, I sat down with MacKenzie Price, the founder of 2-Hour Learning, to talk about why traditional education is failing our kids—and how parents can take action.

MacKenzie’s story is fascinating because she didn’t always love learning. In fact, she hated school growing up, even though she knew how to “play the game” and get A’s.

So when she saw her daughters losing their love for learning, she knew something had to change. Instead of trying to fix the broken system, she created an entirely new personalized learning model—one that’s revolutionizing education.

Why the Traditional School Model No Longer Works

Most schools still follow a one-size-fits-all approach, which means:

  • Advanced learners get bored because they aren’t challenged.
  • Struggling students fall behind because the curriculum moves too fast.
  • Kids lose interest because they don’t get to explore their passions.

MacKenzie experienced this firsthand when her daughter became obsessed with the American Revolution. She went to her teacher, hoping to encourage her daughter’s interest, but the response was: “That’s not part of the curriculum, so we can’t spend time on it.”

This moment hit her hard. Shouldn’t school be about nurturing curiosity instead of limiting it? That’s when MacKenzie knew it was time for a radical shift in our education model.

The Power of Personalized Learning

In traditional schools, learning isn’t one to one and is time-based, meaning that if a teacher moves on, the kids either keep up or get left behind.

MacKenzie’s model at her Alpha School does the opposite:

  • AI-powered adaptive learning lets kids move at their own pace.
  • There’s no unnecessary busywork—just targeted, effective lessons for each child.
  • Kids finish academics in two hours and spend the rest of the day on real-world skills, group projects, and social-emotional learning.

The results? Her students are consistently outperforming our public schools in the top 1% nationwide.

How AI is Revolutionizing Education (Without Increasing Screen Time)

Many parents worry that AI in education means more screen time, but MacKenzie argues that she’s actually seeing the opposite in her learning model. Instead, she’s seeing:

  • AI eliminates wasted time on unnecessary worksheets and test prep.
  • Personalized lessons so kids stay engaged.
  • Teachers focus on a key part of learning that’s getting missed today—emotional and motivational support instead of just grading and lecturing.

The best part? Her AI can track a child’s progress in real time, so instead of waiting for a test score to tell you they’re struggling, learning gaps get addressed immediately. Imagine if your child’s math app could tell you exactly which concepts they needed help with and adjust lessons accordingly. That’s the real power we can harness from AI in education.

The Future of Schools: What Education Could Look Like in 10 Years?

If AI-powered personalized learning became the norm, education could look radically different. Students would master concepts faster because they learn at their own pace. There would be no “one-size-fits-all” teaching, and schools would instead prioritize real-world skills, like creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration.

Did you know that 60% of college graduates are unprepared for the workforce, with 40% of employers admitting they intentionally avoided hiring Gen-Z college grads? Currently, traditional models are failing to prepare kids for the real world if we keep AI out of the curriculum. Instead, MacKenzie’s 2-Hour Learning model is proving there is another way that gets kids more time for real-world learning, and she’s opening 25 new schools nationwide in the coming year.

What Parents Can Do Today to Support Their Kids’ Education

Unfortunately, many areas across the US are still tied to traditional models, but it’s a big conversation at the moment, and with the current administration that’s advocating for states to take these decisions into their own hands. But there are easy ways, MacKenzie offered, to get started until our education can catch up.

  • Use AI at home and to help with kids’ assignments—Try ChatGPT for homework help or create personalized “choose your own adventure” reading stories. OR simply type in problems so students can get exposed to easy ways to cross-check their own work with you.
  • Leverage good apps that gamify learning for kids—My daughter loves Prodigy, and I just upgraded the subscription so she can build out her animal pet store through crushing her math facts. She also jumped up in her testing scores as a result.
  • Ask teachers and schools for transparency. Find out if your child’s school does MAP testing and request the full report, not just a snippet, which MacKenzie says most parents get instead of the full picture.
  • Advocate for change locally—Visit futureofeducation.net for free toolkits to improve your community’s learning options.
  • Explore new education models you can apply at home—Check out 2-Hour Learning for AI-powered homeschooling or in-person school options.

Listen to the Full Interview

This conversation completely changed my perspective on education, and I know it will for you, too. My mom worked in public education for over 47 years, as well. I find it exciting and fascinating because of the potential change that might be ahead. More importantly, I learned how to approach AI with curiosity with my own kids to keep them in the know and thriving at learning.

If you’d like to check out my interview with MacKenzie Price, you can find it on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch us talk through these issues live on YouTube. 

Let’s start demanding better education for our kids. At an overarching level, it hasn’t changed in over 100 years in a way that supports kids’ growth and learning for our modern world. We would love to hear your thoughts—do you feel like traditional education is failing our kids? Tag us on Instagram @momshineco to continue this important conversation.