👋 Welcome to a 🔓 free edition 🔓
of Ruckus Makers — the newsletter for bold school leaders who Do School Different. Each week we drop fresh content across our signature styles:
The Reframe → Mindset shifts in 90-seconds.
Dot AI → Supercharged leadership prompts and custom gpts
MEH → The Onion meets Education. What could go wrong?
First in Line → Exclusive access to content before the bookshelf.
The Automatic School → A system that moves you FROM bottleneck TO breakthrough
The Hot Seat → Coaching calls turned into case studies
💡 Premium subscribers get access to custom GPTs, full archives, advanced tools, and Digital Danny — your AI-powered coach. Upgrade here.
🎯 The Ruckus Report
Quick take: What if you could deliver six weeks of learning in a single hour? Simon Strong did exactly that — and the results are challenging everything we think we know about teaching, memory, and curriculum.
🤝 Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker
Simon Strong is the founder of Download Learning, a UK-based company partnering with schools and organizations to dramatically accelerate learning by sequencing information to align with how the brain actually works.
🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules
🧠 Key Insight #1: Speed doesn’t kill learning — distraction does.
What’s broken: Slow, disjointed lessons overloaded with irrelevant detail.
The shift: Simon’s team scripts, edits, and delivers content at 220 words per minute — nearly double classroom pace — to keep attention and trigger retention.
Impact: Students retain foundational knowledge more effectively, especially those with ADHD or learning differences.
🧠 Key Insight #2: One hour, one-half term (seriously).
What’s broken: Teachers covering complex topics in 6-week units with minimal retention.
The shift: A single high-impact video lesson designed to fire synapses in precise time intervals.
Impact: One hour of Simon’s approach produced equivalent learning outcomes to an entire half term of traditional instruction. Add teacher support, and outcomes doubled.
🧠 Key Insight #3: Flipping modes ≠ mastery.
What’s broken: Constantly switching between direct instruction, stories, and activities in class.
The shift: Presenting one “mode” at a time to avoid cognitive overload.
Impact: Improved comprehension, less classroom disruption, and deeper long-term understanding.
💬 Quotable Ruckus
“Education doesn’t build character — it reveals it. Our job is to help students discover who they are and become the best version of themselves.”
– Simon Strong
🚀 Your Do School Different Challenge
Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:
Tomorrow: Audit your next lesson for unnecessary mode-switching. Stick with one mode longer.
This Month: Try introducing a complex topic through a story, not a slide deck.
This Semester: Partner with a colleague to design a one-hour “burst” lesson using Simon’s three-mode model.
🔗 Connect & Continue
🎯 Get the full episode transcript here.
🔗 Learn more about Simon’s work:
https://downloadlearning.co.uk
📌 Ruckus Makers Don’t Just Listen — They Act
If education ain’t a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?
This show isn’t about doing school better.
It’s about Do School Different — and joining a growing movement of bold, creative school leaders who reject legacy models and reimagine what’s possible.
🧠 Here are four ways we can help you on your Do School Different journey:
📬 Subscribe to the Free Newsletter – Tools, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually work (3x a week).
🗞 Read Ruckus Makers – Exclusive content on Substack featuring leadership insights, AI prompts, and new books before the bookshelf.
💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club – Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, and AI Prompt Library.
🧨 Apply to the Mastermind – Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven Ruckus Maker Flywheel™.
Every tool, community, and coaching program we offer is built to help visionary school leaders play the new game — one where leadership is creative, tech-enabled, and unapologetically student-centered.
The podcast is your starting point. The movement is just getting started.
🎙 Today’s RUCKUScast in Partnership With:
ODP Business Solutions®
Looking to create the kind of campus experience students never forget? ODP Business Solutions® transforms ordinary spaces into extraordinary learning environments. 🔍 Learn more: odpbusiness.com/education
IXL
Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it empowers educators with real-time data and adaptive instruction. 🔍 Learn more: ixl.com/leaders
PLAY PIPER
Play Piper bridges gaming and STEM with hands-on kits that turn curiosity into confidence — and students into makers. 🔍 Learn more: playpiper.com
Twelve Practices LLC © 2025 | If Education Ain’t a Bit Disruptive, Then What Are Your Students Learning?
