Credentials,
and Passport Please

When people ask me the big questions — which sometimes feel a bit accusatory — “What makes you think you’re qualified to do this?” — I might slip in:

“Oh, I used to build learning systems at Google and SAP — curriculum for millions of people, that sort of thing. Triple completion rates, all very satisfying on a spreadsheet.

Then my brother died and I remembered why I got into this in the first place. So now I work with teenagers who’ve forgotten who they are — or never knew to begin with. Turns out that’s harder than teaching engineers, more rewarding than managing executives, and the only thing I’ve ever done that actually matters.

And the kids — when they finally see themselves — that moment makes you feel like you’ve done something real for once. Everything else was just rehearsal.”

The List

If you need the list — and I understand that you do, because trust is built on evidence and I have no quarrel with that — here it is:

Harvard, Master’s in Management. University of Michigan, Master’s in Learning Innovation. A doctorate in Education Technology. MIT MicroMasters Certificates in Data Science. Stanford Intensives. Thirty-five certifications across instructional design, artificial intelligence, and product management — which sounds excessive and probably is, but I’ve never been able to resist a well-structured course. Occupational hazard of being an educator.

Ten years across Google, SAP, Polygon Labs, and TAL Education. Curriculum that reached, collectively, north of ten million learners. Completion rates that tripled industry benchmarks — not once, but consistently, across radically different populations and contexts.

The Only Credential That Matters

All of which means exactly one thing for the purposes of this conversation: I know how to build learning systems that people actually finish. And I know how to do it at a scale that matters.

The reason I do it — that’s a different list entirely. That list has one item on it, and his name was Tolik.

And if I’m being completely honest, that is the only credential that matters. The very idea that I’ve lived on both sides of the fence. The kid who was ignored and had no one, reaching up with empty hands without hope. To the kid who through serendipitous events found his true strength through extracurricular programs and a tutor that showed up for him — in contrast to the brother who did not have the same serendipitous events appear for him, but instead made a final sacrifice so that I could be okay and continue on to do good in this world with his love that is still with me, each and every day.

Continue Your Journey

• Captain’s Log #001: The Manifesto – Where everything began
• Captain’s Log #002: The Flywheel Nobody Talks About – Why purpose programs fail
• Captain’s Log #003: Nafthali + The Palo Alto Parent – The kid nobody is listening to
• Captain’s Log #004: What We’re Doing (And Why It Matters) – Making purpose-finding convenient
• Captain’s Log #005: How To Explain COE In Any Context – The pitch for every room
• Captain’s Log #006: How We THINK – The six-question filter
• Captain’s Log #007: The Problem We Are Solving – Character development beyond disruption
• Captain’s Log #008: Solution: Framework and Ideology – The 7 Teachings system
• Captain’s Log #009: I Want to Share Something Really Important – COE is love
• Captain’s Log #010: Vision: A Life Worth Living – Why me, why this, why now
• Captain’s Log #011: COE: End Game – The moonshot

Covenant of Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to purpose discovery for teenagers through the 7 Teachings framework. Learn more at coveofedu.org.