Meet Allen Einstein

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allen Einstein. 

Hi Allen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a fortunate man, during the course of my life, I have been able to do things that I find great joy in accomplishing. I am an innovative educator. I was also the team photographer for the Detroit Pistons for 37 years. I attended Detroit Public Schools and obtained degrees from Wayne State University and Oakland University. I hold a Master’s of Arts in Special Education and Learning Disabilities along with elementary and secondary teaching certificates. During the course of my career, I taught regular and special education subjects running the gamut from psychology and math to photography within high school and middle school settings. In 1999, I developed Project 2000, a very successful at-risk self-contained program for 8th-grade boys. I retired from teaching after 32 years. Educating children to become creative, contributing, achievement-orientated adults who give back to society is now what I devote my energy to. To that end, I realized my greatest opportunity to influence the most students would be to work with teachers. I formed a non-profit 501(c)(3), The Einstein Method (TEM), in March of 2016. The mission of The Einstein Method is to provide innovative, engaging programs to assist educators, parents, and community members working with youth in the battle for education that will benefit us all. It is my hope that the creation and execution of TEM’s goals will have a positive impact on educators, which will, in turn, incentivize students. This will not only benefit teachers and children, but their community will become stronger for it as well. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenge of dealing with an overwhelming tornado of burn-out, stress, everchanging Covid protocols, and current life circumstances surrounding both teachers and students has created a perfect storm. Teachers fail to reach at-risk students in meaningful ways, thus contributing to low test scores, poor student efficacy, and decreased levels of confidence among students, especially challenged learners. These factors contribute to an unskilled and underachieving workforce. The Einstein Method helps teachers swiftly adopt new, low-to-no-cost strategies to reach at-risk students in meaningful, constructive ways through environmental design, adaptive teaching skills, and new practices. 

Schools also face huge the ballooning obstacle of gaps in funding and resources. This is particularly true in the areas of professional development and ongoing teacher education. Depending on the district and the finances available, teachers may receive only the bare minimum in professional development. While many schools recognize the importance of professional development, there is simply a shortage of resources and funds to provide these opportunities to teachers. The Einstein Method provides hands-on, low-cost training to teachers and school administrators so that participants leave with actionable skills and processes that are easily implemented within K-12 classrooms. As a 501(c)(3) organization, TEM has fostered donations that allow it to bring this information to those organizations which would not otherwise be able to afford this program. 

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
One of the most important things that I’ve learned is that the relationship between the educator to the student is an invaluable one. The basis of the TEM training is that students must develop faith and trust in their teachers in order to learn critical thinking skills. Based on an 11-year history of providing a structured and safe environment for at-risk students, The Einstein Method presents teachers with tools to help students overcome self-defeating behaviors, preferably before they enter high school and postsecondary education institutions. Thus, TEM encourages teachers to find ways to celebrate and recognize success in students while providing them with safe environments to make mistakes and recognize those mistakes as learning opportunities. 

Contact Info:

• Email: allen@theeinsteinmethod.org
• Website: theeinsteinmethod.org
• Instagram: the_einstein_method
• Facebook: The Einstein Method
• Twitter: allen_method