We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Max Palacios a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Max, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

COVID-19 shifted a new paradigm in education. In a world of politics from the left, right and disappearance of the middle one thing we must not forget when working with education is empathy. If I were to change one thing about education, I would begin by ensuring my school would be a school that prioritizes equity. Many people have politicized this word, equity, and many confuse it with the word equality which both words sound the same but are completely opposite. While equality makes sure that all students have a pencil to write with, equity makes sure that students have the correct pencil to write with. I would begin by conducting a needs based assessment to make sure that our institutions intentions are equitable. Next, in order to prepare our students, we will need to make sure that our students are responsible and outstanding citizens so we may educate life and career building skills necessary for them to succeed in the real world.

Max, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Knowledge is power and Currently, my role is an Educational Consultant. This comes from years being in the education industry and 7 plus years in school administration. Credentialed as an administrator, my journey in education has taken me to places (virtually) that I never knew I would collaborate with. COVID-19 changed the way we do school and as an educator I feel that I brought a skill to my school that I could share. As the pandemic began, no one envisioned that students would be learning at home for two years plus. But, it happened. I encourage and have always enjoyed technology and this was an opportunity to fuse the two things that I enjoy the most, bringing technology to education. As an administrator, we were lost when we sent our students to learn from home. In sending them home, I knew that I needed to do my part to help. With an abundance of YouTube channels created to help educators, Pocket Full of Primaries, Teacher Tech Talk, etc., one area I felt that was clearly underrepresented was the Spanish speaking community. So I decided to do something about it. I began my own YouTube channel, Profe Max. In addition to the channel, I also created my own website: www.profemax.com. Profe Max began with me creating YouTube videos on using Google and its education products. I would create Presentations and use them in my videos. This prompted me to create a website. Not only was I sharing my videos, but also my presentations through my website. In addition, I also put out a form and began taking inquiries if anyone is interested in professional development in creating these online tools. I began getting requests from Spanish speaking schools. Schools in Mexico, Central America, and South America were reaching out. Suddenly I was on Zoom calls with folks from Tijuana, San Jose, and Santiago among other areas. I was suddenly consulting and teaching how to use Google for Education products. The best thing was that I did not charge for my services. During the pandemic I told myself that if I needed the help I would take it from anywhere. I was desperate, I can only imagine how schools with limited resources were.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Learning the digital school products was the most difficult thing for me. I was husband, dad, administrator and student all at the same time. When this journey began in order to demonstrate the use of Google Classroom I needed to learn it first. I spent a couple of weeks learning the programs that Google had to offer. I was able to understand that technology, if used correctly could be an instrumental piece in helping educate students. I was able to create mock classrooms as demonstrations to present to the company I was currently working for. All of this was going on as I worked on my administrative credential and made sure that my family was taken care of. I don’t think I would have been able to complete anything were it not for the support of my wife and family.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Digital media is definitely what has allowed me to promote my brand. I do not consider myself an extrovert nor introvert. When the pandemic began I knew I had acquired a skillset and I needed to share it with everyone who was willing to listen. Many people made a lot of money do to the pandemic. I don’t think that is correct, exploiting an opportunity when it is badly needed. Everything I did I tried to do with fidelity. Knowledge is power, and there were underrepresented schools that were struggling to put something together in order to teach their students. I did not profit from doing Profe Max, I think it is important to help. People see that when you try to be as sincere as possible and help people they respond and word of mouth travels. I have been lucky enough to where people thought I was bringing quality and here we are today trying to assist everyone not just underrepresented schools.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.profemax.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bajatrooperproductions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profemaxtecheducator
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxpalacios/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUwCDCFa68ZeKdpB_OpIfdA/featured