Episode #272: Max Roach

Maxwell is a children’s book author and the Founder of JonAyves Learning Club, a personalized learning organization that teaches children concepts such as long division as early as the age of 3. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and is certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHRi). As a former musician, sharing stages with Beyoncé and the Rolling Stones, leading a child care organization as CEO, and working as a consultant for ecommerce tech companies globally, Maxwell values the need to “fill the industry gaps” by way of disruption and modern solutions.

Trenches story: he wants to stay there. He has ton of stories. His life has been something where the trenches are important. He seeks those out. He wants discomfort in his life. Went to school in Edmonton, AB, then in Toronto. Played music in church, bands. Specialized in music. Enjoyed being in front of ppl. Had own kids, changed how he wanted to live life. Called musicians he worked w/, said he was changing trajectory- 2016. Cut off (main source of) income. Wrote out transcriptions. Wanted to transition out of music- created a bread product. Take situation you’re in and realizing it was a trench.

Talk about transitioning from your music to your professional career. Wanted to start his own business. Opened up a bread business. Had wife, 1 child. Wasn’t spending a ton of time w/ family. Sold in grocery stores in Toronto. Got into computer science in university but didn’t want to write code as job. The computer science training gave him way to move on after bread business. Got into Started running multi-million $ software operations. Got hired on cause had run a bread business. Thru that organization, they gave scholarships to univ’s around worked.Came out of the tech org. Visited many universities. Commuted a lot. Org wanted to help researchers along the way. Continuation of the way he got into working in education.

Jon Ayves Learning Club he founded it. Pandemic happened. Knew he needed to make a change. Wife & him decided to form an org. where children are able to learn long division by the age of 3. Needed learning materials, he used muscle memory like from music. Once you understand the process, it works to replicate. Use digital tools like YouTube-positive content. Bought a billboard, marketed on radio. Combo of his own kids’ names. Didn’t get any clients in April 2022. Understood what timing meant. Let go of the idea for a while. Started back up in the fall. Met ppl at clubs locally, like YMCA. Taught child there something in 15m. Word spread, ppl told others w/ conviction. Have books, getting into private schools. Branford, ON. A few in Toronto, Ottawa, others across Canada & Europe. Is already having convos about expanding into U.S. They work virtually, 15 m sessions w/in school day. After-school tutoring gets tedious. Schools are adopting it. Specific way they teach, they hire teachers to teach a certain way.

They focus on one-on-one learning. He can talk about really making kids love what they learn. Kids need someone in their life who can give them their full attention. One-on-one is now social media. Wants to talk about WHY this works. There’s so much to track in terms of SEL, IEP, today. He wants to talk about the concepts. He can talk specifically about how this would work for a particular building. Talk about implementing digital tools. It’s specific focus w/in 15 min once a week or several x’s a week. 45m sessions- 30 m is hanging out & connecting. He’ll share success stories.

Direct listeners to jonayves.com/workshop- he talks there about the way to have kids become more confident. The focus on the CAN rather than the can’t. He compares it to music, moving fingers while drumming. They also have children’s books available that break down concepts. Counting by 2’s, 3’s, etc. They have animated skip counting videos. He personally instructs kids in H.S. up to grade 12. Private schools where st’s are behind or ahead. Has learners across the board. Foundation is 3 L’s: Live it, love it, learn it. Tie concept to something kid’s interested in. You can calculate the trajectory of a ball in a sport. The smaller the chunk the easier to digest.

They do free assessments for all the schools- will talk about learning strategies. He’s interested in helping them navigate TicToc & other distractions. When they’re trying to introduce something, it’s important to meet person where they’re at. Not necessarily a platform but a connection.

YouTube shorts-they go around a city & challenge random strangers to times table duels. https://www.youtube.com/@JonAyvesTV it makes it interesting cause they can bring it to the world.

Out of everything: DDon’t be afraid of taking small steps, across the board kids feel they have to take big leaps. Small steps are much more enjoyable. Chip away at progress. Life is simple when we allow it to be. Click To Tweet

Where can ppl find you? JonAyves Virtual 15 (Institution 15-Minute Mathematics Program for Students)

https://www.jonayves.com/jamvirtual15

JonAyves Learning Club Books: JonAyves Learning Club Books

JonAyves Learning Club Complete Book Listing – https://www.jonayves.com/shop

Maxwell Roach & JonAyves Learning Club
Twitter – @JonAyvesTV
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellroach
Facebook – JonAyves Learning Club
Website – https://www.jonayves.com
Podcasts and Workshops – https://www.jonayves.com/podcast

Fun Academic Kids Videos
YouTube Shorts – https://www.youtube.com/@JonAyvesTV
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@JonAyvesTV
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/AJsHouseKids

Count By Numbers and Nursery Rhymes Videos
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@AJsHouseKids