We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started my career as a high school social studies teacher in Atlanta. Despite never really growing up with an interest in education, I grew to appreciate the fundamental role that both education and learning in general plays in our society and the way we live our lives. I myself have grown to love learning more than pretty much anything else. But we all know the education system is far from effective – and it has almost nothing to do with any of the people who work within it – it is the structure and system itself that is no longer relevant. That is what led me to want to create things that could solve some of today’s problems while providing me with the platform and experience to start designing a new education system for the future. TARA was born out of a real need to help teachers and schools better coordinate and plan for students. With the amount of technology and content available now, it is amazing to think that most teachers still have to create lessons using word documents and that we have little to no understanding of individual teacher styles and strategies. So I started TARA to address that issue – to build an assistant that can support teachers by curating resources/best practices and giving them guides as they plan for students.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
TARA is an education technology company built around our flagship TARA planning assistant for K-12 teachers and schools. Every teacher creates a plan for the classes they teach. In fact, aside from grading, that is where the majority of our time as educators is spent – lesson planning. Lesson planning is such a critical part of teaching. It is the only place where a teacher records the strategies they intend to employ and how they plan to breakdown material. However, most schools give teachers Word/google doc templates to fill out, turn in, and forget about. So you end up creating a compliance-driven culture that helps no one and devalues what might be the most important activity that occurs in a school building. TARA transforms all of that. We provide teachers with an extremely simple, intuitive lesson “canvas” where they can build lessons using our pre-made guides – but leaving room for them to customize to their style and context. We provide them with an entire bank of activities to choose from, ensuring that teachers never have to start from scratch again. Big picture, we also are the first ones to be able to capture actual data on what the teacher themselves is planning – not just how the students did. This data has the potential to revolutionize teacher development. We are definitely most excited about our national partnership with Teach For America and getting TARA into the hands of their 3,000 new teachers. It is an amazing opportunity to learn and impact a whole generation of new teachers and the schools they go to.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Whenever I have friends who come to Atlanta, my first thought is always to take them to the quieter bars and lounges I like – right now, those include Golden Eagle and Ruby Chow’s. My team and I have also developed a love affair with Lloyd’s on Dekalb avenue. We love the unpretentious vibe and themes. I would also make sure to check out a few of the smaller parks tucked away in Atlanta’s neighborhoods and some of the free art galleries that pop up. Beyond that, MJQ and Clermont on Saturday night come to mind…
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had so many sources for support and learning, but it all starts with my family. Without their confidence in me and willingness to help me get TARA (and my previous non-profit) off the ground financially, it would have been much more challenging. But more importantly, knowing that they have my back should I fall flat on my face is extremely significant. Not everyone has the privilege or luck of a safety net if all else fails and I try to remain hyper-aware of that. Beyond them, I’d like to shout out the countless peers, colleagues, and other educators who have sat down with me over the years to share ideas, feedback, and introductions. TARA was built for people – not for me – and I have come to really love the customer discovery process. Learning to empathize with people is critical to success, but it starts with folks being generous with their time and stories and I am hugely thankful for that.
Website: www.taraedtech.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taraedtech1/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tara-education-technologies/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taraedtech1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taraedtech/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOO135ENQhizMs4920D0-g
Other: @ianscohen1
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