Esports, Python, And AI

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A hallway chat at LACUE 2025 turns into a masterclass on making technology serve learning, not the other way around. We sit down with Louisiana educator Anthony Swallor, who teaches math and physics, runs Python courses, coaches esports, and keeps the school tech humming—proof that small campuses can deliver big outcomes with the right strategy.

Website: spotlight4success.com

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (00:06):
Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book
Company.
I'm Devin Pentosi, your host.
We are here at LACU 2025 in NewOrleans, Louisiana.
We are so excited to have withus today uh Anthony Swallow.
Anthony joins us from AllenParrish.
Uh Anthony, uh good to see youtoday.

SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
Uh nice to see you too, Devin.

SPEAKER_02 (00:28):
Yes.
Uh Anthony uh comes to us.
Can you tell us about thedifferent roles you have in your
school?
Seems like you're doing a lot.

SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
Uh yes, sir.
I do pretty much anything theytell me.
I've got uh half the mathdepartment's mine, my wife's the
other half.
Uh I'm teaching physics thiscoming semester.
Uh I also teach Pythonprogramming.
Uh I'm also the esports coach,the school tech, and just
whatever they tell me to do.

SPEAKER_02 (00:52):
Wow, that's that's busy and and and uh amazing that
you're doing all of thosethings.
Uh small school gotta havemultiple hats.
I guess so.
Yes, so and uh can you tell meabout uh some of the initiatives
that you're leading at yourschool?

SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
Uh well actually esports we brought we're the
only one in the parish rightnow.
Um leading it for the parish.
We started in 23 or 24.
We just we just started.
Wonderful.
Uh yes, sir.
Um so that's the main initiativewe have there.

SPEAKER_02 (01:20):
Okay, that's great.
And uh can you tell me a bit?
I understand in in uh you'veused the uh American Book
Company materials.

SPEAKER_01 (01:27):
Thank you for watching Spotlight for Success.
I am David Pentosi, the chiefoperating officer of American
Book Company.
We are located here in ourheadquarters in Woodstock,
Georgia.
All of our materials are printedin the USA.
We have to do that.

(02:07):
You can get three samples of ourmaterials either in print or in
electronic formats at abc12.com.
We look forward to hearing fromyou.

SPEAKER_00 (02:18):
Uh yes, sir.
When I'm at conferences likethis, I kind of like to uh get
some of y'all uh your lessonsand leave that for my kids to
follow along.
Uh with my geometry students, Ilike to give the angle relations
lessons.
I have a pretty old book athome, so it's it's not as fancy
as your newer ones, but it stillgets the job done.

SPEAKER_02 (02:37):
Okay, that's awesome.
And uh can you tell me a bitabout uh uh things that are
going on uh with you in theschool system in terms of uh
initiatives that you've learnedhere at LaCue?
Um like um um uh things that umlike uh like uh something new
you've done, like you learnedPython and things like that?

(03:00):
Uh yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 (03:00):
I learned Python and got certified in Python to teach
Python.
Um also I'm dabbling with AI,trying to get my kids to dabble
in AI responsibly instead of youknow just having it take a
picture and solve their entiremath test for them.

SPEAKER_02 (03:14):
Oh, so what does that look like?
Um what is um what is umresponsible use of AI look like
in the classroom?

SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
Well, we're allowed to use uh two AIs in our parish,
Jim and I and Copilot.
So I have my students usecopilot and I have them turn on
the study mode so it more walksthem through the problems than
just spits out an answer, and itcan they can kind of like have a
conversation with it to try andfigure out where they went
wrong.
Oh, okay.
Uh if they do, I try and probethem to do so, but they don't

(03:44):
always follow along, they justusually try and just get the
answers anyway.

SPEAKER_02 (03:49):
Oh, okay.
Well it's always a always aninteresting thing to manage in
the classroom today, right?
Yeah, sir.
It's it's not going anywhere, soyou gotta figure out a way to
embrace it.
That's right, that's right.
Um do you have anything you'dlike to share with the LACU
community?

SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Uh well, I mean, just embrace AI, embrace if
you're not uh using it, you'reyou're behind the uh times, it's
it's here.
We the kids are using it morethan we are, so uh, and don't
think you can stop them fromusing it.
They they know more tricks thanyou do.
So just gotta go with the flow,figure out how to go along with

(04:26):
it instead of trying to ban it.

SPEAKER_02 (04:28):
There you go.
I'm totally with you.
That's that's uh perfect.
Um, Anthony Swallow, thank youfor joining us today.
Anthony joins us again fromAllen Parish, Louisiana.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 (04:37):
Thank you, Devin.
Thank you for having me.