When you do, you get a school full of students like Armond McFadden

When you do, you get a school full of students like Armond McFadden. His school followed the Schoolwide Enrichment model from K - 8 which honors students talents, passions, and interests. As a result he had a clear idea about the direction his life may be headed by the time he was in middle school. Rosetta Stone software He was also armed with the knowledge to pursue whatever passion he may desire. We tend to infantilize youth today. Some will say it's to keep younger people out of the workforce. Some might say it's because college is big business. Some might say because today's youth aren't ready for the real world until they're much old than prior generations. The reality is kids shouldn't have to wait to adulthood to have the opportunity to do great real things and discover and develop passions. In this data driven age of schooling children, rarely have the chance to learn independently about things they choose. Historically people were empowered to explore their passions at the same ages today's students are disempowered to prep for the test. Here are some examples of what prior generations accomplished by age 13. Pianist Mendelssohn performed his first original compositions. Mary Leakey saw the famed Cro-Magnon caves in France and became dedicated to anthropology. Rosetta Stone Spain Spanish Ludwig van Beethoven became an assistant organist. Country singer, songwriter and actress Dolly Parton made her first radio appearance. Thomas A. Edison began performing electrical and mechanical experiments in his spare time. Writer and general Carl von Clausewitz ("On War") joined the army at age 12. Albert Einstein taught himself Euclidean geometry. He also dedicated himself to solving the riddle of the "huge world." Filmmaker Steven Spielberg got his first movie camera and spent hours writing scripts, drawing storyboards and making movies of subjects such as head-on miniature train crashes and an exploding pressure cooker full of cherries jubilee. Pablo Picasso was so skilled at drawing that his father handed over his own brushes and paints and gave up painting. Jodie Foster wrote and directed a short movie, "Hands of Time," consisting of a series of shots of hands portraying life from cradle to grave. Rosetta Stone English * French painter Renoir worked at a porcelain factory, painting flowers on dishware. Mario Andretti began racing.Will Richardson who understands that it's okay if his kids don't want to got to college, says it this way. More and more, all I want from my kids' school is to help me identify what they love, what their strengths are, and then help them create their own paths to mastery of their passions. Stop spending so much time focusing on subjects or courses that "they need for college" but don't interest them in the least. Help them become learners who will be able to find and make good use of the knowledge that they need when they need it, whether that means finding an answer online or taking a college course to deepen their understanding. And finally, prepare them to create their own credentials that will powerfully display their capabilities, passions and potentials.When we allow students to explore their passions in school, upon graduation we may learn that some [Rosetta Stone ] will choose a future that involves college. Others may not. Neither is better or preferable, and the reality today is that the kid who selects a path without college, may very well be better off from a financial and happiness standpoint, then the kid who went to the "good" college.