Education design is a game-changing approach to global education. Much like the concept of lifestyle design, education design requires:
awareness of the options available
recognition of interests, talents and goals, and
engagement in the process of choosing the best opportunities for personal development
Students and their parents are learning how to design an exhilarating education by selecting and leveraging the most effective and energizing learning options available. Public or private, homeschool or unschool, online or apprenticeship--there's no need to pick a favorite. In fact, students benefit most by creating a custom blend that maximizes their potential. (Think of it as right learning, at the right time, in the right way for each student.)
Rigor is good, but rapture is way more powerful. We're doing our students (and our economy) a terrible disservice by limiting their options and focusing on a rigid college-prep funnel. Education design gets students digging into the kinds of learning that light them up and allow them to leap forward.
I've written a book to help families get smart about the new world of innovative education. The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education is published by Crown/Three Rivers Press (Random House) and is available in bookstores across the country.
Though it's packed with myth-busting facts, insider insights and astonishing success stories from students who are doing things differently, my book is also the tale of our family's adventures in alternative college prep. |