Personalizing Education: Unfollow the Herd

Braxton Moral is 16-years-old. This coming May 2019, he'll receive two diplomas: his high school diploma from Ulysses High in Kansas and his bachelor's degree from Harvard University.

Braxton’s amazing and successful accomplishments are the result of personalizing education to his unique talents and needs.

Imagine tailoring YOUR children’s entire educational journey to their individual needs, so that they reach optimal outcome 

Instead of tailoring your children to meet the current education system, tailor the education system to meet your children. For example...

Social Emotional Learning. 

To keep your child socially and emotionally balanced, you send them to part-time to public school to take advantage of the social scene. But….

Core Academics. 

To keep your child’s learning on his/her own unique pace (which can be faster on some subjects and slower on other subjects) you have him/her learn one-on-one with the best teacher(s) for your child on core subjects, like English, mathematics, science, and history. And…

Gifted Learning. 

If your child is gifted and talented in certain areas and topics, like language or computer science, then he/she can take classes at the local community college or online with one of the numerous extension courses offered by prestigious universities, such as Harvard, MIT, and UCs. Moreover….

Sports & Athletics. 

If his/her preferred sport is offered at the local public school (i.e., football, waterpolo, volleyball, soccer, etc.), then he/she can participate in it. But if his/her preferred sport is NOT offered at the local public school (i.e., eSports, Tae Kwon Do, Hockey, archery, etc.), then he/she can join an off-campus league or organization. Finally…

Navigation. 

Your child would spend his/her non-academic or non-sport times exploring different projects, interests, and career opportunities. He/she can spend time volunteering at a hospital in the fall quarter, then try a lego robotics challenge in the winter quarter, extern at a local law firm for the spring quarter, and attend an entrepreneurship camp during the summer.

Unfollow the Heard: We're Not Cattle, We're Humans

The above can sound dizzying. But it’s actually a lot easier to implement personalized education than you think. The problem isn’t time or resource. I have found that the overwhelming number of parents in America love their children so much that they are willing to sacrifice the time (and if they can’t find the time, then they’ll spend the necessary resources) to give their children the best opportunities.

Again, the problem isn’t time or resource. The problem is fear. Fear of departing from the herd; fear of trying something new or independent of the system; or fear of not knowing what information to trust.

When I speak at events for parents and educators, I help them better understand and face their fear by paralleling their child’s relationship with education to David’s relationship with Goliath. “Your child cannot successfully conquer Goliath using the same weapon as his/her peers. Your child has to overcome Goliath with a weapon that works for him/her."

If you wish to begin the wondrous journey of personalizing education to your children, but you are afraid or concerned or lost about the initial steps, ping me. I am happy to point and set you in the right direction.