I recently read an article that was refreshing and thought
provoking. Thirteen-year-old Logan LaPlante talked at a TEDX conference at the
University about his idea of an ideal education. When Logan was nine his
parents pulled him out of public school and let him discover subjects that he
found interesting. He still learned the same subjects that students who
attended traditional school such as writing. But instead of being assigned an
essay topic, Logan gets to pick what he wants to write about. He still has
basic coursework but finds his way of learning much more interesting. He
said, “Once you are motivated to learn something, you can get a lot
done in a short amount of time and on your own,”
I
found that Logan’s story was very interesting. As a high school student, I definitely
find myself questioning why I am doing a certain assignment. Especially when I
used to attend public school, I felt like teachers would just assign “busy
work” that meant nothing to us students. I agree with Logan when he says
motivation is key in making learning interesting. If I were genuinely
interested in the curriculum I would think I would do very well in that
subject. I think that this education is a very good way to encourage growth of
creative and independent thinking. In this day and age being creative and original
plays a major part in gaining success; I think that it is important to
encourage that in education from an early age. What do you think? Would like to
have more freedom or more structure in education?
