True potential

I still remember reading a biography of Thomas Edison when I was in fifth grade. He was pulled from public school, which allowed him more freedom to study on his own. From a very young age, he was a voracious reader, set up his own laboratory in the basement of his parents' home, experimented with telegraphy, and of course went on to become one of the greatest inventors of all time. I have often wondered what would have happened to Edison had he remained in public school. I have also wondered what would have happened to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Graham Bell, and many other great thinkers and leaders had they been educated in our assembly-line education system. How many potential geniuses have been lost in our rigid education system? We need a system that will allow children to attend schools that are tailored to their learning styles.

It is interesting that, as a society, we tend to start our children out very young in activities like sports, dance, or music if we expect them to excel, but many children are still confused about their future careers by the time they are in college. We know what might have happened to Michael Jordan had he waited until college to start playing basketball, but what if Edison had waited until college to pursue his interests? I guess what got me thinking about this was a conversation I had with my neighbor. He started pursuing his interests when he was very young. He now has his own very innovative and successful company. Read his story here:

http://sonicweld.com/about.html

We have chosen to educate our children using K12.com, which is a great online multi-media approach to education (our children are also learning Spanish using Rosetta Stone through K12.com), but we are also attempting to encourage them to find their talents and passions. For example, our eight-year-old has shown great interest in science and inventing. We have encouraged this and other learning by purchasing things like robot building kits, How Things Work, an energy kit, the Explorabook, The World Record Paper Airplane Book, books on the human body, the Encyclopedia of World History, Stompin' K'NEXosaurus, Crazy Machines, and many others. We have also set up a system of earning money and saving for our children to spend on their wish list. They earn money by doing things from their everyday chores, being extra helpful, working on an electronics kit, or finishing a book, to trying something that they would otherwise shy away from (maybe jumping off the high dive, for example). We will double their money if they choose to purchase an educational item. I also try to talk to them about current events, like the War on Terror, the energy crisis, alternative energy sources, the national debt, school choice, etc. But I always feel like there is more we could be doing. I would love to start a private school that would give our children more hands-on learning opportunities. Our university system offers a variety of schools, both public and private, that are tailored to different learning approaches and interests. Why doesn't our K-12 public education system? Find out.