Hacking Education
Why “Hack Schooling” Is An Awesome Alternative To Traditional Education
Logan Laplante
Logan is a 13-year old home schooled boy, who gave a TEDx Talk about “Hack Schooling.” His talk is motivation to change how we think about education.
Education is important, but why is being happy and healthy not considered education?
Besides making the crowd chuckle at witty jokes, Logan describes how his education is tailored to him and helps him continue to reach his goal of being happy and healthy. He points out “We don’t seem to make being happy and healthy a priority in our schools.” He questions things like “why is being happy and healthy not considered education?”
He suggests education be focused on Dr. Roger Walsh’s eight simple Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes: Exercise, Diet & Nutrition, Time In Nature, Contribution & Service, Relationships, Recreation, Relaxation & Stress Management, and Religion & Spirituality. It’s the regiment he follows and that he will continue to follow into his adult life.
I believe hack schooling has helped Logan because it’s preparing him to prioritize his happiness and health in his future rather than the bottom line of the paycheck he will get at a job out of college. Besides, what other 13-year old do you know that has an internship at a snowboarding company?
Lily Serino
A personal experience I’ve had with hack schooling is one with my best friend’s daughter Lily. Joel is continuously learning from Lily and the way she chooses to learn. By giving her the freedom to tailor her education to how she learns best, she is developing problem solving skills, not the ability to jump through hoops well. Her being educated this way, I believe, is preparing her to have the ability to tackle any problems she will face, ever.
Lily isn’t punished for failure, but rather encouraged to fail then figure out why she failed in order to solve the problem.
Just like in the business world, if a person if scorned for failure, they are discouraged and sometimes left helpless. But, if one is taught that failure is part of a learning process at an early age, failing will always be the another step towards success.
I ask myself, is the educational base these kids are receiving better than what was provided by my educational upbringing? Most likley. Is every kid going through a traditional American schooling system at a disadvantage? Maybe. Should kids be pulled out of school and home schooled? Probably.
If I could go back and choose my educational path, I would yank myself out of school and put myself on a hack path. The upside is, you never stop learning in life, so it’s never too late to change WHY and HOW you learn.
