Parents, I don't have to remind you that you're about to plunk down a significant amount of change for your child's education.
But do you know how to guarantee that this significant investment will actually pay off?
We're taught to believe that our schools are preparing our kids for the future.
Yet kids spend so much time sitting at their desks memorizing a bunch of facts to spit back on their tests that they have no time to figure out how to really prepare for our future of innovation.
Because they're pushed into a system where conformity and sameness are rewarded and difference is punished, they end up springing from their senior years into a future they're not prepared for.
Why? Because our school system is still acting as if we're grooming our kids to stand mute and obedient in a factory line all day.
Yet we're living in an era where 9-5 jobs and 30-year careers at the same company are quickly becoming relics of an era fading fast, where instead our economy requires massive creativity and innovation.
But let's be frank: our kids are not learning these qualities in school.
Now, I want to be clear: this is not the fault of our teachers. Our teachers are under so much pressure to teach to a specific, standardized curriculum that they don't have time to ask deeper questions.
They don't get to ask, "What lights you up? What are you curious about? What do you want to be known for? How do you want to touch your community?"
And because teachers can't ask these kinds of questions, our kids have very little sense that these questions actually exist.
But the good news is that the minute we show our kids that they can ask new questions, they're natural genius begins to shine through.
Last year when I asked a student what he loved to do, he told me, "Nothing. I don't even like video games." But that was his way of testing me. Of seeing whether I would stick around long enough and ask deep enough questions to get to know him, to really see him and value him for his unique personality.
And so I took the challenge. I stuck around, and after a few sessions where I asked him questions he didn't even know he could ask, he'd decided to join his robotics team and was thinking about becoming a personal trainer. He was so much more alive to his interests and skills.
So, do this: start helping your child develop new questions. Start by asking, "What do you love to do?"
And even if the answer is something you don't want to hear ("Play video games!") don't silence it. Use it as an opportunity to develop a deeper level of creativity. Maybe your child would like to learn to design her own video game or learn the code to build his gaming app.
Finally, be sure to ask, "What kinds of problems would you like to solve? How would you like to use your talents to make the world around you better?"
This isn't just about creating a strategy to get in to college. This is about creating a strategy for LIFE.
Because when students understand that they have the power to make a difference in other people's lives we don't have to talk about motivation anymore. Their natural zone of genius is leading the way, urging them to step into the greatness that each of them is born with.
And, of course, just as reassuring is that this kind of new conversation with your child also ensures that the significant amount of money you're about to spend will actually pay off.
After all, there's no question that a student heading into college with a sense of clarity and purpose that comes from developing a meaningful strategy will create more meaningful connections with professors and peers and take part in activities that propel her forward towards her specific goal.
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