Being unique in personality and interests is not a mutually exclusive idea from having to do things that are of little inherent interest. We all have to do both. Things we like and things we don't like. The irony in all of this, is that students who pick and choose where and when they will exert effort in school subjects, are the kids who end up having to earn their living in ways that are truly of no interest to them. When we make learning easier to accomplish, then students are less likely to be so selective in their efforts because they will be experiencing success in all subjects.

I know that there are students and parents who disagree with the courses that are being taught in schools. They often have a difficult time figuring out the value in some of the subjects. I leave the content of the curriculum to educators and work within the existing structure of the core courses, the ones that matter in terms of moving ahead to post-secondary; Math, English, Social Studies and Science. These 4 subjects form the core of knowledge that students are expected to know by graduation. In so many cases, I have students who are doing very well on their electives, such as photography or cooking, but bombing out on the core classes. Or, doing well in Social, but not in Math, or doing well in Math, but not in Social. I see all kinds of combinations. But the common theme is that the course or courses of poor performance are declared as either boring or the students simply ‘don’t like them’.

Until or even if the decisions makers related to course curriculum change the emphasis on the 4 core areas, we are pretty much stuck with them for the foreseeable future. Students need to have a level of competency within each of these courses and we the adults are responsible to assist them in acquiring this knowledge base. We cannot in good conscience, place expectations of high performance on students without giving them every chance or opportunity available to them to help in this achievement.

And that is why I do what I do. Every day, I am chipping away at the mountain of disinformation, poor teaching/learning practices, and a general malaise within the education system. It has been an uphill battle and a struggle every step of the way to get educators interested in managing learning through understanding the basics of the human brain. Students jump on board very quickly when they see how easy learning can be.

Please pass this blog along to anyone you may know who has a student who is struggling with the ‘interest driven’ method of learning and together, we can get them the help that they need.