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Check out this phenomenal video by Ken Robinson. Sit back and enjoy!

Every kid has specific interests, things that make them come alive.  Maybe it’s math, maybe it’s bunnies, maybe it’s candle wax, maybe it’s soccer.  What if you saw their passions as a whole world, a new country you got to visit, where you’d needed a passport?

The Inner Stuff:

You do so much for your kids.  One big big BIG thing to do is to stop, take off your parent/teacher hat for a second, and simply acknowledge their interests and passions (even if you don’t know what they are). It gets easy to go, go, go…..clean, feed, drive.

Just taking a breath and acknowledging to yourself that your child or student is a world unto themself — that is huge.  Even if you just hang out with this for 2 minutes a day, the kid will feel it.  They’ll know you see them.  Can you spend 2 minutes a day watching and acknowledging the world of (insert name)?

The Outer Stuff:

Once you really enjoy seeing their world, you can begin to be openly curious about what they’re up to, and even encourage expansion.  Imagine how huge it is to have parents and teachers be genuinely interested in you. (And they’ll know if you’re being genuine, so be sure you’ve done the inner work).

Here are some starting points:

1.  Observe simple details to them without judging or planning.

“Hey, I noticed your drawing of that monster has purple teeth.”

“I see that your soccer shirt has thick white letters.”

“Hey, I notice that you’ve read 3 books about Vermont.”

It may feel weird and sound dorky for a while, but once you hang out in observer mode long enough, kids will share their passions, their worlds, like nobody’s business. Remember, you observe and then leave it – no planning!

2.  Begin asking a couple world-building questions. You want your kids to be passionate and resourceful, right?  Here are a couple questions to begin this:

“This is interesting.  I’m curious about where it’s going next.  What else are you planning?”

“Hm…wouldn’t it be neat if a newspaper reporter were here to feature this?  What do you think the title of the article would be about you and your interest?  What photos would they take?”

“I wonder what it would be like if…” (fill in the blank with your own ideas – this is not to push them. just to show you’re interested)

“What if…”  (same as previous)

Again, this is world-building.  In order for kids to see themselves as self-sustaining, you can coax them to see themselves even more vividly.

Both these tips seem straightforward and quick, but they take practice.  Be easy on yourself.  This takes time.  But remember, every time you do these exercises, you grow a more resourceful, passionate child.

Here’s to you! And don’t forget to bring your passport!

OK, he didn’t drop out.  His father TOOK him out.  Why?  Because he was pretty cheeky.  Surprise, surprise, right?  At first, he went to the Boston Latin School (when he was and rose to the top of his class.  So why didn’t his father send him to Harvard, where he could’ve gotten a full scholarship?  Good question!  It was a puritanical time, and Benjamin did not show much interest in the puritanical ways, telling his father to hurry up with saying grace.  This was not done.  His father therefore took him out of school, and put him to work in his candle and soap business.   He was 10.

So good ole Ben was working with hot tallow (fat) and wicks for a couple years.  This was not fun, and it was pretty dangerous.

Lucky for him, his brother, James, returned from England 2 years later, ready to set up shop as a printer.  James needed help, and Benjamin was the guy.