Reading time: 8.05 min

About Education Next Newsletter

Hello,

Priyanka here.

As parents, we often worry about the future of our homeschooled/ worldschooled children.

Will they be able to secure employment and succeed in life? I dedicate much time to studying, researching, and understanding our children's required skills.

One thing is sure: the world is evolving too rapidly for us to predict the exact change. However, we can foster an environment of freedom open-mindedness, and encourage them to pursue their passions.

Content This Week:

1. Why Google does not believe in school transcripts?

2. How does my son Adi learn?

3. Choosing Skills over Talent

4. Special IG Live session with Project FUEL

5. Podcast with Adi - The Perfect Morning Routine

6. 88 Thought Leaders Feature -

In an interview with Adam Bryant, Laszlo Bock, the Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, revealed interesting facts regarding the company's hiring process. 

Despite the belief that academic performance is a key factor in job selection, Google determined that G.P.A. and test scores were useless when predicting future job performance.

Does Google care about your transcripts?

One of the things we've seen from all our data crunching is that G.P.A.s are worthless as criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless — no correlation at all except for brand-new college grads, where there's a slight correlation. Google famously used to ask everyone for a transcript, G.P.A., and test scores, but we don't anymore unless you're just a few years out of school. We found that they don't predict anything. Interestingly, the proportion of people without a college education at Google has also increased. So we have teams where you have 14 percent of the team comprised of people who've never gone to college. - Laszlo Bock.

What does Laszlo Bock think about certificates and degrees?

After two or three years, your ability to perform at Google is entirely unrelated to how you performed in school because the skills you required in college are very different. You're also fundamentally a different person. You learn and grow, and you think about things differently. - Laszlo Bock.

Another reason is that I think academic environments are artificial environments. Successful people are finely trained and conditioned to succeed in that environment. One of my frustrations in college and grad school was that I knew the professor was looking for a specific answer. You could figure that out, but solving problems without an obvious answer is much more interesting. You want people who like figuring out stuff without an obvious answer. - Laszlo Bock.

My son, who is ten years old, left school three years ago. We have tried online schooling and homeschooling to continue his academic learning at home, but he has slowly found a combination of things he enjoys working on.

Adi's education revolves around his interests and aspirations. He's delving into coding, honing his writing and reading skills, and exploring mathematics—all on his terms. But his learning doesn't stop there. He shares his learning here. 

Adi is also mastering the art of video creation, connecting with individuals of all ages, and developing vital life skills.

From maintaining a disciplined daily routine to fostering gratitude, healthy habits, and effective communication, Adi actively shapes his holistic development.

He shares household responsibilities, defines his goals, and collaborates with others.

What's truly inspiring is Adi's willingness to apply his knowledge in practical settings.

He troubleshoots digital issues for me and helps me with tools and techniques.

Adi's story is a testament to the power of self-directed learning and the boundless potential of young minds when given the freedom to expore their passions.

Throughout history, schools and colleges have greatly emphasized academic merit, praising students with exceptional intellectual talents.

In our society, people are often differentiated based on their grades and educational achievements.

It is necessary to recognize that academic achievement is not the sole determinant of success and that resilience and determination are equally important for achieving one's goals.

According to Malcolm Gladwell and many psychologists, talent might be one part nature and three parts nurture. Gladwell debunks the idea of innate talent with his concept of the 10,000-hour rule.

His theory suggests that exceptional achievement arises from natural gifts and the countless hours we spend honing our skills.

In the words of psychologist Anders Ericsson, "Exceptional performance is not the result of innate talent, but the result of structured activity."

I'm thrilled to invite you to join me and my son Adi for a special IG Live session in collaboration with Project FUEL! Join us for an evening chat on April 10th, starting at 6:00 PM IST, as we dive into an inspiring conversation.

We'll be chatting with Aakansha, the Learning Architect at Project FUEL, about embracing diverse perspectives and reimagining learning in education!

We can't wait to see you there! Don't forget to mark your calendars and set a reminder. See you soon

In other news, Project FUEL also has a wonder-filled course for children aged 11-15 to engage in this summer in May 2024! If you're seeking a journey that provides them with the tools they need to navigate life and learn from over 600+ life lessons from across the world to strengthen their perspectives, this course is for you!

Registrations for Cohort 2 are now open! Click here to sign up today:
https://forms.gle/yQ2kG5rnYLBbRqn69

You can read more about the course here: https://sites.google.com/view/perspectivebuilding?usp=sharing

If you know parents who might be interested in this experience for their children, help spread the word!

Discover the secrets behind Adi's reading journey, the books that have captivated their attention, and how they effectively manage reading time.

Gain valuable insights and practical tips for instilling a lifelong love for learning through the power of reading.

Tune in now and embark on a journey of literary exploration with Adi and his mom!

This week we feature Daniel T. Moeller,

We discuss:

-How to Learn with joy

-Developing the explorer mindset

-Being a lifelong learner

I hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter; see you soon!

Bye,

Priyanka

Buy us a coffee.