Though people are very different, each with their own passions, talents, interests, and abilities, in traditional school settings, most students are all given the same path and grouped with others by date of manufacture. At the age where youth are entering college or the workforce, many have never been given the opportunity to find what they love. This is because for many students, school fosters dependency learning and a false sense that if you just keep doing as youre told, it will eventually pay off...even though there may never be time to figure out where it is you actually want to go. This holds true not only for students dissatisfied with school, but also for students with high achievement like Amy, Carlie, Jessica, Maria and this insightful Valedictorian who felt high school robbed her of this opportunity. Upon graduation, she took her diploma and hit the road literally and went on an adventure to make up for lost time and explore who she really is and what she loves. You can follow her adventures on her blog America Via Erica. Youll notice that once she left school behind, Erica had the opportunity to set her own personal goals which she can change and update as she learns and as she pleases.

Currently her goals are:

School is torture because I am required to spend all my time doing menial tasks, worksheets, and rote memorization.

This takes too much time away from being able to discover my hobbies, interests, or passions. Im in 10th grade and I dont foresee having the ability to do that before I graduate high school."

Once students come up with their plan. Theyll need a place to capture all the great things they are doing. My next post on ePortfolios will outline how to do just that.

Original post:
Creating a Personal Success Plan - A Sensible Alternative ...