Here's a great example of passion and projects overcoming inertia...

Excerpt from: http://theenergyproject.com/blog/2009/12/high-school-way-it-ought-be

" HIGH SCHOOL THE WAY IT OUGHT TO BE

By Tony Schwartz, CEO, The Energy Project on Dec 01, 2009

How much more focused and engaged would high school students be if they were given an opportunity to pursue their passions – topics that truly sparked their interest and excitement?  

A year ago, we helped launch an experiment with 9^th graders at the Riverdale Country School, a small independent school in the Bronx.  A year earlier, a new head of school had been hired and he brought to his role a series of ideas about education that ought to be commonplace but are all too rare. Among them: 

Executive Summary

This research report investigates the links between formal, non-formal and informal learning and the differences between them. In particular, the report aims to link these notions of learning to literacy and essential skills, as well as the learning of second and other languages in Canada.

Philosophical underpinnings of this research are:

• There is value in learning of all kinds.
• Learning is a lifelong endeavour.
• An interdisciplinary approach is valuable.

Notions of formal, non-formal and informal learning may be briefly outlined as: