Form Follows Function: Teaching Kids to Succeed in Life, Not Pass a Test

This is a great Op-Ed from NYT's Bob Herbert on a successful charter school developer in NYC. Deborah Kenny has developed three charter schools in Harlem - two middle schools and one high school. Her formula is pretty simple: Hire passionate teachers. Give them the ability to be flexible and creative. And demand excellence from teachers and students alike. “We’ve created a culture that brings out the passion of the teachers and they bring out the passion of the kids.”

Kenny raised her kids with the below core principles, and she uses them as principles for her schools.

- Be wholesome in character

- Be compassionate and see life as a responsibility to give something to the world

- Have a sophisticated intellect

- Be avid readers, the kind of person who always has trouble putting a book down

- Be independent thinkers, to lead reflective and meaningful lives

I want my daughter to go to a school like this, and I'm not sure public schools offer this kind of option. Everyone preaches that education is the path to success in life, but we don't practice what we preach.

Kenny's principles offer every parent and teacher a recipe for success. Her five principles are the function. The form that follows is a child that grows into an adult who is a contributing member of society.