High School Students Say They Learn the Most Important Skills outside of School

When asked their most important skill, students will most likely name something that they picked up on their own.

When students are asked the most important skills they’ve learned, they will most likely name something that they learned on their own. Julie Evans, CEO of the nonprofit Project Tomorrow, says that when she talks to middle and high school students about this topic, their “eyes light up” at the topic. They spend time outside of school exploring the topics that interest them the most, like learning to use Photoshop, creating videos for their personal YouTube channel, or digging deeper into interesting topics in history. Students are most eager when they are learning things that they actually want to learn. Perhaps teachers and schools should leverage this; having teachers guide students in their self-directed study so that students can be excited about what they are learning.