The 50 Essential Experiences
it’s scarily possible to get carried away thinking about getting the “standard” academics down smoother and faster, how to get test scores up, without thinking nearly as much about what really matters: How do you raise good people? People who know themselves authentically, have access to deep love, feel capable and confident in the world, can think in complex and creative ways, can relate openly to others who are different, and can make meaningful contributions to the world? Now it gets interesting.
Connect with Your Lineage
Do you know who your ancestors are? Your great-grandparents, or great-great or even further back? Is there one of them whose story seems to draw you in or inspire you? These connections are the starting points to discover your ancestry and how it shapes you.
Teach a Complex Skill
A student might choose this experience if they feel they’ve mastered a specific skill - say, shooting three pointers, writing haiku, or cooking the perfect waffles - and are drawn to the challenge of teaching someone else to do it as well as them.
Serve a Good Meal
A student might choose this experience if they have a developing interest in cooking and would like to try producing an entire meal. Or they might choose it because it represents a growth “edge”, something new and untried but which draws them in.