A couple of years ago, The World Economic Forum published its list of skills every 21st century student needs — and it’s no wonder that there’s a rise in alternative education style schools all around the globe. Given the rise of entrepreneurialism, the freedoms technology provides for digital nomads raising children as third culture kids, and the idea of a real world classroom, how do you know what your child needs to thrive?

According to the report, here are suggested traits:

  • Complex problem solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Creativity
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Curiosity
  • Initiative
  • Persistence/Grit
  • Leadership
  • Adaptability
  • Social and cultural awareness

Basically, these traits are what pretty much every TEDTalk you see is about or encapsulates the characteristics of the people on stage. You might also notice that these traits transcend time and place — it’s not about the what; it’s about the how.

Yet, how do you encourage these skills? Especially in traditional schooling systems, which are often like factories focused on outcome?

These alt-schools feel like they have a different way, one that disrupts traditional education:

ADVERTISEMENT

WeGrow

Created an extension of the collaborative working space, WeWork, this first site of WeGrow in New York touts, “We believe learning happens everywhere. With immersive experiences in nature, full mentorship programs within WeWork, and opportunities to learn in different cities around the world, the whole planet is our classroom.”

Available for students between the ages of 3-11, WeGrow is focused on 6 pillars of growth to nurture “balanced, realized, happy humans”: 1) Mind, 2) Body, 3) Soul, 4) Conscious Creators, 5) Arts, and 6) Nature.

There’s a hefty price tag (think: $36,000 to $42,000 per student), but financial assistance is available.

Acton Academy

Started in Austin, Texas, the Acton Academy features everything from Elementary, Middle, Launchpad, and even MBA curriculums. They’re on a mission to inspire each child and parent who enters their doors to find a calling that will change the world. And, their promise to every parent is that their children will:

  • Begin a Hero’s Journey
  • Learn to be a curious, independent, lifelong learner.
  • Develop a deep respect for economic, political and religious freedoms.
  • Cherish the arts, wonders of the physical world and the mysteries of life on Earth.
  • Discover his or her most precious gifts and learn to use them to solve difficult problems.

With hundreds of applications for interested parents to start their own branches of Acton all around the world, Acton Academy only accepts 2% of all applications and expects every campus to run as its own lean start-up — they don’t want copycats, because they believe in iterations of improvement to stay current with the global economy.

Tiny Schools

Tiny Schools follow a simple recipe for quality Middle School education: combine innovative educators, curious learners, and project-based learning experiences. They’re devoted to delivering quality, affordable, private education and encouraging learners to take risks, be themselves, get their hands dirty, and own their education.

They start with a basic premise of building an environment that permits students to take risks with their learnings. They want young people to feel comfortable failing, because they know it’s part of the learning process and failure won’t mean that the student is no longer favored. On the contrary. It’s all about: “fail fast and often.”

.  .  .  .  .

There’s a reason the world’s greatest innovators have sent their kids to alternative education schools. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos… and why more and more parents are creating their own homeschooling education. The future of the world depends on thinking differently!