I went to an Advisory Board meeting for cogito.org several years ago. I was part of a break-out meeting that included leaders in a variety of math-related academic pursuits. We were supposed to come up with recommendations for what cogito should do. Over the course of 90 minutes, I think we really only agreed on one thing: that cogito should endeavor to find a way to create free time for students.

I was prompted to make this suggestion based on my own high school experience. I went to a very average school, had little homework, almost no APs, etc. Therefore, I had a lot of time on my hands. I had a math teacher who provided me good medium- and long-term goals through math contests, and most of my teachers (of all subjects) allowed me the time and freedom to pursue those goals as I saw fit (as long as I didn't disrupt class too much ). Specifically, they didn't bog me down with homework or with tons of suggestions that I do extracurricular activities in which I had no interest.

In college, I took a somewhat different path to a similar end. I simply started early on every class and got way ahead, thus having tons of free time as the semester wore on. I used this time to start the Mandelbrot Competition with Sandor and Sam, and then to start writing the original AoPS with Sandor my senior year (and to start dating vRusczyk -- that worked out pretty well, too ).

Pursuing math contest goals, developing the Mandelbrot Competition, and writing AoPS were far more educational than any of my classes. So, my most important education was outside the classroom, not for a grade, almost completely unstructured, and pursued with very little (or no) direct guidance.

Special thanks to Mary O'Keeffe for pointing me at this (yes, another link to Overcoming Bias), and thereby prompting this post by reminding me that I'm not alone in thinking that leaving teenagers to their own educational devices is something to be encouraged, not avoided.