Extracurricular activities are an important component of the college admissions process, and now more than ever admissions officers are looking at applicants’ interests as part of the holistic review process.

"In the end, designing Bennett Day Fun Festival wasn’t really about learning how to run a music festival. It was about working together to achieve developmental milestones in a meaningful and authentic fashion, and, of course, making a little music along the way."

Students need to learn by doing -- through problem-solving, project-based learning and being creative.  Parents, myself included, need to let go of a system we grew up with and recognize how we experienced school will not prepare students for now, or much less 2040, when...