When conformity and rigidity are replaced with free thinking and innovation, the results can be quite stunning. Such was the case with 13-year-old Logan LaPlante, who left the public education system for a homeschooling program specifically tailored to his interests.

Standard education typically focuses on creating a supply of worker bees, who follow orders from authority and operate within the confines that the system has set out, but lack critical thinking skills.

One of the most viewed Ted talks of all time was given by Sir Ken Robinson in 2006, where he explained how traditional education virtually kills creativity. With standard education failing many in society, people are increasingly turning to homeschooling in an effort to fulfill their children’s educational potential, similarly to what Logan has done.

Currently only about 3.8% of children ages 5 – 17 are homeschooled in the United States, but studies have shown that homeschooled children typically outperform their peers from both private and public schools.

Homeschooling allows for a child to maximize their potential to become creative, adaptive, free thinkers. This in turn creates people who are not conditioned to think within the limited confines of an archaic and crumbling system, but who are capable of adapting and applying new thoughts, ideas and solutions to any situation encountered.

The flexibility of being able to cater his education to his particular learning style, as well as his particular interests, enabled Logan to gain valuable insight for someone with so little life experience.

Logan’s wisdom was displayed well beyond his years when he stated that what he truly desires when he grows up; to be happy and healthy.

In this Tedx talk, Logan explains how he has hacked his education to work toward his goals and take true ownership of his destiny.

Just imagine what our child are capable of becoming if truly given the opportunity to grow.

“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.” –Albert Einstein

Jay Syrmopoulos is an investigative journalist, free thinker, researcher, and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs. Jay’s work has been published on BenSwann’s Truth in Media, Chris Hedges’ truth-out, AlterNet and many other sites. You can follow him on Twitter @sirmetropolis, on Facebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu.