An Addiction to Education at All Levels

I grew up long before the Internet, at a time when there was hardly anything of interest to watch on our tiny black and white television—in fact, the available TV channels would mostly display ‘‘test patterns.’’ As a result, school was by far the most interesting activity in my life; in comparison, the hot, humid summer vacation months, spent at home near Chicago without air conditioning, seemed endlessly boring. Later, accumulating the 21 Boy Scout merit badges needed for Eagle rank would fill my summers much more productively—a model that I have suggested schools might use today, to allow students to get credit for deeply exploring a few of their individual passions.