Beautiful article. I couldn’t agree more with your bullet points. I have also struggled with needing to understand concepts before memorizing and regurgitating, a challenge in medical school when there is barely time to get through all of the material even once. I also appreciate this more as I have seen many of my young patients and my own kids struggle with modern education that often teaches all kids like they are the same and should learn the same way. I think that rather than trying to lump all kids into one strict curriculum, learning should be more about how kids (and adults) can work together as a team of unique individuals , each with something different and valuable to bring to a project. I run a class with 4–7 year olds that are able to work together to create a 3D model community out of cardboard (no coding- sorry). I am amazed at how well they compliment each other’s unique skill sets. Some kids build the buildings, others decide how the city is laid out or decorate. Still others focus on bringing life to the community, creating characters, animals plants and play spaces. No one gets a pass on engineering or a fail on coloring. They just each seem to find what they do best and contribute to the project. And they all feel pride in their contribution. That’s what we do in the work force (or at least we are supposed to). I just don’t understand why our educational system can’t ditch some of the standardized testing and do more of this.