Jack Andraka discovered an early-detection method for pancreatic cancer. From all I can tell, he worked with great determination and persistence over a number of months. From the passion and project, he grew context and content mastery.
He was 15 years old. A ninth grader.
I just watched his TED talk (a #MustWatch), and I am inspired by his scientific and human contribution to the medical and health communities. To our world.
Of course, I am also deeply curious how much he was able to “work on this” in school. In the TED talk, there is mention of his biology class, and it’s a very interesting reference. Images in the talk show Internet searches at home and lab work at Johns Hopkins. Two of my hundreds of questions – did he earn credit at school for this work? What role did any teachers and admin play?
So, I’ve tweeted him, and I hope I’ll get a response.
I fully believe that we can redesign school – systemically – to enable more of the “Jack Andrakas” to surface and succeed. That would mean more success for all of us.
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Related: Brittany Wenger
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That’s exactly what I wondered, too, when I came across his Talk. I went to the wikipedia page to try and find out more about his school experience, but I didn’t find anything there.
Well, thanks to Jack’s incredible graciousness and the enabled connections of social media, Jack and I are setting up time to talk. I’m very excited to continue learning from him.
Great! Please report back on the blog regarding your discoveries:-)