I have to confess, I love it when I’m supplied a template. My editor imposed a template on me for Hacking Engagement. I'd have been lost without it. K-12 education seems a lot like a huge rigid template. In fact, schools are darned similar to standardized mass production facilities. And therein lies the problem. While templates provide direction and form, they’re incredibly restrictive.

Brian Sztabnik believes that creativity, student discovery, and self-directed learning can be stifled by over-reliance on templates. He urges teachers to take a courageous step and remove the training wheels.