ArcaMax

Investors are always told to "diversify" their portfolios. Don't put all your money in stocks -- what if the market plunges? But don't put all your money in bonds -- you'll miss the market rallies. And for God's sake, don't put all your money in one company.

Or, to put it an older way: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

But when it comes to our kids, many of today's parents have been told not to diversify at all. Just make them college material.

That has meant many a childhood focused on academic success and "resume-building." Of course, it's great to learn how to write a persuasive essay (I'm doing that right now!), and some world history. Nothing wrong with lacrosse or coding, either.

But the time and energy (and money!) being devoted to resume-building can be draining. Meanwhile, the abilities kids develop beyond the classroom or extracurricular activity could end up being the most valuable of all.

I see this in my volunteer capacity as an alumni interviewer for Yale. Over the years, I've interviewed more than 100 college hopefuls, and I can say that all schoolwork and grinding extracurriculars makes for some dull boys and girls.

The students I recommend are generally very excited about at least some facet of their formal education but also about something they have discovered on their own. Often something quirky.

One girl started a class on "Real World Skills" at her school after she found out her friend couldn't sew a button on a coat.

One boy started his own website business -- and if a request got too technical, he outsourced it to Russian programmers.

Another young man went to so many of his girlfriend's younger brother's baseball games, he eventually became the team's coach.

Admissions officers read thousands of essays from excellent students. Those gatekeepers are looking for something extra that screams curiosity, or doggedness, or the ability to see and seize an opportunity.

The business world is seeking the same. Human resources departments say "soft skills" are what today's labor force is lacking. In a Wall Street Journal survey of nearly 900 executives, 92% said "soft skills" were equally -- or more -- important than technical skills. The buzz is that many young employees lack the ability to collaborate, innovate and communicate in real life.

It's time for us parents to realize that building a fort in the woods can teach kids everything they'd learn in robotics camp -- and more. The kids still have to gather materials, come up with a plan, execute and test it. Often they work in teams. But unlike robotics campers, the fort-builders are driven by the fierce desire to make something in the world -- something adults may not ever see, comment on or compliment. This is the "self-driven" element that psychologists are coming to recognize as crucial to self-worth and success.

The skills kids learn when organizing their own fun are the exact skills colleges and businesses want: collaboration, innovation, communication. Even when they're just drawing, or practicing free throws, they're learning focus and perseverance. At Let Grow, the nonprofit I helm, we call these "non-robot skills" -- a skillset robots don't share.

It is becoming unusual to give kids much free, unstructured, unsupervised time. When no one is teaching kids something that has a name, like "chess," that time can appear wasted.

That's only because we haven't trained ourselves to see all the growth going on.

Let's allow kids to "diversify" beyond the skills they get in one formal setting or another. The future (and maybe even Yale) awaits.

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Lenore Skenazy is president of Let Grow, a contributing writer at Reason.com,and author of "Has the World Gone Skenazy?" To learn more about Lenore Skenazy (Lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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