THAT WAS CANNON DESIGN ARCHITECT TRUNG LE, author of "The Third Teacher" and designer of North Shore Country Day's new Upper School, among many other innovative educational spaces around the world, introducing our "Young Innovators" last night to about 350 students and parents.

"We often think of the future as a destination," Trung said. "But we are really amazing at creating our own futures."

We were struck that our three panelists embraced Trung's delight in a messy and uncertain future, one that each of us can create in our own way. 

Even though the panelists -- Dale Stephens, Greg Nance and Samantha Smith -- have each chosen different paths, they share common strategies for doing their work and creating their beautiful futures.

Create and maintain connections: Dale talked about the importance of finding mentors and like-minded peers who encourage you to stretch and grow. Greg called a network of supporters -- whether they be business partners, mentors or people you meet for coffee -- "essential." Sam keeps up with 40 friends each week, friends who stimulate thought, ideas and support each other. "You are the sum of people you spend the most time with," she said.

Work hard and focus on goals large and small: Because Dale was unrestrained by a traditional school that emphasized tests and conformity, he created all kinds of projects and did research at earlier ages than most students. Greg likes to chronicle daily and monthly goals so he can see where's he's going and where he's been. He also emphasized the value of menial labor (especially in service to someone else) as an opportunity to think and philosophize while doing a good job at something.

Travel! Meet new people, have new experiences, gain new perspectives. "Get out of your bubble!" encouraged Greg. He and Sam both emphasized that there are many travel grants and opportunities for students willing to investigate options through local non-profits, houses of worship, and their schools. Greg currently lives in Shanghai, Dale in San Francisco (although has been traveling the world for four years) and Sam in NYC (but makes frequent trips to Budapest). All have been traveling the country and world for work and school for several years, even though they are all in their early 20s.

Yes, "Danielle," we do. That's "Danielle" from Chicago, commenting on a lengthy Sunday New York Times cover article called "In China, Families Bet It All on College For Their Children." Don't miss the rest of the buzz after the article, reminiscent (not unsurprisingly) of the Tiger Mom controversy.

As another poster, "K Trujillo" of Corrales, N.M.,  said: "I lived for many years in Cupertino where the same ethic is common but those kids are not only stressed and unhappy but also lack creativity and initiative. They are study machines who just want to know the right answer so they can provide it on a test out of fear of their parents and are not given the time or opportunity for exploration, questioning or curiosity."

How to avoid the teach-to-the-test curriculums (more on that in today's New York Times cover story), and fear and boredom that come along with it? 

Believe it or not, students will now be able to get an undergraduate degree for $10,000 (or less) in some Florida, Texas and Wisconsin state university programs. You might scoff at some of the offerings (a cyber-security program at Texas A&M-San Antonio, anyone?), but  apparently a challenge from Bill Gates was enough to get governors inspired to do something to challenge the 42 percent increase in college tuition since 2001, according to research by the Gates Foundation.

For a more creative way to a $10K B.A., check out today's NYT Op-Ed piece by Arthur Brooks, former Syracuse University president and now American Enterprise Institute president. He cobbled together a series of low-cost correspondence courses without ever stepping foot in a classroom. Clearly, his lack of an Ivy League degree hasn't hampered his career success.

(Keep in mind that Brooks was a mature [aka, over 30] student who didn't need to learn the independent living skills that come with a traditional residential college experience.)

We guess this makes Brooks a DIY education pioneer, something that we'll learn more about when our Young Innovators panel chats with us next month (check out these articles about Greg Nance's MoneyThink and Dale Stephen's UnCollege, both from "Forbes.")