Esther Wojcicki — “Woj” to her many friends and admirers — is famous for three things:
Teaching a high school class that has changed the lives of thousands of students
Raising three daughters who have each become famously successful as, the CEO of YouTube, the Founder and CEO of 23andMe, and a top medical researcher
Inspiring Silicon Valley legends like Steve Jobs
What do these three accomplishments have in common? They’re the result of TRICK, Woj’s secret to raising successful people: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness. Simple lessons with radical results!
Woj’s methods are the opposite of helicopter parenting. As we face an epidemic of parental anxiety, Woj is here to say: relax. Talk to kids as if they are adults. Enable teenagers to pick projects that relate to their own passions and to the real world, and provide them with the independence to discover the steps to complete them. Above all, let your child lead, whilst remaining a guide on the side.
For more information on how to adopt TRICK in your classroom or with your own children, visit Tract, an online community where kids teach kids through multimedia. Esther co-founded Tract with her former student, which digitizes TRICK, helps kids develop 21st-century skills, and inspires kids to be creators of impact.