It’s been 3 years since the experience of receiving a B+ from a professor in one of my doctoral classes sparked a flame that got me thinking about the many problems with our current A-F grading practices. Back then I wrote about the old model of education and how it’s being upended by the new model of education where A’s are nice to have but certainly doesn’t equate to mastery. So finally after 3 years, I’m ready to write Part 3 of Why Your Kid’s Grades Won’t Matter. So why did it take 3 years? Well, life got busy with a new kid, more work, and a doctoral degree…but now that my son sleeps through the night (mostly), the doctoral degree is complete, and I reached the crisp “calm water” that was three-week summer break when I wrote this, I’m ready to revisit this interesting topic, so if you haven’t already, I encourage to read Why Your Kid’s Grades Won’t Matter: Part One, and Part Two. So here’s Part 3. Let’s start with a story. Mario, 22, is from the outskirts of Manila and is the youngest of his six siblings.  His parents finished only a few years of school themselves, but understood the value of education and tried their best to provide for all of their children to go to school.  Although Mario put forth a lot of effort in his studies and even graduated from high school, his university options were limited and expensive.  In need of cash, Mario’s older brother helped him secure a job as a doorman at a high-end hotel in Makati, the city center.  The pay was ok and Mario enjoyed the work, but more importantly, the job offered him something scarce…access to free wifi.  Like many teenagers, especially those from Manila, Mario used his smartphone to stay connected with his friends on Facebook, Instagram, texting, as well as a number of other apps. Since Manila’s traffic can be notoriously bad, Mario would often stay at work well after his shift waiting for traffic to subside, and in the meantime to use the free wifi.  It was during this time that Mario began to pursue his interests and passions online.  Eventually, Mario was able to save some of his money to purchase a cheap PC, which provided much more freedom and accessibility to the web.  As time progressed Mario became more interested not just in using his computer, but also understanding how it worked.  One evening, while pursuing this interest, Mario stumbled into Khan Academy, A US-based education website that has the lofty mission of a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.  With a little searching, Mario found the coding and computer programming section of the website and instantly began to absorb everything he could about the topic. Eventually, Mario began to experiment with web design, even offering out his services for free to friends, and getting a little better with every job.  Of course, it’s not surprising that after awhile Mario got good enough that he was able to start charging for his services.  With the extra money, Mario was able to buy better equipment and the software needed to create a great product for his customers.  In addition to gaining customers through word of mouth, Mario was also starting to get work through Owave.com, a website directory that connects programmers and designers from around the world (especially in the third world) with customers at a variety of prices. Mario eventually went on to leave his job at the hotel and to create a web design company that operates in the Philippines with customers all over the world.  He was able to...