I've read that the US public education system was designed to prepare kids to work in factories, hence the sit-down-shut-up-and-listen approach. I don't think people learn very well that way. I believe we need an individualized educational system, which technology might make possible, it should be more hands-on project based, and we need to seriously rethink what we're teaching. People learn best when they have a reason to learn something, because they're interested or they have an immediate need for the knowledge. I would start with each student's interests and help them find ways to expand on them.

I liked this idea: "Middle Schoolers Tackle the Issue of Homelessness" 
http://www.kezi.com/news/Middle_Schoolers_Tackle_the_Issue_of_Homelessness.html

Netflix has an interesting documentary on education, "Race to Nowhere". There is a companion book by the director, "Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation", available on Amazon.