Focus on Children's Strengths in Education

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.-Malcolm Forbes

I cannot recall at this moment where, but I recently heard someone say something that to me made so much common sense but I don't know if it has been researched. I believe it deserves further investigation or study and I would like to employ a derivative of this principle to my children when I have them. The discussion was mainly criticizing education for focusing on children's weaknesses. Stating that is it not funny that instead of cultivating the things people are good at (starting in grade school) we make them work on things that they are not good at. [I.E. If you made straight As in Math but struggled in spelling parents/teachers/educators tend to give you overtime in spelling but basically push aside the idea of cultivating your stong point Math].

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.- Will Durant

Since I cannot recall the venue where I heard this information I personally think that a combination of the two ideas would be an excellent educational approach. Elaborating further the example, I believe we should address and understand that a child may struggle in spelling but also engage in activities that would further cultivate their math skills. What do you think?

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. - B. F. Skinner