More authentic student-centered learning

A school lets students create the curriculum with teachers there to guide:

The students in the Independent Project are remarkable but not because they are exceptionally motivated or unusually talented. They are remarkable because they demonstrate the kinds of learning and personal growth that are possible when teenagers feel ownership of their high school experience, when they learn things that matter to them and when they learn together. In such a setting, school capitalizes on rather than thwarts the intensity and engagement that teenagers usually reserve for sports, protest or friendship.

Some schools pride themselves on allowing students to take part in “transformative, student-centered” projects like service-learning, but this model places students as real guides of their own learning, promoting ownership that most people never encounter in school. Without real risks, can we expect real learning to take place?