Let's Discuss "live first, work second" @ DSC

If you participated in the book blog this summer to discuss Rebecca Ryan's "live first, work second," I would like to invite you to join our live book conversation during the next three consecutive Mondays--Oct 19, 26 and Nov. 2. The sessions will include lunch and will be held at Dalton State College. To register, visit the continuing education dept.'s enrollment website.

Post 7, The Element:
In chapters relating to personal, social, cultural and time barriers to achieving "the element," the author suggests that some of these factors are no longer as limiting due to large-scale culture shifts. For example, global connectivity means less isolation from ideas and people so the culture into which you are born may no longer be the only one to which you are exposed. In addition, he suggests that culture shifts, medical advances and opportunities related to aging makes fewer dreams "impossible" later in life. What do you think?

Post 6, The Element:
"Finding your tribe" can be an important part of pursuing your element --finding people with a similar passion, whether collaborators or competititors. Sir Ken adds that great creative teams are diverse-- have people with different but complementary skills , dynamic-- all are equals and play to strengths, and distinct--come together to do something specific not just represent interests/depts, etc. Have you had the experience of finding your tribe OR finding out you were in the wrong one? Have you ever been part of a true creative team? Does the structure of school have any impact on this for students? for staff?

Post 5, The Element:
Creativity is a step beyond imagination - requires doing something rather than thinking about it. Sir Ken says it is a "practical process of trying to make something original." With this in mind, do you have opportunities to be creative in your work?

Post 4, The Element: Part of Sir Ken's premise for pursuing "the element" is the impact of technology and demography on the future. Technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that even today's tech-savvy teens will be "old school" before you know it. He notes current trends suggest China, Russia, India and Brazil will continue to play important roles in world economy. With global mobility, population growth, technology-driven changes, etc, his conclusion is: "The only way to prepare for the future is to make the most of ourselves...make us more flexible and productive." Agree? If so, what should children be learning in today's classrooms?

Post 3, The Element:
Any thoughts about Sir Ken's discussion of intelligence beginning on page 35--"How intelligent are you?" vs "How are you intelligent?" This notion of a person's fixed amount of intelligence has certainly influenced public education in earlier generations. He brings up standardized testing in this section, including the SAT which was developed for the military and later disowned by its creator. Sir Ken says, "The SAT is in many ways the indicator for what is wrong with standardized tests: it only measures a certain kind of intelligence..." One of his arguments is that the SAT is not a good predictor of college potential for ALL students and that is certainly one of the arguments used today by the nearly 50 U.S. colleges and universities that no longer consider SAT scores for admissions. So what do you think--do individuals have a fixed amount of a single type of intelligence, or multiple intelligences such as those described by Howard Gardner on page 43, or intelligence as unique as a fingerprint? In your opinion, which of these concepts is most prevalent in US schools today?

Post 2, The Element
As you consider Robinson's exploration of the conditions that may encourage/discourage us as we strive for the element, is there a particular story that comes to mind for you in your own quest? or an observation you may have made of a child or student on such a journey?

For me, it is our oldest son's high school experience. I set the conditions that discouraged and then later encouraged him in his element. At first, he was struggling with English and would not do the work but would spend hours in band, choir, physics, and working with electronic equipment. My response was tremendous pressure, withdrawal of privileges---all the standard parent actions. We were both miserable!!! Then, I read Don Clifton's "Soar with your Strengths" and changed the conditions. I supported him in his passion and talent and basically ignored English. He became interested in a college that had a music engineering (MUE) program for sound engineers that had no English course requirements. Four years later he graduated with general honors from the University of Miami with a BFA in music and a minor in electrical engineering. He is now the technical director for a large church and is experiencing daily the intersection of his passion and talent.

Post 1, The Element
Sir Ken defines the element as the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. This is, I suspect, a rather overwhelming idea if you do not find yourself in this place in your life. As one person exclaimed to me as they began this book, 'Okay, the idea is great. Now, just tell me how to get there!" Of course, there are no GPS coordinates to point the way; however, we will each know when we have arrived at the destination. I rather like the concept of life as a creative journey, with twists and turns and evolving talent. I can't help but think of my son, Matt, who is very much in his "element" in the theatre. He would be the first to tell you that the journey has not been easy but his passion has never waned. Of course, passion alone is not enough and Matt has talent as well. At this time in his career, there are external accolades for his talent; yet, I know he continues on this journey because he finds his current career intrinsically rewarding.

Do you find yourself in "the element?" Or have you observed this with a family member, friend or student? How would you describe this intersection of passion and talent?

Wrap-up post, "Live 1st Work 2nd"
Thanks to all who attended our wrap-up conversation at the Perfect Cup this morning. It was great to have a face-to-face conversation with those who have been reading the live first, work second book. An interesting conversation developed around the idea that we must do more to engage the millennials in our community and in our classrooms. We discussed that one emerging opportunity for this was the community's upcoming visioning processs. I look forward to all we may do together to bring this idea to life in our community in the months ahead. If you are successful at this in your workplace or in your realm of influence, come back and post it on this blog so we may celebrate your success and share your story in other venues in our community.

(By the way, one of my learnings from this morning is that Dalton State College now has an employee dedicated to creating civic engaement and service learning opportunities for students. What a great idea! )

There will be other opportunities to discuss this book in our community. For example, Dalton State College's Continuing Education Dept. is including it in a luncheon lecture series in the fall, October 19 and 26.
Stay tuned for more information...

If you desire to read more on related topics, I suggest:

The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, www.creativeclass.com
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe, www.fourthturning.com
Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott, www.grownupdigital.com
Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative by Ken Robinson, www.sirkenrobinson.com

Now on to our next study of Ken Robinson's "The Element: How finding Your Passion Changes Everything"...

Looking forward to our face-to-face conversation at the Perfect Cup on July 20 --10 to 11am.
Our new online book study starts that same day...The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson.
If want to receive the daily reminders doing the study, create an account at www.twitter.com and follow us at www.twitter.com/dpsschools.

Take a look at Ryan's "Straight A" approach to the workplace on pages 90-92 --affection, allowance, appreciation, acceptance, and attention. Which of these could we use more of in our schools (workplaces, classrooms or both)?
Suggestions to improve?

Thanks to all of you who have made this blog an enjoyable and enlightening experience. I hope it has been thought-provoking and fun for you as well. I am certainly more comfortable as a blogger now than when we started two weeks ago!

INVITATION: If you are available on Monday, July 20, from 10am-11am, let's get together at the Perfect Cup on West Crawford. Jee, the owner, promises the muffins will be fresh and the coffee hot! This invitation is extended to all who participated in this book study--even if you just looked and didn't post. We can talk some more about this book and kickstart the discussion for the next one -- The Element by Ken Robinson, July 20-31. I hope to see you on July 20!

Monday:

As is the case with any employer who must recruit and retain great talent, we have to think about what millennials want in the workplace. Ryan's comments about life/work balance (not work/life balance) and creativity jumped off the page for me. Would the people who work in school districts say this is obvious in their workplaces? Is this more complicated in schools due to external regulations?

Not Friday

Let's look at "Ways to be Cool"on pg 95...(I hate to bring this topic up as Ryan might possibly descibe me as "pale, male and stale.")
Ryan suggests open-mindedness as the key to becoming "cool" individuals. I have tried to embrace a few of her suggested strategies:

#2--stretching--trust me--beyond comfort zone, obvious, as this blog illustrates
#3--give a YP a "seat at the table," am going to gather suggestions when I meet with the local YPA in July
#7--consider "cool community" metrics for economic development, maybe an opportunity in our upcoming community visioning process

How about you? Any commitments to cool?

As was mentioned in yesterday's responses, small communities like Dalton can be "cool communities" for millennials. To be cool, Ryan suggests young people "need a seat at the table." This is something author Richard Florida calls "low barriers to entry" in communities. As you think about the students who just graduated from high school or college last month, do they have opportunities to be heard in our community? (How about student voice in our schools?)

In addition, I found the "granny effect" interesting. In my case, we (the grandparents) moved to Dalton to be closer to our children and grandchildren. Know of anyone who moved here recently so their children could be closer to grandma?

Let’s move on to the “cool communities’ handprint,” pgs 59-66. Your choice of topic: Share your scores for the Dalton Community and your biggest “aha” about this OR Which of these seven is Dalton’s greatest strength, weakness, and best opportunity? (The indexes are: vitality, earning, learning, social capital, cost of lifestyle, after hours and around town.)

On page 58, as we work through the truths about cool communities, I noticed that Ryan talks about communities that work together are the ones that win. She says in a knowledge economy, communities have to think regionally. Anyone following the NGRDC current event in the local news? Have an opinion? Do we (school district) think regionally, or at least community-wide? Examples?

I know some new followers have just joined us and I encourage you to read through and continue to post on previous days. (Ric, I finally posted my response to your spiral vs loop thoughts on June 17. Had to go back and pull out my Fourth Turning book.) As a result of this book study, I have been asked to facilitate a conversation on the book with our local YPA and another later in the fall at Dalton State. I plan to bring some of my learning from you to the table during those conversations. (Will not attribute to you individually but will discuss more as themes and stories.)

Also, to build on something Nancy said in previous days, I believe all of this helps us get deeper and clearer about our customers and core business whether the context is community, business, or education.

So keep reading and/or posting…

Today, let’s talk about retaining young talent in our community. So many of our students graduate from high school/college and begin their careers elsewhere. Ryan says we are three times more likely to keep our young talent if they feel their voices are heard and valued (pg 55). What are the avenues for this in our community? (Trevor, you mentioned you live in Chattanooga so I would be interested in your opinion related to the Chattanooga community, too.) As the community’s visioning process unfolds, how can we be sure to include these voices in our process?

Is this a trait that we nurture and encourage in our students? Could we do something in school that could make our students voices more valued as they learn so they begin to feel that they can be “heard” in our workplaces and community, too?

(Nancy, it is never too late to join the discussion. That’s the advantage of technology…all can wander in and out of discussion as time/schedule permits. Glad you joined us!)

For today's discussion, I would like to go back to something Trevor said on Day 1 and start working our way through the cool-communities criteria Ryan developed. She makes several points in her "cities are for people" discussion and Trevor mentioned one related to downtown Dalton and it's potential to be a great stroll district. One of the components of stroll districts are the third spaces "where people of all demographic and economic backgrounds rub shoulders" and share conversation, ideas, etc. Do we have a great third space in Dalton? Do you have one in your workplace? Have we created them in our school community for students?

(Ric, I am still pondering your spiral vs loop idea. I'll get back to you.)

As we transition to a knowledge economy driven by the "creative class"--described by Richard Florida as people who "engage in complex problem-solving...independent judgement...high levels of education...value creativity, individuality, differences and merit"-- what must our community AND our schools do differently to develop, support and retain these workers "whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology, and/or new creative content?"
(pgs 28-41; trend overview pg 42)

Did anyone take the knowledge economy quiz on page 30? How did your workplace compare?

In one of your comments yesterday, the impact of previous generations on the current and future generations was mentioned. On pages 24-25, Ryan mentions something related to this from The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe. They suggest that all cultures go though a four-era loop that includes periods of "high, awakening, unraveling, and crisis." Some are saying that the current demise of our financial institutions is the "crisis" that will most impact the millennials (born 1982-2001). Do you agree? Has this changed how you see the world? Should we consider this as we design lessons for our students? Do you have any first-hand knowledge of its impact on this generation?

Good morning! Here are a couple of questions to get our conversation started today...

Considering the different “needs” assigned to the four generations on pages 15-17, --safety needs of the silent generation (born 1925-1942), belonging needs of the baby boomers (1943-1961), esteem needs of the Gen X’ers (1961-1981), self-actualization needs of the millennials (1982-2001) – how do we build community (in workplace and/or in the larger community) that both meets these different needs and harnesses the strengths of each? Can you think of a recent example at work or home where differing generational views were obvious to you?

By the way, thank you for taking the time to converse with me during my first day as a “blogger.” As I’ve mentioned to all, this is stretching my comfort zone. I am, however, enjoying reading your thoughts and stories—learning from them, too. Keep them coming and invite others to join! All welcome

Welcome to the first day of our study of Rebecca Ryan's "live first, work second." For now, we will start at the beginning... (If you still need a copy of the book, you can download an ebook/mp3 file from Ryan's website www.nextgenerationconsulting.com/store .)

Ryan opens her book with a research finding she published first in 2001: “Three out of four Americans under the age of 28 said a cool city is more important than a good job.” First, do you agree with her that the “work/life calculus for the next generation has shifted?" Second, I am interested to know if this is true for you -- If work were not a factor in the decision, where would you live? and why?

Summer Reading List

You are invited to participate in Hawkins’ Book Blog.

Two books; two weeks each

Live First, Work Second
By Rebecca Ryan
June 15-30

The Element
How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
By Ken Robinson
July 20-31

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