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.