How To Motivate Today's Graduates

As we near the end of another school year for both K-12 and higher education, I thought I would use this opportunity to promote some of the things that I believe are simple to enhance, with no incremental cost. And what is that, you say? It's using our role models to speak to students and inspire them.

What better way to build the self-confidence of today's young people than to get successful people, perhaps even from their own neighborhoods, to interact with these impressionable minds and show them the way. Regardless of what you think about our current President's policies, you cannot deny that the man is a gifted speaker. How would you have liked to have been graduating from Arizona State University and heard your president give the keynote address? The text is available online.

I had a chance to listen to large portions of it, and it was a very captivating speech. Here is one passage that was just brilliant:

When I say "young", I'm not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an approach to life -- a quality of mind and quality of heart; a willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame; a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas; a lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige -- and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world. (Applause.)That's the spirit that led a band of patriots not much older than most of you to take on an empire, to start this experiment in democracy we call America. It's what drove young pioneers west, to Arizona and beyond; it's what drove young women to reach for the ballot; what inspired a 30 year-old escaped slave to run an underground railroad to freedom -- what inspired a young man named Cesar to go out and help farm workers; what inspired a 26 year-old preacher to lead a bus boycott for justice. It's what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of their lives up the stairs of those burning towers; and young people across this country to drop what they were doing and come to the aid of a flooded New Orleans. It's what led two guys in a garage -- named Hewlett and Packard -- to form a company that would change the way we live and work; what led scientists in laboratories, and novelists in coffee shops to labor in obscurity until they finally succeeded in changing the way we see the world.

That's the great American story: young people just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't fancy -- ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. A whole bunch of them didn't get honorary degrees. But they changed the course of history -- and so can you ASU, so can you Class of 2009. So can you.

He also went through a litany of famous people who also failed, had setbacks, and then went on to reap life's rewards.  As our president said more eloquently than I can ever say:  "building a body of work is a cumulative set of achievements." 

We need to inspire our young people again, give that student a chance where others have not.  Do an act of selflessness.  Touch the life of a child - there may be no greater rewards in this life or the one to come.

Georgia Education Bills Vetoed By Its Governor

In my own state, the battle to reinvent education is an uphill one.

According to an article in yesterday's Atlanta Business Chronicle, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue vetoed two education bills, citing one as "unfair" and one as "unaffordable."  One bill was a large incentive to continue encouraging more Georgians to contribute to nonprofit student scholarship organizations established by a bill enacted in 2008.  The second bill was a routine extension of a K-12 capital outlay program because he objected to a new provision that would have created a new career and technical education initiative in Georgia schools.

To be completely frank, I'm sick and tired of hearing our govornor, or any politician for that matter, say that spending on education is "unaffordable."  How about shifting funds from other coffers, perhaps?  I continue to say that there are very, very few initiatives more important than education.  That is not a democratic or republican point of view.  That is the point of view of a parent, and a concerned citizen. 

I'd like to think that a career and technical education initiative appears logical and timely, regardless of not knowing the implementation plans.  So I ask our esteemed governor to reconsider his veto and start articulating how he plans to improve Georgia's education system.  It's too close to the bottom.

But my guess is that he'll leave this mess for the next administration to clean up.

A Post To All, But Based On One Brave Reader's Comments

First of all, as a "newbie" in the world of blogs and web development, I can see that I have a long way to go to drive readership and encourage participation and discussion.  The contest was a first attempt at trying to push the dialogue around how to reinvent our education system.  It was also a mechanism for me to being to outline what I believe are the key elements needed in any process to reinvent our education system for current and future generations.

I would like to start out by thanking the individual who has commented on my previous posts.  If he would be so kind as to provide his email information to me via a comment or some other means, I am poised to offer him the complimentary signed copy of "Disrupting Class."  Whether or not I agree with any of the comments on my ideas, the objective is first and foremost to encourage discussion and foster debate around this most important topic.  In the words of former President John Fitzgerald Kennedy:  Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.  The human mind is our fundamental resource.

With that out of the way, let me take this opportunity to not debate the comments, but to offer a reaction to them:

1. First, let me get one trouble issue addressed up front.  I have to take issue with the "Monday Morning Quarterback" comment.  There is a big presumption made here.  While the respect I have for a teacher with 34 years of experience is far beyond words alone, I am the son of a retired 25-year veteran public school teacher.  I have seen firsthand what teachers deal with in the classroom and what they're up against.  I have also been in more schools and interacted with more teachers on both a K-12 and higher education level than the average alumnus of the public education system.  So my point here is that before people make a comment such as "Monday Morning Quarterback," they should at least be aware of the experience of the person they are throwing that at.  While I am in fact a long-time veteran of Corporate America, I have a great deal of "education" in my background and value system.  And let me reiterate again:  fundamental change does NOT happen inside the establishment.  Sustaining innovation, YES; disruptive or transformational innovation, a resounding NO.
2. It would be enormously helpful if commenters can react to specific elements of my ideas and not use the post as a forum to air out their own complaints or perspectives.  I'm a very open-minded executive, but much of what has been commented on feels more like an "airing" and less like a specific critique of my suggested roadmap.
3. To this 34 year veteran's defense, I don't think I ever put any of the blame for the current situation squarely on the teachers.  We are all in this together:  parents, administrators, politicians, etc.  There is no one cause of this problem:  it's systemic.  I completely agree with this individual that there are family structure issues and economic problems that have a tendency to exacerbate the problem.  Solving the poverty gap is beyond the scope of this analysis but clearly something the government must be mindful of.
4. Regarding the discounting of looking at best practices such as Finland:  we can all "agree to disagree" here.  Of course, when looking at best practices in other countries, one must be sure to identify where the "apples to oranges" comparison comes into play.  But the commenter raises something that I mentioned very explicitly in a previous post about Finland and is one fundamental concern I have about our own system:  we don't read enough to our kids!  Thank you for reiterating this in your comments.
5. There was  a point made about not looking to the business community.  Let me be perfectly clear.  The role of education is to prepare students for life's journey beyond, whether that is higher education, vocational school, whatever.  So again, if we're not preparing students for the jobs they will have available when they graduate, then what is the role of education?  And this doesn't just mean traditional jobs.  It also means the Arts - music, athletics, performing arts, etc.  I encourage all of you to read my earlier posts about the need to keep art and creativity in the curriculum.
6. Some of the comments make me believe that the prize is perfect here.  Because the book I'm offering is all about how we get to "student-centered learning."  A common theme through the comments was "individualized learning," "igniting a passion for learning in a young person."

In all, it appeared that there were some inconsistencies with the comments, but if you re-read my ideas, many of the themes echoed here were addressed in my plans.  Creative thinking, world culture, responsible citizenry, were all a part of the 21st century skills that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is trying to get evangelized as the common roadmap.  There is a difference between a nationalized structured and a nationalized set of standards.  I still believe unequivocally that we all must be able to all articulate the same themes when we ask, "what skills do students need to be acquiring in our schools?"

Finally, I can find no better way to end this post than to point everyone, including the commenter, to my 2-minute "vision" video I unveiled at TED 2009.  As the commenter points out, we must "walk beside them on this journey and love them enough to push, cajole, and encourage them."  I think the last scene in my video addresses that point quite well.

I look forward to a continuing civil exchange of ideas about the most important issue facing our country:  education.

CONTEST EXTENDED TO MAY 8TH

C'mon, everyone!  Put your two cents in for how we can reinvent our education system.  Read my four part post about one person's framework to create fundamental change in education.  The user who provides the most thought-provoking comments will we chosen to win an autographed copy of the popular book, Disrupting Class:  How Disruptive Innovation Will Change The Way The World Learns This is a MUST read and a truly engaging look at how to move the system to student-centered learning pedagogy.

I look forward to reading your comments.

An Encore Post On "Hump Day"

I thought it would be nice to supplement my earlier post with some truly inspiring musical performances for your afternoon siesta, or for anyone seeking a brief respite from the daily grind.

The first video is from one of the most incredible pianists I have ever seen, Eric Lewis. Tell me you're not mesmerized by the performance below:

The second one I have no words for. A brief word about Jose Antonio Abreu (courtesy of ted.com):

The gulf between the rich and the poor in Venezuela is one of the worst in the world. Jose Antonio Abreu, an economist, musician, and reformer, founded El Sistema ("the system") in 1975 to help Venezuelan kids take part in classical music. After 30 years (and 10 political administrations), ElSistema is a nationwide organization of 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centers -- and close to 250,000 young musicians.

El Sistema uses music education to help kids from impoverished circumstances achieve their full potential and learn values that favor their growth. The talented musicians have become a source of national pride. Several El Sistema students have gone on to major international careers, including Gustavo Dudamel, soon to be the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the bassist Edicson Ruiz, who at 17 became the youngest musician ever to join the Berlin Philharmonic.

There is a simple concept behind Abreu's work: for him an orchestra is first and foremost about together­ness, a place where children learn to listen to each other and to respect one another.

"Music has to be recognized as an ... agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values -- solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings."

José Antonio Abreu

This performance, by one of his former students now leading the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, is truly awe-inspiring.  Remember these performers in Caracas are HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!!  Enjoy.