Education

Today I'm thinking about education.  In part because my daughter-in-law is thinking about home schooling our grandsons.  Initially I had mixed feelings about this, but then I heard this story.....

In the 1930's there was an 8 year-old girl who was doing poorly in school.  She was under performing, figity, disruptive, lacked focus, in short, distracting the class.  The teacher told her mother that she had a learning problem (that was before 'learning disabilities' or 'ADHD') and they made arrangements to take her to a specialist. 

When the girl and her mother entered the office, she was seated on a chair and sat on her hands for 20 minutes while the doctor and mother talked.  After 20 minutes the doctor approached the girl and told her he needed to talk to her mother privately.  As they left the room the doctor turned on the radio.

Outside the room the doctor and mother watched her.  Immediately she was out of her chair and moving to the music.  The doctor turned to mother and said, "Your daughter does not have a learning problem, she is a dancer.  Take her to a dance school". 

This a a true story.  Look it up when you look up the biography of Gillian Lynne.  Gillian Lynne went on to become a principle dancer at the London Royal Ballet, and the choreographer responsible for such hits as Cats and Phantom of the Opera. 

The point of the story illustrates a 19 minute talk given at TED in 2006 by Sir Ken Robinson.  It is fascinating.  Among many excellent points that he made during this talk is that public education evolved around the world in the 19th century to respond to the needs of industrialism.  This system has mined the human mind much as strip mining does, seeking specific material for the needs of industrialism.  It does not take into account 3 things known about intelligence....

1. it's diverse
2. it's dynamic
3. it's distinct

Think about those 3 adjectives, then think about the education offered all of us, our children and now our grandchildren.  Were you one of those students whose natural talents were squandered and whose entire educational experience was a "protracted process for university entrance"?  Were you one of those students who was very good at something school did not value or may have actually stigmatized?

Our hope for the future is a growing awareness of 'human ecology' where the 'richness of human capacity is valued' and that 'we begin to rethink the fundamental principles on which we are educating our children.'  I don't see public education reaching this level of sophistication any time soon.  So if home schooling is a possible answer.  Go for it. 

Sir Richard Robinson said much, much more in his 19 minutes on the TED stage.  If you are curious, check it out.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

The Ocean

Just watched another TED video....this time Dave Gallo speaking on The Ocean.  Facts that I did not have front and center.....

• only 5% of the ocean has been explored
• average depth is 2 miles....that's 15 Empire State Building stacked on top of each other
• the largest mountain range on the planet is under the ocean....Mid Ocean Ridge, 50,000 miles long
• most of the world's active volcanoes are under the ocean
• there is more life forms at the deepest points than in a tropical rain forest

I love the ocean...grew up near it, in Florida, on the west coast.  When I was old enough to drive some of the best times were after dark in the water with a bunch of friends....we'd go to the beach and if we were lucky as we splashed around we'd see effervescent phosphorous bubbles ...you don't see them anymore, they are gone the way of the Carrier Pigeons and other extinct species.

My other loving experience with the ocean is when I lived on Guam.  That island was 5 miles wide at it's widest and 20 miles long so the ocean was ever present.  My time there was 10 months too short, but I made the most of it.  Swimming, sailing, on the water as much as possible.

I didn't learn to snorkel until our first trip to Grand Cayman.  Oh my, did that open a new perspective for me.  The Cayman Islands have some of the best diving in the world, and Pete and I got a little taste of it the many times we visited.  My favorite are the huge schools of tiny bait fish that swarm around you.  No matter how hard you try to touch one, they respond in unison and are always just beyond reach.

So, this year I get the opportunity to learn a lot more about the Ocean. October 2-3 I'll be attending the Nobel Conference 48 at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.  The topic will be 'Our Global Ocean' ....can't wait.  Some of the worlds foremost experts will be speaking. Two days of learning from the best...this is called bliss.

Introversion

Stumbled upon a TED video today by the author Susan Cain.  Never heard of her before but she was speaking at a TED Conference on the topic of Introversion.  I watched the 19 minute segment.  It was very good.  She talked about her own life experiences at being an Introvert and then parlayed that discourse into a review of the 20th century changes that have impacted the work place and our schools.

While working in corporate America I became certified as a Myers-Briggs facilitator. One of the 'Types' of MB is Introversion vs Extroversion.  While learning the instruments I did some reading on the topic and learned that more than 60% of Americans are Extroverts.  They dominate most social discourse.  The Introverts on the other hand step back and bide their time.  If they are anything like Susan Cain, their time does come...but for many it can be hard fought. 

Susan Cain values the changes in open office plans and classroom pods, but she made the very valid point that such environments are not in the best interests of the Introverts of the world.  Those environments aren't in the best interests of most of us.  Having lived in both worlds....I hated the open office floor plan.  No walls.  No privacy.  You always had someone in your face.  Just to find a place where you could Think required leaving the office and if nothing else, just sitting in your car.  It was weird....it seemed like the work place didn't want us to think...or the only one's whose thoughts were valued were those with offices that had walls and doors. Thankfully I am no longer confined to those spaces. 

Another thing I had to learn regarding Introverts is that they are different from us Extroverts.  Like really different.  I had to learn those lessons the hard way.  One of the hardest involved someone in my family whom I love very much.  It took me forever to learn that with almost every breath I was tromping on toes and psyches and feelings.  When I finally took off the narcissistic mirror that was clouding my vision I found this person who just needed more space and privacy...and if I allowed that, oh what a beauty I found. 

Now, thanks to that lesson, I can step back, back-off and and allow space.  I am usually able to recognize Introverts ... not always, but usually....and my world is a better place for that recognition.  They don't always recoil from my energy because I strive to control it and I've gotten much better at that...not perfect, but better.




http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html