"Brevity. Levity. Repetition." thoughts on Daniel Pink's talk

Last night, I attended a lecture given by Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, with Blades and Ambookgeek. It was hosted by Brentwood School which has a yearly lecture series in honor of John Hutson, a loved and respected History teacher of the school. The John Hutson Memorial Lecture Series is open to the public so if you hear about it next year and like the guest you can go.

I read and wrote about how A Whole New Mind completely blew my mind with Pink's ideas about how the world is changing focus from skills that are logical and routine and moving to more towards the artistic side of thinking (this is really simplistic so you should read the book). He reiterated that a bit in this lecture but focused mainly on what needs to be done in education. From the onset, he emphasized that he is not a trained educator but he does talk to those in the fields children are being trained to work in - medicine, law, arts, etc. For me, a lot of what he speaks about is valid. There is a shift and it seems that other places are getting it and the US education system needs to catch up. I am not sure if Arne Duncan will strive to make the public education system better but I hope something changes.

Working at the type of school I work at and being a product of the public school system, I have a real fear for my nieces and nephews. I fear for kids in low-income and middle-income public schools. I work at a public library as well and the gap between middle schools at the public library and the middle schoolers I work with is incredible and I am only commenting on research skills and some technology skills. I am not even sure about other skills in other subjects. Of course, all kinds of factors need to be considered, economics, parent involvement, teacher skills, etc...but it is very appalling witnessing how unprepared students are.

Pink emphasized how important having a well-rounded mind is for our kids and ourselves. There should be a focus on using both sides of our brains - the artsy, creative side as well as the logical side. I am not going do much justice here but if you do have an opportunity to hear him speak, I highly recommend going...but if you cannot see him, here is a link to his lecture from Americans from the Arts website.

Author Visit: Cambria Gordon - "The Down-To-Earth Guide to Global Warming"

On Monday, Cambria Gordon, co-author of "The Down-To-Earth Guide to Global-Warming," came to the school to give a talk about how individuals (the kids) can reduce their carbon footprint as well as promoting her book.

The assembly was engaging and Ms. Gordon is extremely passionate about this cause. The kids seemed interested in what she was saying thought there were a couple of jokers' making comments that she handled with humor and tact. At one point, she asked the students suggestions for how to help stop global-warming and one student commented, "Stop having kids." I would have probably just looked at him and moved on but she pointed out that, that was a good point and "the elephant in the room" kind of suggestion. She made great points like her belief that one person can make a difference, that we are human and not perfect so we can only do what we can, and that one change may lead to one more change and then another and then it just becomes habit.

The Down-To-Earth Guide to Global Warming, published by Scholastic, is by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon. It is full of information and color photographs and illustrations that depict what global warming is and how it is affecting the planet. It is geared towards middle and elementary schoolers. It is also filled with informational side bars that go into depth about things like the dome C ice core, ideas that kids can try out at home, maps and other facts about being "green." There is even a section on "sustainable careers!" The final pages are filled with list of other books to read, good websites that students interested in the topic can check out and suggestions of what kids can do to lower their carbon imprint on the planet. Definitely worth checking out or adding to the collection.

I posted one step (that she mentioned) that I think lot of people would want to take - Stopping Junk Mail. There is a site you can join called 41pounds.org. If you want something free check out this link that Ambookgeek sent me from Smart Money.

Ambookgeek has his own take on the discussion here.