Worth a Listen, Look or Read #20 — Uncovering the Power of Plural
Jeff Ikler here for Kirsten Richert with our weekly “Getting Unstuck” mini feature: Here in about five minutes, we extend the idea of this week’s podcast with some related content that we feel is definitely “Worth a Listen, Look or Read.”
“Passions...Interests...Potentials...Pathways...Possibilities...Opportunities”
The idea
This week I talked with Erin Mote, one of the co-founders of the Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School in Brooklyn, New York. https://bit.ly/2YrvbMR Part of the school’s mission, as Erin explained it is
“…to help our scholars discover their passions and unlock their potential through personalized instruction. It's about empowering them with the skills to be self-advocates, to be drivers of their own learning to really understand where they stand as learners.”
What possibilities await your scholars? Watch this inspiring video, which aired as a FEDEx commercial in 2018. What possibilities might your students find when they open up the box of knowledge? What might they find out about themselves?
I love the idea of passions. Plural. Brooklyn Lab is not just about having kids ingest content and skills. It’s about helping its scholars discover what interests them and explore their place in a world of possibilities. Plural.
Taking the idea deeper
This idea of having students explore to find what they might be passionate about reminded me of the captivating book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Epstein rails against the conventional “wisdom” that specialists are more successful than generalists. It has generally been assumed that the younger one starts specializing, the better. We are asked from an early age “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As we enter college, we must declare a “major.” It’s as if there is one magical pathway that we must discover. It’s as if our entire identity can be defined by one thing. Many students, their parents – and their parent’s bank accounts – soon discover that the pathway they thought they should follow is a dead end.
So start over they must. But what if they we’re given the opportunity to explore a smorgasbord of options to begin with?
[If Shakespeare were writing this piece he would now interject a long soliloquy about the benefits of a gap year, or ask “Why do students have to wait until late in their college years to take a ‘semester abroad’”? What might the equivalent of that experience be for a high school student?]
Epstein recommends that kids have a “sampling period” where they can discover organically what they like doing and what they most want to succeed in. And if they take a pathway that dead ends, well, backing away from that experience to explore something new is totally acceptable. Why labor at something that isn’t energizing? How refreshing!
[If Shakespeare were writing this piece he would now interject a long soliloquy that questions the sanctity of the high school Carnegie Units. Entire years of biology, chemistry and physics? An entire year of Algebra? Of English literature? And why are the arts the first thing to be cut when budgets get tight? Why not a cafeteria of short courses?]
For as many Tiger Woods as there might be, there are also many Paul McCartneys. When we think of Paul McCartney, we think of him as the exceptional bass player of the Beatles. But most people don’t know that McCartney was first a six-string guitarist like John and George, and a pianist before that. He picked up the bass because at one time the group was without a bass player and neither John nor George wanted to play the instrument. He also plays the drums on two of the songs on the White Album because Ringo had walked out of the recording studio. So much for specialization.
Ina Garten was a nuclear energy policy analyst in the White House before she resigned, purchased the Barefoot Contessa food emporium on Long Island, and grew to be recognized as a world-class chef. So much for specialization.
Scott Hatteberg was a catcher before an injury temporarily sidelined his baseball career. Billy Beane, the legendary general manager of the Oakland A’s liked him for his hitting ability, though, not his game-calling ability behind the plate. In the attached scene from the movie Moneyball – the actually conversation took place over the phone – Beane offers him a contract as a first baseman, a position that would rely less on his injured arm. Hatteberg initially hesitates with “I’ve only ever played a catcher.” Beane replies “You’re not a catcher anymore.” So much for specialization.
[If Shakespeare were writing this piece he might offer the following as an interesting aside: Scott Hatteberg hit 106 home runs during his 14-year MLB career, but undoubtedly his most famous came on Sept. 4, 2002, when he powered the A's into history. Hatteberg's walk-off blast that night against the Kansas City Royals gave the A's their 20th straight win, then an AL record.”]
Put the idea to work
1. Watch the Following TEDx talk, which nicely parallels Range. How much of your life to this point has been about, as Marianne Cantwell notes, “fitting into a box” – one that you or someone else designed? How “liminal” are you? [Liminal? Sorry, ya gotta watch the video.] Have you ever found yourself wondering “Is that all there is?”
2. Cantwell makes the point toward the end of her talk that the best leaders, the creators, the innovators are often people who refuse to be put into a box. They are the ones who bring about enormous change and solve enormous problems. She never uses the words “adaptability” and “flexibility,” but they are clearly hallmarks of the liminal mind. They are also two of the competencies of high-performing educational leaders. If you asked five trusted friends and colleagues to rate your “adaptability” and “flexibility,” what would they say?
3. If you’re an educator, how many opportunities does your school system give its students to explore their interests and passions? Plural.