An Evening with Sir Ken Robinson

I am fortunate enough this week to be attending my 3rd straight Strengths in Education Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.  The conference is focused on maximizing student engagement and success by helping students focus on their core talents through the use of the StrengthsFinder assessment tool.  Gallup developed the StrengthsQuest program to focus on the use of this tool with students and the University of Minnesota (where I work) is one of the largest users of the Strengths tool in the country.

Sir Ken Robinson kicked off the conference last evening with a wonderful speech focused on education, creativity, and passion.  I was first introduced to Sir Ken in the form of the outstanding Ted Talk below:



Here are a couple of takeaways from his speech last night that might be interesting to others:

• The human experience is designed to be creative, diverse, and organic.
• Our creative lives exist as part of a conversation between our disposition and circumstances.
• The United States has a 30% stopout/dropout rate and 1/31 adults is currently in prison (highest rate in the world).  A majority of those in prison left schooling early.
• Investing more money in our broken education system is a bad idea.
• The money that could be spent on a successful education system is cheaper and a better investment than the current spending on individuals in the criminal justice system.
• Successful education is focused on identifying aptitudes (Strengths), tapping into passions, having the right attitude, and taking advantage of opportunities. 
• Education in an organic and personal experience.
• "We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up." - Phyllis Diller. We need to encourage and feed our children's curiosity and creativity, not stifle it.

The most powerful story he told was about Death Valley in the spring of 2005.  That area of the country typically only receives about 2 inches of rain per year.  As a result, nothing is able to grow and be sustained there.  In the year prior to the spring of 2005, this area received a very rare 6 inches of rain and for the first time in 50 years flowers bloomed.  The flowers stayed in bloom until July and the seeds they dropped will lie dormant until the next wet winter in that area.

For many students, their passions and talents are lying dormant like the desert seeds just waiting for the educational nourishment needed to bring them to life.  Unlike desert flowers, once a student's passions and talents come to life they have the ability to sustained for a lifetime.

The reason I am in higher education is to help as many students as possible discover their passions and talents, productively apply both to their lives, find the meaning and pleasure needed to be happy, and to develop and learn as much as possible in order to positively contribute to society.  I want to be a drop of rain that develops others to become drops of rain and collaborate with as many people as possible to be the flood needed for each student to thrive.

Could You Be the Next Joe Paterno?

On Thursday, July 12, 2012 the "Freeh Report" was released detailing the disregard and cover-up by high ranking Penn State officials, including the legendary coach Joe Paterno, of the sexual violence committed against children by convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky.  Following the release of the report there was a title wave of self righteous indignation on the radio, television, Facebook, Twitter, and across the internet.  The four horseman of Penn State (Spanier, Paterno, Curley, and Schultz) are now monsters on a scale just a step below Jerry Sandusky himself.  Rick Reilly of ESPN was especially critical of Joe Paterno:

I tweeted that, yes, Paterno should be fired, but that he was, overall, "a good and decent man." I was wrong. Good and decent men don't do what Paterno did. Good and decent men protect kids, not rapists.

I think it is easy to look on from the outside and stand in harsh judgement of these men and I have no intention of defending their indefensible actions. I do think some of the scorn being cast down on these men is based on the notion that it is incomprehensible that a "good person" could do what they did and fail to protect those children.  I guess that is where I differ from most people.  What these men did was awful and they should be held accountable for it, but I can see some reasons why it might have happened and how other "good people" could find themselves in similar situations.

What would you be willing to cover-up or hide if you felt your way of life was at risk?  I would like to believe no one I know would cover up sexual violence against children, but I am not entirely sure that is true.  If you felt that your name, career, home, and ability to meet the needs of your family including your children was at risk, how much would you be willing to ignore or cover up in the name of self preservation.  Self preservation is not always a conscious decision, it is something we often seem to do as if on autopilot.  I am not saying it is okay to do so, but I can understand the instinct.  Even if some level of self preservation was part of the puzzle in this circumstance, it is still inexcusable, but it has caused me to reflect on where is my line?  What would I be willing to knowingly or unknowingly look the other way on if the risk to me and my family was too great?  If I look the other way on something important to my values or that hurts other people, can I still be considered a "good person?"

I hear a great deal of shock at the idea that these men, and especially Joe Paterno, did nothing.  Why is that so shocking?  Do you interrupt every sexist comment you hear in the workplace?  Do you address every racist comment made at family gatherings?  Do you challenge every homophobic comment that you overhear while in public?  Maybe you do, I wish I would.  It is my assumption that most, if not all, institutions have built in advantages that benefit and protect able-bodied straight white males at the expense of women, people of color, LGBT people, and individuals with disabilities.  Does this go unchallenged by you some or most days?  The point here is that most "good people" I know are only able to have the courage and gumption to fight for what they believe in some of the time.  While failing to challenge a bigoted or ignorant comment is not on the same level as disregarding a child molester, it is part of a slippery slope of inaction that could lead us to supporting damaging and unjust environments with our silence.

If reading the book Thinking, Fast and Slow has taught me anything it is that the mind can believe anything it wants to, regardless of the evidence.  Our default position is to believe what will make the most sense to fit what we already believe.  The author introduced the concept, "what you see is all there is" to describe how we simplify the world to fit what we already know.  It would not surprise me if these men were in denial of what they were doing and the possible consequences of their actions.  Our ability to lie to ourselves is very strong and making information fit what we already think is what our minds are wired to do.  The most common lie we tell ourselves is that the ends justify the means or that our actions fit a greater good.  Did these men feel all the good done by them and Penn State football was more important and outweighed the safety of those children or concerns about Jerry Sandusky?  If almost the entire Republican Party leadership can dismiss the evidence of climate change even though the scientific community is fairly settled on it, then I believe it is possible that these four men knew what was happening and lied to themselves and the rest of us about it.  It makes me wonder what lies do I tell myself that might be damaging to me and others?  How can I prevent falling into those traps?

The point of what I have said here is not to give these four men a pass.  No matter the intent behind our action or inaction, I still believe that we are always accountable for the impacts we have on people and the world.  In this case, the action and inaction of these men clearly lead to further sexual violence being committed against children and that is a burden that they and their legacies will and should carry with them forever.  I would just suggest that before we get on a high horse about how awful these men are, that we spend some time looking within ourselves.  By putting all the focus on these "monsters," we take no responsibility for the possible roots of their actions that might exist within each of us.  When might we compromise our values or allow others to be hurt to protect ourselves, our family, and our way of life?  When are we silent in the face of individual acts of discrimination and institutional oppression?  When do we choose to falsely believe something that fits with what we already believe?  The answers to these questions are important as we seek to have our actions match our values and because we are just as responsible for the impacts of our action and inaction as these men, regardless of our intent.

Edmund Burke said:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Other than being male centric, I could not agree more.  Unfortunately, I think good people (including me) do nothing, or less than we should, far more often than we care to admit and I think the situation at Penn State should be a catalyst for individual and cultural examinations of why that is and how we can change it.

The Beauty of Courage

There is nothing in this world that inspires me more than courage.  The courage to go after what you want, the courage to stand up for yourself, the courage to fight for what you believe in, and the courage to walk away when it is the right thing for to do.  I have been thinking about how I define courage.  A Google search produced two very simple definitions that seem fitting:

1. The ability to do something that frightens one.
2. Strength in the face of pain or grief.

In one case courage is defined by taking action in the face of fear and in the other it is defined by dealing with the difficulties that life throws our way.  When I think of defining courage, I am also reminded of the famous phrase by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, "I know it when I see it."

I am not sure if I see courage more than most people, but it sometimes feels that way.  I often find myself admiring from afar the courage others display.  So many people have faced such difficult challenges and find the strength to get up and go to work, invest in the people in their lives, and continue to make a difference in the face of internal pain, pressure, and stress.  I see these people getting up every day and moving forward in life and it inspires me.  There is another group of people who, in the face of fear, I see going after their passions and living as close to their values as possible.  These folks are vulnerable to highs and lows of life, allowing themselves to authentically feel the joy and pain life has to offer.

When I watch movies, nothing brings on a rush of emotion like amazing displays of courage.  When I am facing challenges in my own life I try to think about those who have inspired me in the face of their challenges and I let the strength they displayed give me the courage I need to try and move forward.  In many cases the strength they showed was allowing themselves enough vulnerability to acknowledge their pain, feel their weakness, and ask for the help and support they needed from others.

I am also a romantic and dreamer.  The luck of where and to whom we are born and the randomness of opportunity plays a much more significant role in our lives than we want to admit, but everyone faces moments where they can and should follow their passions and take risks in the face of fear.  Sometimes I think I talk a better game than I play when it comes to going after what I want in life, but I try to draw on the courage of those who have taken risks with not certainty of reward.  The willingness to step out on a limb and go after the meaning and pleasure that will bring them true happiness and purpose in life.

I have had to learn to let go of the shame I feel for the moments in my life where I lacked courage.  There have been plenty of times where I crumbled under the pressure of struggle and lets my passions pass me by without a second glance.  Instead, I try to focus on and learn from my best moments and let the courage of others help inspire my path forward.  I am sure I will fall short again in the future to match the courage of my ideals, but I do not want to give up on myself or the range of possibilities that life has to offer.

The Endless Echoes of Michael Baynes

The world can have a strange way of bringing people into your life and sometimes has a cruel way of taking them away.  Only in death have I truly come to appreciate and understand the ripple effect Michael Baynes had throughout the second half of my life and how those ripples will travel on in me and the lives I touch going forward.

I was first introduced to Michael Baynes or MB before I ever knew his name or had a sense of what he looked like.  As an undergraduate student at Hamline University I had the opportunity to work two years as a Resident Assistant (RA).  My Hall Director my second year, who was also one of my first true mentors, would often talk about what an important role his first Hall Director had on his life.  I have no memory if MB was ever mentioned by name, but I have a vivid sense of just how much my supervisor admired and had been impacted by him.  In a similar vein, I would not be where I am at today, if not for my mentor.  He is one of the main reasons I entered the field of student affairs in higher education and I believe he was only in a position to be my supervisor and mentor because of the role Mike Baynes had in his life.

At the end of my senior year of college I was filled with incredible drive and passion for social justice, but I lacked the knowledge and experience needed to work toward effective change.  Some people who believed in me at Hamline suggested I talk to someone at the University of Minnesota that they thought could help me turn my passion into action and outcomes.  With that, I showed up in the early summer of 1997 at a building I would go on to work in these last nine years, Comstock Hall, to sit down for a hour of coaching and teaching by Mike.  While the details of that conversation escape me, I remember my sense of just how much he knew about social justice and I was grateful for how willing he was to help out an overly ambitious and under qualified student trying to translate his passion into change.  I have long credited that conversation as being one of a couple key interventions that put me and the efforts of so many that spring and summer on a pathway to make a difference at Hamline University.  The result of that journey was the creation of the Commitment to Community program and it still lives on after all these years.

In the summer of 2003 I would go on to work professionally at the University of Minnesota and my office is housed in the same building I met with Mike in during the summer of 1997.  At that point our paths had crossed a few more times over the years at conferences and through mutual friends.  I even learned that my new supervisor was a long time friend of MB.  Mike came back into my life in a more substantial way a few years later when my wife took a job working with him at of St. Catherine University (St. Kates).  The two of them hit if off, which is no surprise, as they were both ahead of the curve around caring for people and social justice on a campus that sometimes struggles to understand and capitalize on the incredible diversity and talent within its community.  A lesson I learned years ago is how struggle can bind people together in powerful ways and I believe Mike and my wife became linked together by helping so many students manage and overcome their struggles on a campus that can sometimes be challenging and in a world that could be unforgiving.

I ran into Mike a number of times over the last six years, but the most memorable time was when I was invited as a guest of my wife over to his new condo a few years ago.  At this small gathering were people who loved Mike dearly including my mentor who just happened to be in town from Vermont.  I remember thinking that day how lucky and strange it is that my world had overlapped so frequently with Mike over the years.

On Friday I took the afternoon off, as I sometimes do, to see a movie.  When I came out of the movie I had a text message from my wife asking me to call her ASAP.  It turned out that she had last received a communication from Mike at 11:26 AM that morning in the form of an email congratulating her on her new position at the University of Minnesota.  He was found dead only a few hours later and she had just found out.  It is both tragic and fitting that Michael Baynes will now be center stage in the final chapter of her life at St. Kate's and deep in her heart during her transition back to a campus Mike once called home.  I then had to call my mentor and friend to tell him that one of his mentors and friends had died.

I do not think Michael Baynes and I would have called the other person a friend, but we were very friendly with each other and closely linked by people we both loved and cared about deeply.  We are connected not only by having great taste in exceptional people, but I am not sure my life would have ended up where it is without the ripple effects of Michael Baynes playing such a significant role.  My first true mentor, my chosen profession, and my path around social justice all have the deep impressions of his footprints.  Any good that I have done and the impact I have had on people whose lives I have touched owe their thanks to a man most of them have never met and now, never will.  I have a feeling that I am just one of hundreds of stories showing the ripples of Mike Baynes and that there are thousands of people whose lives were enriched because of the work of him and the people he impacted and inspired.

Goodbye Mike.  I am not sure if you ever wondered about the legacy of your life or work as I often ponder about my own, but I hope you knew or know now that your legacy is remarkable and the echoes of your life will travel on indefinitely.  Thank you for the wonderful role you had in my life and in the lives of people that I care about.

Trying to Prove You Are Smart Can Make You Dumb

My guess is that you have never heard of Carol Dweck.  Do not feel bad, until 18 months ago, neither had I.  She has conducted some pretty ground breaking research on a concept of mindset.  I have read some of her research on the topic and her book Mindset is near the top of my reading list.  Dr. Dweck's research findings are very important and can be applied to raising children, teaching students, and supervising employees.  Since all three of these areas are central to my life, I think Carol Dweck is kind of a big deal.

In a recent interview here Dr. Dweck discussed the difference between a fixed and growth mindset (you could replace the word students with children or employees if you wanted).

"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb."

“In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.”

Dr. Dweck says that what causes a fixed mindset is the constant reinforcement and praise of someones abilities and intelligence.  This causes people to think that it is most important to look smart and they avoid challenges for fear of looking dumb or stupid.  So, what should parents, teachers, and supervisors do?

“Students praised for the process they engaged in – their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance – these kids take on hard tasks and stick with them, even if they make lots of mistakes. They learn more in the long run.”

As a supervisor, I now consider mindset a key issue to consider in the hiring process.  Individuals with a fixed mindset (about 40% of people) tend to focus their time trying to show off what they know or proving how good they are.  There is little focus on development or growth.  When hiring staff members I believe a growth mindset (also found in about 40% of people) is probably the number one attribute I am looking for.  As long as someone has a strong capacity for development and learning, I believe they can put in the effort to develop into a successful professional.  My hope for new employees is that their first day of work is their worst performing day of work and that almost every day after that they are developing into a better professional.  I also see it as one of my core responsibilities to help make sure that growth and development happens.

The chart below gives you a decent sense of the difference between these two mindsets.  Sorry in advance for the small type.

Who is Talking Behind My (and Your) Back?

My general assumption is that just about everyone I have had regular interactions with has talked behind my back at one point or another.  It also seems likely that some people, especially those who know me best and interact with me most, do it with some degree of regularity.  I would not always call it productive or an ideal situation, but I think it is something that people do more often than we think and I am far from panicked about it.

I hope talking behind my back has only been done maliciously in a few situations.  Most of the time I assume it is someone voicing a legitimate concern or frustration about me and that it helps the person feel better by communicating it to someone else.  I am human and make mistakes that impact other people.  I am not shy about speaking up and I am sure I say the wrong thing that ends up hurting someone more often than I realize.  My intentions towards others are generally good, but I am sure some of my actions sometimes run counter to my best intentions.  If you are looking for someone who can provide you with reasons for occasional disappointment and frustration, I am your man.  I also think I am not alone.

I am sure over time I have given people ample reasons to be frustrated and a healthy response to frustration is to share it with someone else.  In many ways, the best way to separate from the frustration is to talk about it.  While direct feedback can be helpful for some (I know I appreciate it), many people do not respond in a productive way to that type of communication.  For others, it is actually culturally disrespectful to be so forward with your concerns.  Even more challenging is that sometimes what frustrates us is when people fail to meet expectations that we have never communicated to them and providing feedback under those circumstance will usually blow up in our faces.

Even if talking behind someone's back is more common and reasonable than we want to acknowledge, I do think some approaches are better than others.  First, if you spend time trashing a number of different people in one sitting it usually puts the attention on your pettiness rather than your legitimate concerns.  Second, you want to be sure to vent to people who know how to keep their mouths shut.  The person in the department or friend group who shares all the best gossip with you is also sharing all your trusted words with other people.  Finally, if you get a reputation for talking down everyone around you it does not take a genius to figure out that those who you are complaining to are at the center of your wrath at your next stop.

In my best moments, those I talk about behind their backs are the objects of my words in an effort to let go of frustration or to seek understanding.  I have very few if any true frustrations with my friends and the people I work with.  I authentically care for them as people and hope for their happiness and success.  Sometimes my worst and most petty words come from exhaustion, stress, or a lower point in my self esteem.  I hope to keep those moments extremely rare and give the grace to others that I would like to receive myself.