Ru Zi Ke Jiao

Seth Godin has a great post today – and nearly every day. Today he’s writing about What you can learn from lousy teachers.

Seth is one-of-a-kind and worth learning from. I’ll never tire of promoting his work, as I’m one of his 1,000 true fans. You should be too. Read him everyday for a month and you’ll quickly understand why I say that Seth has been my greatest teacher during the last 10 years.

If you haven’t already read the link about 1,000 true fans, AND you would like to be an artist or some other less than traditional vocation, then you really should.

“In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer.

The word ‘learned’ refers to those who are already educated – those who have finished learning. You’ll notice here that all of these references refer to the PAST.

The Los Angeles Times has an article that you should be interested in, Young, educated and jobless in China.

“Beijing – Six months after graduating from university, Guan Jian was unemployed and living in an 8-by-8-foot rented room on the fringes of this sprawling capital.”

NASH: The article is worth considering. Earning a college degree NO LONGER offers security. REAL SECURITY can only be found in one place. And I’m going to tell you where to look.

First, find a mirror. Then, hold it up to your face. And finally, look right between your ears – that’s where your security lies. Anyone who tells you differently, well those are lies of a different sort.

…to live in the Digital Age? It’s going to take a completely different set of skills than the ones that your parents needed, or that they even understand.

A short while ago I wrote about you being stuck in the wrong age. Your school was designed in the Agricultural Age, to turn farmhands into factory workers for the Industrial Age. That’s why CONTROL at school is absolutely essential: walk in straight lines; raise your hand for permission to go to the restroom; learn by repetitive motions. You thought you were learning the content, when you were really learning how to do repetitive work, a la the factory. Oh yeah, and how to mindlessly follow instructions. How ludicrous that we still cling to such ideas, when we’ve clearly left the Industrial Age, and have blown right through the Information Age and now are fully ensconced in the Digital Age.

For the past 5 years or so, I’ve been arguing that we need to change not just how we teach, but what we teach. Google’s V.P. said that what they’re really looking for when they hire are people with these characteristics and skills: Teamwork; Communication; Risk-Takers; Creative Problem Solving and Self-learning.

The picture above is a screenshot of www.hiremeheadblade.com and yes, he got the job. He didn’t stop with his custom built website, he also made a video. He SHOWED the company that not only was he serious about them, but that he was a good fit for them as well.

The news article, Turning to video to help you land a dream job that reported the story added:

“Clearly, shaving your head in a YouTube video — or doing a video at all — may not be right for every job or job candidate, especially since so many people don’t feel that comfortable in front of a camera. But you may be asked to talk to a camera soon whether you like it or not. Video services like Skype and HireVue are being used more and more by employers as a way to check out job candidates.”

“While some hiring managers shun the often amateurish mini movies, others rave about them.”

“It’s virtually impossible to get an impression of someone from a résumé, and videos have saved us so much time in the screening process,” said Heather Logrippo, owner of Distinctive Homes magazine. So many people look great on paper, she said, but when they show up for an interview, they don’t match what they put down in their résumé and cover letter. “It allows us to see how a candidate articulates themselves, dresses, communicates, nonverbal signals come across well, and we don’t have to go through an entire interview process, like a bad date, if our first impression is unfavorable,” Logrippo said.”

NASH: For me, the video itself wasn’t all that good – just a bald guy shaving the stubble off his head. But then again, I don’t work for a company that has designed a product just for that. And we’re just at the beginning of Digital Age. Competition for jobs will ensure that things get better quickly. The question for you is, will you be ready?

The solution to the world’s problems is simple: EDUCATION. But then, you already knew that.

What you probably haven’t realized, however, is that is only takes about 3 years to educate someone. Assuming that they want to be educated. I know this because I’ve done it. To be educated doesn’t mean that you know it all – no one knows it all. (No one knows even .0001% of it all.) I prefer this definition: To be educated means that you know that you need more education, you know how to get it, and you do.

This video is from a report on New York City schools, which are currently undergoing some dramatically good changes. URL:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35338260#35328540

Thanks for looking down here. So if we can educate people in just 3 years, then there is cause for great optimism. The sooner we get started, the sooner we arrive. And there’s the rub. The problem isn’t “the problem” because we already have “the solution.” What we’re lacking is LEADERS.

“Many communities and educators seem too comfortable with an Industrial Age model of mass production learning and an Agricultural Age calendar that bind educators and students in time, place, and purpose.”

From the book Embracing the Information Age (2001) Source: http://www.stemedcoalition.org/

The Greeks gave names to four of mankind’s ages: the Golden Age; the Silver Age; the Bronze Age; and the Iron Age. You’ve surely heard of the Space Age and most likely have also heard the term, the Stone Age (think The Flintstones.) NASH: Or course, we’re now ensconced in the information age, and some of us are already departing for the next age. [Note: As we develop, like our world, time appears to be moving faster, and thus, the "ages" are evolving more quickly. The Ice Age lasted a long, long time; the Industrial Age, not so much.] I digress.

Back on topic, does any of this sound familiar to you? It should, because if you are someone who knows me personally, then I know that this is how you’ve been educated – industrially (the assembly line part, anyway.)

Remember, at the end of the day, YOU and YOU ALONE are responsible for your education. “Teachers open the door, but students enter of their own volition.” You can’t (actually you can, but you shouldn’t) just sit back and passively learn the things you’re told to learn WITHOUT thinking – without even ASKING if you should be learning these things.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS: What do you think that the next age will be? Which age are you currently in?

XLIV is the number 44 written in Roman numerals. All educated people should be familiar with the most basic Roman numerals. For your convenience, you can learn the entire Roman system in about 5 minutes here. BUT FIRST, let me encourage you to try and figure it out on your own, just by using the chart below. It contains all seven numerals in the Roman system. (By way of contrast, the decimal numeral system that we use today contains ten numerals, zero thru nine.)

And finally, the Super Bowl is the name of the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Miami has hosted more of the 44 championships than any other city, primarily because of our spectacular winter weather, beautiful beaches and sexy people. Haha, just kidding about the beautiful beaches!

If you’re interested in seeing the paradise that is my hometown, here is a slideshow that offers a nice sampling of images. (URL:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35013811/ns/travel-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1)