Once school is underway, I am eager to begin mentoring at a nearby
elementary or middle school. How fortunate I feel to be able to answer the need for reading mentors. Mentoring has become a rewarding ten-year tradition that involved moves across two states.
How I admire the teachers and para-pros who design engaging learning activities
for kindergarten children. Disruption in the school systems mirror those for which I have counseled in the business arena. Tropical Storm Irma
caused a week-long closure of schools due to devastation making rural roads
impassable.
When it was time for students, staff and faculty to return, it was time for start-of-year picture taking although school
breakfast and lunch programs indicate families can’t afford these photo
memories.
While I waited for my charges, I contemplated a focus group of children who engage in “The
Engineering Design Process” conjuring a more innovative fundraiser.
There, next to the alphabet, is the EDP.
Ask – find out more about the
problem
Imagine – Think big. Consider the possibilities.
Plan – Think about the steps
Create – follow your plan
Improve – Look at the model. Make it better.
The children soon returned to the classroom. I walked and the students skipped to the library that day and ones since – even the morning when a tornado drill interrupted our time together.
Another application of the engineering mindset was offered by Seth Godin in this recently daily blast.
The engineering mindset tells us that all that matters is what’s under the surface, the measurable performance.
Designers know that perception is at least as valuable.
Symbolic acts are rarely cheap or wasted if they work. Because we’re story-telling creatures, and symbols are clues about which story we ought to tell ourselves.
Symbolism isn’t cheap. It’s priceless.
Jeffrey Davis, Founder, TrackingWonder, inspires business artists to visualize and bring back the innocence of one’s nine-year-old self. I love keeping the wonder alive within my self by participating in creative circles and adjusting conversations with aspiring leaders. If you would like to explore possibilities for 2018, I welcome that conversation.
Evelyn Asher, Creator, Resilience Conversations believes in the power of connection, shared humanity, community. Her best friends are librarians.