Responding with Wonderment and Awe

When did you experience your most recent “WOW” moment?  You know, when you were absolutely blown away by what was happening.  In fact, you were so pleasantly surprised it nearly took your breath away.  I can tell you when it was for me.  During the winter school break I was flicking through the channels—looking for something to watch that would be relaxing rather than stimulating.  I tuned in to the Irvine School District channel and began to watch the broadcast of its vocal and instrumental music concerts.  I can truly say I was AMAZED.  I’ve worked with youth in choruses before, but never was I able to help elementary-age youth sing in 5 part harmony.  Nor did we participate with an orchestra of peers.  The musicianship of those young people, elementary through high school was indeed impressive.  I’ve watched the show several times—and each time I feel the same way.  It reminds me of the way I felt at the end of Mr. Holland’s Opus when his past and present students unite to play his symphony.  WOW!

Young people need to understand that not only are they amazing, but they live in amazing times.  A hundred years ago no one would have thought it possible for men to walk on the moon, or to communicate almost instantly with others around the world through something called a “web,” and certainly we wouldn’t have thought that Los Angeles would have become a sprawling city.  The list goes on and on.  Have we even considered the difference between a record, a CD, and downloading from iTunes and saving music to the cloud!

We need to see the miracle of life and transformation, and we need to help youth see it as well.  Whether a caterpillar is turning into a butterfly, a tadpole into a frog, or a child transforming into an absolutely amazing adult, let’s stop, take a breath, and celebrate the world and its wonders.  This attitude of wonderment and awe can only serve to prepare us for a brighter future filled with learning and opportunities. 

On our Consult 4 Kids website each month we spotlight youth and the amazing things they think and do.  Check us out at www.consultfourkids.com and click on Student Chatter. 

Taking Responsible Risk

Responsible risk—the phrase almost seems like an oxymoron.  How is it possible to be both responsible and still take a risk? This seems like “a disconnect” to us. Our behavior tends to fall in one of two categories:  “at risk” or “safe.”  Some of us are so “risk adverse” that even when opportunity is knocking on our door we can’t answer. 

Let’s think about some people who have taken responsible risks.  Certainly Steve Jobs did.  He knew that he wanted to combine form and function.  He knew that the sleekness and beauty of his highly functional products was as important as the work that those pieces of equipment could do.  He made downloading music simple.  He improved on a PDA with the smart phone, and he captured the intuitiveness within people with his touch screens and easy-to-use products. 

Where would we be without Facebook?  What if Mark Zuckerberg had not taken a responsible risk and figured out how to connect students at a university.  He continues to take these responsible risks and works to make Facebook safe for everyone.  And then there is Reed Hastings who got together with several of his friends to create Netflix when he was charged a late fee on a video rental return.  And then, much to the surprise of everyone, he abandoned his business model (you remember, red envelopes in the mail) and figured out how to bring you movies through web-based services. 

All of these things were risky, but because they had thought things through, investigated and tried things out, the risks they took were responsible ones.  Learning—stepping outside of your comfort zones—requires youth and adults to take responsible risk.  In this way they stand to gain amazing success.  Responsible risk is the ultimate “I intend” level of initiative which says to the world, this is what I intend to do and then sets about to make it happen.  Certainly when you take responsible risk you are not guaranteed success—but you are exercising your entrepreneurial spirit and your chance of success is increased.

If you are interested in becoming part of a company who has been engaged in taking responsible risks for the past few years, go to our website at www.consultfourkids.com and click on the “Start Here” icon and find out how you can become part of the team.

Finding Humor

Why is it that shows like The Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly are so funny to us?  I think it is because Chuck Lorre has found the humor in things that are “normal” and we all understand.  We all know a Sheldon or a Leonard.  We can empathize with a Mike and Molly and the challenges they face.  Sure, the situations are often in the extreme, but we can laugh at them because in reality we are also laughing at ourselves.  And of course it is easier to laugh when you are grateful that you are at least not like them to the ultimate degree or you are not living the exact scenarios they are living.  Shows like this explore the part of us that we don’t look at too closely, and when we do, laughing and humor make it easier to admit.

So why is it that we can’t find the humor in the mistakes we make?  Not the serious, dangerous mistakes, but the day to day mistakes, or misunderstandings, or missteps—why is it that we see those things as such high stake events?  Humor can help us through the toughest of times.  The old saying, “Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone” is truthful.  Finding humor is a skill and one we often find too risky, too cumbersome, and too overwhelming.  I’ve asked young people this question before, “What does it mean if you get an ‘F’ on a test?”  Without exception they have told me it means they are a failure and probably stupid and that they will never be successful, and the spiral down goes on.  When I stop them and say, “No, it doesn’t mean any of that.  It means you got an ‘F’ on a test.  So what can you do about it to see to it that next time the results are different?”  Not that you want youth to take failing a test lightly, but it also isn’t the end of the world and there is an opportunity to make changes.  There is another saying that proclaims “Inch by inch is a cinch.” When we find humor along the way, we can see the wisdom in this. 

Certainly humor can result from irony.  Other humor can be self-deprecating.  But the best humor is when we don’t take ourselves so seriously that we cannot allow ourselves to learn and in the learning, make mistakes.  So let’s lighten up and laugh at ourselves when that’s what we need to do, and in the process, give youth the permission to lighten up on themselves as well.

Consult 4 Kids has several videos that relate to forgiving ourselves when we make a mistake.  Check us out at www.consultfourkids.com or by contacting us directly at support@consultfourkids.com. 

Thinking Interdependently

Thinking interdependently is another way of speaking of team work and collaboration.  If you’re familiar with Stephen Covey and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you know that the entire program is built on the transition of people from dependent to independent to interdependent.  Covey, like most of us, knew that there is a real advantage of the “great minds” notion.  When we are working together, we drive each other forward to thinking differently and stretching ourselves.  There is an old adage that says, “Many hands make hard work light.” Evidence of this can be found throughout history and our daily lives.  I was recently thinking about Apollo 13 which could have ended in tragic death for the astronauts on board.  Yet the team on the ground and the team in the capsule went to work to resolve the problem facing the crew, and amazingly, came up with a solution.  Chances are that if one person would have been working alone, in a vacuum or a silo, the results would not have been successful.

As we move into the 21^st Century, it is important that we understand the value of team.  Team is when the whole far exceeds the capacity of a single individual.  In a high functioning team, the weaknesses of one member are supported by the strengths of another so that together the fiber of the team and the work they accomplish is exemplary.  Working and thinking interdependently changes things exponentially.  In many businesses this sort of interdependence is produced in the virtual world, yet still, the value of the team is evident.  So let’s teach youth to collaborate.  Let’s spend time building teams so youth are comfortable in that setting.  Let’s lead the way in helping all youth develop this critical 21^st Century work place skill.

At Consult 4 Kids we’re here to help.  We have over 400 training videos and several of them speak specifically to the importance of teamwork and building and bonding as a unit.  Check out our website at www.consultfourkids.com or by emailing us at support@consultfourkids.com

Remaining Open to Continuous Learning

If you were to read Angeles Arrien’s book, The Four Fold Way, she references remaining open to continuous learning by saying, “be open to outcome not attached to it.”  You can learn more about this notion by checking out this "Ted Talk" or reading the book.  We believe that being open to continuous learning is another way of saying, “Stay up-to-date and practice Current Best Thinking.”  In this strategy you make a decision, but you are always open to changing that decision as you learn something new that adds a different spin or context to the decision.  When you are open to outcome, or open to continuous learning, or practice current best thinking (all very similar to us), what you are really saying is that you believe in learning and that everyone can learn something new.  You would not subscribe to the adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”  You would, on the other hand, believe that learning can be done by everyone who is willing to find a different way and to change a habit.

Sometimes the challenge seems to be in how we describe the act of being open to continuous learning.  When we speak about being willing to “get better” there is an implication that something is wrong and needs to be fixed.  That makes sense.  So what if we used the word “strengthen” and talked about strengthening the good work that you are already doing.  Would this make the idea of remaining open to continuous learning feel like a position of proactive persistence rather than reacting to a new point of view? 

When you are open to continuous learning, it is also important to know what works or fits, and what doesn’t work or fit.  If something doesn’t work, then you have the opportunity to try something new.  Remember, Thomas Edison made over 10,000 light bulbs that didn’t work and yet remained open to continuous learning and stated, “I simply know 10,000 ways not to build a light bulb.”

Consult 4 Kids is all about presenting people with opportunities to be open to continuous learning.  We have a Virtual Education staff development system that will plug afterschool professionals into written and video training, 24/7/365.  Visit our website at www.consultfourkids.com or email us at support@consultfourkids.com  

A Holistic Look at Wellness

Wellness certainly is physical activity, but it is also nutrition education, developing conflict resolution strategies (including ways to stopping bullying) and character and leadership development.  If we focus only on one aspect of wellness we are failing to look at the “whole child”, body, heart, mind and spirit.  Wellness is about being well in every arena.  All of our systems are interconnected and when we work on one aspect of our lives we are at least indirectly working on others, and when we do this with youth, we are helping them to find harmonic balance. 

For an overview of healthy living check out C4K’s Healthy Living Mini by clicking on this link:    We also have videos about Physical Activity including a video with this title by Isaac Buentello. and an overview of free Nutrition Education Materials by clicking on this link   To support conflict resolution solutions and character education, C4K also has plans in Lesson Plans made EZ that have over 80 lesson plans for Conflict Resolution and Character Education.  You can check these out by clicking on this link .

This year let’s focus on supporting wellness holistically. 

What Is Important About the Habits of the Mind?

You may be asking yourself,” What is this hubbub about Habits of the Mind?”  Why are they important?  When you look at the information about jobs, 5-10-15 years from now, you’ve heard that many of the jobs haven’t even been invented yet.  There is also information that states that by the time a college student finishes his/her junior year, over 1/3 of what was learned in the first three years will be obsolete.  This is staggering.  And if it’s true, and I don’t doubt that it is, preparing youth with specific content that will no longer be relevant isn’t an answer for the 21^st Century Work Place.  That’s where the Habits of Mind come in.  If we intentionally work on the Habits of the Mind—using the content we currently have as “practice” fuel, then we can address both the present and the future. 

In the old model of education, America benefitted because we needed workers in a factory who had information and knowledge, but we really didn’t expect them to think deeply and resolve workplace problems.  Early on young people were divided into those who were academically gifted (in other words they thrived in the world of the classroom) and those who needed to receive vocational training.  These folks certainly needed a basic reading, writing, and arithmetic education, but we didn’t believe we needed to focus on collaboration, creativity, communication skills, global citizenship, and critical thinking.  However business is telling us that this sort of education is not what is needed in the current market place.  They need us to transition to the 5 Cs (listed above) and help youth acquire what some identify as the “soft skills” but are really the keys to success in the future.

Like any learning, the way you become proficient is to “exercise those muscles.”  If we want youth to be proficient at collaboration, we have to give them plenty of opportunities to work together.  If we want youth to communicate clearly and precisely, we need to provide them with opportunities to speak more than 90 seconds a day (the average amount of time English Learners speak during the school day.)  You get the point. You learn to be creative, practice global citizenship and dig deeply into critical thinking when you are given the opportunity to practice, and this is in line with afterschool and our enrichment, project-based learning, and youth development approach.

Consult 4 Kids is prepared to help youth workers and youth-serving organizations transition to supporting Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, and learning that is focused on also mastering the Habits of the Mind.  Check out our comprehensive staff development at www.consultfourkids.com