Tag: Quotes

“…..we must create a virtual pathway to obtaining what our kids deserve. It is our obligation to pivot: to learn and teach new steps. We know that many worksites across the city are ready and willing to partner with us in this dance. “

Post by Letta Neely, Apprentice Learning Program Director

COVID-19. We could stop there, except, we can’t. We have too much at stake.  The world as we know it has lost its clothing and all is laid bare. Schools, businesses, parks, and malls are closed. With all this, one could presume that the work of Apprentice Learning has no place in this “new world”; that everything is on pause because our Apprentices have no worksites to visit each week; because summer programs may cease to exist during a global pandemic. There are a lot of ways we could hear, “NO!” in the stillness. 

However, at Apprentice Learning, we hear obligation and opportunity. Our mission:  “Leveraging career explorations to teach skills and nurture dreams” still applies. Our clarion call “to spark passions and interests; to give a sense of purpose to a young person’s present and future” hasn’t changed. 

So when the Universe says, “Pivot”, we pivot. 

In this new world, we still must provide a patina of normalcy for middle school students. We must continue to believe in and to provide a foundation for the future. In the world of remote work, a number of essential skills remain the same: eye contact, proper greeting, knowing one’s signature strength and primary learning styles. And…there is more to do now, more to do differently. 

There is opportunity in this new time to teach and model a newly emerging set of essential skills: remote work habits, oral and written communication skills,  presentation efficacy, time management and organization, personal drive, team work, and independence; and lastly, problem-solving mindset and trouble-shooting capacity. 

These are skills that our middle school students need in this new world (whether it remains virtual in the long-term or not).  Helping middle schoolers develop, maintain and augment these capacities widens their horizon. Becoming fluent with these “emerging essentials” will broaden our Apprentices’ access to their future careers and other dreams. These are skills we can teach. So, we must create a virtual pathway to obtaining what our kids deserve. It is our obligation to pivot; to learn and teach new steps. We know that many Worksites across the city are ready and willing to partner with us in this dance. 

How do we teach children to do? I was reminded of this lovely article by Addison Del Mastro. What are the skills that make us competent and self-sufficient? Have they changed with technology? Are we educating young people with this in mind?

Know-how is an old-fashioned sort of word. I associate it with my grandfather tinkering under the hood or with the creation story of the industrial United States. Know-how is making a come back!  Certainly this is true in the world of computers. The skills  for communication are accessible to larger numbers but require more technological knowledge of 2.1 navigation, design, photo imaging, multi-media usage and messaging. We all know those whom we turn to who are better skilled than others! This is also true in the kitchen and in growing food. Lots of people are taking the time to learn the skills required to be self-sufficient and to take pride in their work. Making cheese, pastry production and other highly specialized arts are more accessible to people who also may have a day job but who care about a doing work that is meaningful. Urban farming is another wonderful example of learning skills that have are well-regarding. And sharing know-how with others is happening more and more!

Addison is an intern at the Center for a New America Dream

“So swift is the velocity of the techno-scientific revolution, so startling in its countless twists and turns, that no one can predict its outcome even a decade from the present moment.”

E.O Wilson, the venerable scientist, has written a book aimed at young scientists to encourage them to delve deeply into the ever-changing mysteries of our civilization. Every citizen, every leader needs some understanding of scientific concepts, especially as our world grows more complex. How do we make science accessible?  These questions inspire us to reach out to scientific organizations across the city for apprenticeships in their area of expertise.

Watch Professor Wilson’s inspiring TED Talk here: http://on.ted.com/Wilson2012

In a NYTimes article today, “Expecting the Best Yields Results in Massachusetts”, researchers and teachers alike, agree that science education is much more effective using hands on experience. Hands on experience meant that students had to ‘explore and explain.’  After all, this mimics some of what science professionals do. One science educator describes their district’s approach, “hands on as much as possible.”

Apprentices at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering worked alongside of scientists and engineers learning science concepts. More importantly, they explored materials, asked questions, and shared ideas with science professionals. Apprentices at Wyss meant numerous engineering standards for the 8th graders. According to students, their apprenticeships offered a more complex and interesting view of science.

Watch our video on Apprentice reflections where science became a wider world of  professional opportunities.

I was reading Jonah Lehrer’s new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, when I saw this quote by John Dewey that I used in the blog title. In the book, Jonah visits NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a performing arts program for high school students in NOLA.  Students at NOCCA arrive after attending a full day of traditional academic classes and spend hours at the school learning and practicing their craft. All of the teachers are professional artists and great attention toward helping students learn to perfect their art. Interestingly, although the teaches performing arts, the school is not interested in producing only professional artists.

The teaching methodology is experienced-based. Practice is a vital part of the learning process. So is feedback. Students at NOCCA understand the critique is an essential part of their getting better. And learning how to accept and make use of feedback, helps create a learning experience of higher quality. At NOCCA, artist/teachers provide feedback and  other students learn the art of helpful criticism.  It also can be a mirror in a dance studio, or a recording studio outtake.

John Dewey’s pedagogy of learning by doing has been the structural scaffold for nearly all of the educational work I have done over the years. Beginning with Outward Bound and into progressive schooling, community service learning, and now my latest venture, Apprenticeship Learning. These program are linked together by the sheer power of engagement they offer to participants. Dewey reminds us in Experience & Education, that, ” It is not enough to insist upon the necessity of experience, nor even  of activity in experience. Everything depends upon the quality of the experience which is had.”

As I consider the types of apprentice experiences that will introduce students to the world of work as well as a satisfying work life, how do I create the same sort of feedback  methods?  Both authentic feedback as well as receptive learners? It is one proven way to ensure that an experience grows to be a high quality one. What are other ways to ensure ‘quality’ in learning experiences?