A middle school teacher called me last month to announce that his school had "discovered" Dan Pink. "There are dozens of us who want to get together and talk about Dan Pink," teacher Adam Rose told me. "I thought of you because you've been sending me articles by Pink."
Indeed I had. In 2005 I received a book by FedEx from Marshall Thurber, an entrepreneurial educator who conducts workshops about communication, real estate and business techniques. "Steve, would you like to join me next month exploring the ideas in Dan Pink's book?" After reading A Whole New Mind, I agreed. Marshall sent a book to 100 friends and former clients and 45 of us showed up for a three-day workshop in Park City, Utah. What a remarkable experience. Marshall presented his vision of a team of participants who, over several years, could meet and explore topics raised not only by Dan Pink, but by other authors, too: Malcolm Gladwell (Blink), Thomas Friedman (The World Is Flat),
So, I knew about Pink when Adam called me. I had looked through Free Agent Nation (written after the 2000 presidential election cycle -- Pink was a speechwriter for Al Gore) and agreed with Pink's thesis that:
a) more people will work as indepdnet contractors than as full-benefit employees
b) more people will need to develop entrepreneurial skills
c) we could start teaching these skills in schools
d) schools that taught these skills were generally more interesting to kids than "standard" schools with "standard" curricula.
So, this blog is the start of a series of commentaries about the interesting world outside the public school bubble.
To read more, search "Dan Pink school free agent nation"...
RECOMMENDED LISTING: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4618720 Dennis Littky's interview on NPR on April 25, 2005
