During every conversation there are great ideas. Reflection turns them into golden nuggets. Action turns them into new ways of thinking and acting. Examples: “People involved in work or pursuing work don’t create social problems.” “Communities with an entrepreneurial culture flourish. Those that don’t, perish.” “Programs must be self-sustaining or they will die.” If you […]
At lot of time and effort goes into trying to get other people to change, to learn, to behave, to perform. Sometimes it’s best to step back, focus on conditions, remove barriers and simply let go. How many times have you thought or said “someone oughta do something?” As few today believe the state or […]
Developing a strong, ready and diversified workforce is a top priority going into 2016. The keys are Career & Technical Education & Linked Learning. Thanks to deep engagement by employers and strong commitments from educators, we will complete a strategic plan this month with specific recommendations and next steps. The Civic Learning Partnership is aligning a […]
As we continue to advance the Career & Technical Education Initiative, the equal importance of inner and outer skills development is clear. Knowledge keeps changing. The ability to learn; adapt; influence across networks; initiate; communicate; access, analyze and apply information are all essential success skills. The challenge–how to model and teach these in systems designed for […]
In 2011, Brookings and the Rockefeller Foundation launched the Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation (PSMI), a five-year initiative to expand economic growth and opportunity in metropolitan regions. http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2015/07/23-expanding-growth-opportunity-carlson What they have learned will be very familiar: Leaders need to be able to work across programmatic and jurisdictional boundaries to implement the new model, both […]
Constitution Day at Fresno State was inspiring and sobering. The panel–amazing! Juan Arambula, Justice Rosendo Pena, Esmeralda Soria, Lorenzo Rios, Ismail Ali. Gratitude, commitment, responsibility…all were key themes as they expressed their views about being an American citizen. Jefferson said “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the […]
A shift is taking place. Labeling kids with behavior we don’t want has proven to be make things worse. Kids are not “drop-outs”, they are children coping with circumstances most of us cannot or don’t want to imagine. It’s not just about schools getting better. Adaptive change is obviously needed regarding career paths yet…. It’s […]
Outcomes—it’s all about outcomes. Most agree. Yet when they don’t happen the search must begin to answer the question “Why not?”. In 2000, we realized that the “why not” in Fresno was the culture. We lacked trust. We were fragmented. Many had given up and believed poverty was inevitable. Speaking out was hard as conflicts […]
We talk a lot about stewardship. What does it really mean? What does it mean for Fresno? The FBC is in the community transformation business. In this context a steward takes the time to understand an issue deeply before acting. A steward develops collaborative and peacemaking skills to ensure outcomes that stick. These skills demand […]
Interdependence. What does it mean? John Muir explains, “”When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” As we keep learning in Fresno, a negative act can trigger a cycle of deterioration. Research shows that if you don’t fix broken windows, clean up litter, or […]