by Ross Dickie | Jan 25, 2018 | Personal development, President's Blog |
New Year’s is always a time when we set new goals, clean out old thinking and start new. It’s also a time when some new reading can help to shift thinking to the future. There’s lots to choose from! To help, we have a couple of fascinating books to recommend that are sure to present some new perspectives. Our first recommendation is Why We Sleep – Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker, PhD. Despite the title, this book is not about dream interpretation; it represents the latest learning about sleep and its importance to humans and our general health. The author explores the latest understanding of the mechanics of sleep while also explaining the importance that each phase of sleep plays in developing our short- and long-term memory, making sense of the experiences we have during our waking hours, especially traumatic stress. Walker also explains how we are not meeting our daily sleep requirements (at least eight hours per night for adults), and how our need for this amount of sleep has evolved over the millennia as a means to optimal wellbeing. He presents compelling evidence, arguing that not recognizing our need for sleep, or sleep preferences, can lead to serious personal health problems and loss of productivity in society. As educators we’re already aware that sleep deprivation is a real challenge for adolescents, who require more sleep than adults—ideally nine to 10 hours—to promote brain development and wellbeing. In fact, the author found the research around the negative impact of sleep deprivation in adolescents so compelling that he advocates moving start times for K-12... read more
by Ross Dickie | Jan 16, 2017 | Personal development, President's Blog |
While listening to a story on public radio the other day about the plight of unemployed workforce members over 50 without more than a high school education, I was brought up short by the reality expressed by the commentator’s guest. Asked about the opportunity for these workers to upgrade their education or retrain for a different occupation, the expert replied, “As I think about members of the workforce 50 and older, whose last experience with math was probably in high school, I find it hard to imagine them going back to school now. There is too much catching up to do.” As disappointing as it was, the expert’s response was also enlightening about the reality these workers face — and how our educational system, in hindsight, may have failed them. When they were in school, the goal for many of these workers was to get enough education to fill the manufacturing jobs available at the time, while a select group pursued higher education. We didn’t foresee the need to provide them with the additional skills necessary to adapt to a world that would change right beneath their feet. A recent feature on Bloomberg.com illustrates the dramatic shift in skills required in the new world of manufacturing, with a focus on people skills and problem solving rather than repetitive tasks — or even computer programming. The continued rise of technology will intensify pressure on existing occupations as automation replaces routine jobs, many of which we don’t think of as routine. Working Nation recently released a video called Slope of the Curve, which brings this challenge to light. Today, thousands of dedicated... read more
