Gardner said this on page 46 in his book Five Minds for the Future:
The ability to knit together information from disparate sources into a coherent whole is vital today. The amount of accumulated knowledge is reportedly doubling every two or three years. Sources of information are vast and disparate, and individuals crave coherence and integration. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann has asserted that the mind most at a premium in the twenty first-first century will be the mind that can synthesize well.
We have been blessed to be a part of the LEAD program at UMHB where we are able to practice the skill of synthesizing every time we write a paper, create a blog, or present a topic. Is there a better example of what Gardner is talking about than what every cohort member is being asked to do on each assignment? The skills we are learning today are preparing us to lead our stagnant education system towards meaningful change.
Keep on synthesizing!
Exactly, Keith! My brain is tired, but it is a great kind of tired.
ReplyDeleteKeith, I made the same observation early. I have had a countless number of opportunities to use the thoughts, ideas and theories we have been reading about over the past semester of school. I am continually sharing my new knowledge with my staff. My confidence level has risen significantly as I often reference authors and theories when leading my staff. I feel that my confidence is a way build capacity in them. Thanks for the reflection. See you next weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed as a cohort to have the privilege and the luxury of studying and learning togehter. How rich the world would be if more people would take the difficult challenge you have chosen.
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