Keeping Me on the Road

One of the aspects that I miss about being traditionally employed by a school, district, or state agency is the parties.  I still get invited to the annual Christmas party at the Department of Public Instruction, but cake on birthdays was a treat — especially if it was chocolate cake.  One party that was always a special treat was retirement parties, friends who were through with their careers and moving on to another phase of their lives. 

What strikes me at this moment (as I get ready to head out to the airport for six days away from home) is that most of those folks who were retiring were younger than I am now.  I must confess, as I have in the past, that a little more of me is starting to long for that party and a next phase, even though it may just be my own family that’s partying.  But the biggest part of me sees no retirement date on any calendar, and it isn’t just my trying to get two kids through college.  It’s the nature of what I’m involved in and the community that I’m doing it with.

Yesterday, I worked with a group of school administrators and 21st century skills facilitators, and they engaged in a lot of backchanneling during the presentation part of the morning — using my hacked-up chat site.  As I said in the blog article that introduced their online handouts, this is a school district that has consistently been in the forefront of utilizing emerging technologies in their work.

As they always are, the backchannel transcript, which the district now has access to, was quite revealing of many points along the spectrum.  But one comment struck me keenly.  One of the participants said that it was so sad when you see a couple of teenagers walking along at the mall and they both have cell phones to their ears. 

I understand this comment and reaction, and I feel it as well.  But I think that what keeps me enthused and energized about education today is that I also see and feel the opportunities.  Sure, their mobile phones intrude on what should be personal direct contact with friends.  But it also indicates a generation of people who do not see walls and distance in the same way that I do.  The limits and boundaries that confine us and our way of thinking and solving problems seem much more transparent to my children’s generation.

I saw a survey the other day (I’ll try to look it up later) that showed that teenagers were significantly more confident in their ability to solve today’s problems during their adulthood than surveyed participants who were older.  I question the implied conclusions of the survey.  These kids are young and naive.   But I wonder, at this moment, how much of their optimism comes from the way that their information and communication experiences are shaping the way that they see their world, and that maybe they will be able to solve problems that we can’t.

I’m sure I’m being naive as well.  But it’s the opportunities that stoke my fires and keep me on the road (figuratively & literally).

3 thoughts on “Keeping Me on the Road”

  1. I was struck by your musing about retirement. I’m now 65 years young and have been “retired” 11 years. We seem to have a notion about retirement that one goes over into a corner and watches TV from a rocker. For me, and for many, the end of the organized worklife with a “job” presented me with a wonderful opportunity to think, write, pursue poetry, and publish books. I’ve gotten to the point where I feel I need to go to the gym daily so I can stay healthy to do what I love doing. And one of those things is reading your blog. Thanks for your thoughts.

    Skip Olsen

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