‘A Whole New Mind’ Meets Texas Education Leaders
By Jackie deMontmollin, associate director of theatre education, The University of Houston | Thursday, September 02, 2010 1:06 PM
Arts Education had a tremendous day on Monday Jan. 26. Dan Pink, author of “A Whole New Mind, Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future,” “Free Agent Nation” and “Johnny Bunko, The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need,” spoke to a joint session of the Texas House and Senate Education Committees. The Senate gallery was filled with administrators, UIL staff, arts teachers and, refreshingly, a few interested students from all over the state of Texas.
Why were all of these “arts-minded” people gathered? Dan Pink, futurist, attorney, former White House speech writer for Al Gore and a self-admitted left-brained guy has a strong message for education policy makers: if education doesn’t prepare kids to think creatively, empathically and imaginatively, our kids will not be able to compete in the 21st Century workforce. And where do kids learn these abilities? Through the arts, of course!
Pink had a small army of business leaders testify after him in support of his point. An AT&T Executive explained to legislators that if two candidates were equal in qualification for job, he would choose the candidate with an arts background over the one without. Why? Because they have the ability to be flexible, to be collaborative and to be imaginative. He explained that we need to prepare kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet. We don’t even know the names of the jobs, but we know the skills that will be required … high touch, high concept skills that involve inventiveness, artistry and empathy. Pink and company explained that these are all skills that are developed through Arts Education.
What a great message in the midst of NCLB, standardized tests and our current “find the one right answer” climate. But don’t misunderstand — the great thing about Pink, and the reason I think everyone seems to listen to him, is that he doesn’t discount accountability or left-brain thinking at all. He simply states that it is not enough. Without a holistic approach that includes the arts as equal to the other disciplines, we will leave our kids unable to rise to the top in the emerging “rise of the creative class” (a phrase I borrow from another great futurist, Richard Florida).
Not only did Pink take this message to the House and Senate Education committees, but the same day, sponsored by a forward-thinking group of Superintendents in the Public Education Visioning Institute, Pink traveled to the Austin Convention Center where he was the keynote speaker for the Texas Association of School Administrators Midwinter Conference. There he addressed hundreds of principals and superintendents. The quote on the screen when he opened: “We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past.” His message was clear. From what I could tell by the droves of administrators waiting for his autograph and the fact that his book sold out fifteen minutes following his address, his ideas were well received.
The message your principal was likely there to hear? Right brain-abilities, developed through the arts, are essential to the success of the 21st Century American Citizen. Why? He cites three causes of the necessity to shift: Asia, Automation and Abundance. You need to read his book to truly understand, but in simple summary:
1) Asia: India’s educated class will outnumber the entire American workforce in the next few years and India will be the largest English-speaking country in the world in the next year. Jobs are already being outsourced. According to Pink, this is overstated in the short term, but understated in the long term. In much the same way physical labor was outsourced in the 20th Century, white-collar labor will be outsourced in the 21st Century. The question he poses: “Can someone overseas do it cheaper?” If the answer is “yes,” the job will cease to exist in the 21st century.
(2) Automation: If a set of rules can be applied to a process, a computer will be able to
do instead of a human. How many of us use Turbo Tax now instead of an accountant? That is key to his point. He even cited several no-contest sites for a quick divorce that are creating competition for attorneys. Pink’s second question: “Can a computer do it faster?” If the answer is “yes,” the job will cease to exist in the 21st Century.
(3) Abundance: We all know the trouble our auto industry is experiencing. According to
Pink, cars in the U.S. outnumber drivers. Despite the current recession, we live in an age of abundance that our grandparents never could have imagined. Pink’s third and final question, “Is what I am offering in demand in an age of abundance?” If the answer is “yes,” the job … you get the point!
To explain Pink’s title, the brain is a metaphor — left-brain and right-brain thinking. The left-brain processes are linear and logical. The right brain processes information all at once, which is Bloom’s level of synthesis, the highest level of learning. The right brain is where artistry, empathy, inventiveness happen and that is what matters most to the 21st century economy. We’re moving from a left-brain world that values linear, logical thinking and action to a world that values the ability to recognize the big picture, empathize and to come up with multiple solutions to complex problems. In this world, according to Pink, our kids will need to be able to “toggle” between both modes of thinking.
He also makes a point that education is not all about the economy (and he knows that). It is about educating kids to become good citizens, well-rounded human beings and productive members of a democratic society. But his point is that if our kids are going to make an impact in the world — leave their imprint, as he talks about in his third book “Johnny Bunko” — they need certain important abilities: not only the standard abilities that the core curriculum reaches for in public schools, but also what he calls “right-brain abilities.”
Pink tells us that in a survey of CEO’s and superintendents about workforce preparation, school superintendents identified the most important factor for schools to teach is problem-solving. CEO’s alternatively identified problem-solving as a low priority, under problem identification and the ability to accept that there is never one right answer. In an age of NCLB, the Texas 4x4 and standardized tests, the question comes to mind, are we really serving our kids by bombarding them with left-brain opportunities at the expense of the right-brain counterpart experiences?
He goes on to tell a room full of administrators what he has found in surveying businesses. The concern in business moving into the 21st century is 1) novelty 2) nuance and 3) customization. The current standard in education doesn’t match that. In education the current concern is 1) routine 2) right answers and 3) standardization. In our world there is actually never one right answer. Think about it: there really rarely is one right answer but we ask our kids to find the one right answer every day.
Pink concludes that students need to be in arts classrooms where they can explore creative thinking and not only problem-solving but also identifying problems and multiple solutions. He gives examples of Arts Integration in Medical Schools that would make our friends at CEDFA say, “Duh, we’ve been telling you this for years!” Pink is a breath of fresh air in the world of education. He also has the ears of the legislators who lead so much of what happens in public school every day. Please read his book. Ask your administrators what they thought of his ideas. Get involved with The Center for Educational Development of Fine Arts and for more information, check out GoArts.org.
Daniel H. Pink
Author “A Whole New Mind-Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future” “Johnny Bunko, The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need” and “Free Agent Nation.” Keynote speaker to the Texas Association of School Administrators and a joint session with the House and Senate Education Committee (1/26/2009). You can see the video of the presentation by going to http://www.legis.state.tx.us, then click “Video Broadcast,” “ Senate,” “ Archive Webcast,” and for Jan. 26 click “Presentation: Senator Florence Shapiro”