watched countless TED-Ed videos and sat through often-boring White House Education Summit videos that ran eight hours straight with no editing. We attended a variety of conferences. We had pizza night during our San Diego summit in the Junior Achievement Business Park (for kids) and watched the movie Most Likely to Succeed.
“The collaborative hum” is the vibrating atmosphere of discovery, laughter, honest questions, staccato beeps and clicks of tech tools, and choruses of “wow,” “cool,” and “awesome!”
We saw what engaged student learning can look like for kids at a troubled middle school in Florida. We visited classes in a South Texas elementary school that had been reconstituted and again witnessed high engagement. How can a school ranked at the bottom 2 percent in Texas so dramatically shift its culture from custodial to one of high engagement – of both teachers and students?
David Vroonland, Superintendent for the Mesquite (Texas) ISD, described what we saw and would continue to see as “the collaborative hum.” This is how he describes the vibrating atmosphere of discovery, laughter, honest questions, staccato beeps and clicks of tech tools, and choruses of “wow,” “cool,” and “awesome!”
I think this also describes the journey that begins with the next chapter. Come join us. The K–12 MindShift project has invested leadership, research, and resources in imagining new models for a new era in educating our children. We are genuinely passionate about demonstrating what we have learned to those who are caught in whirlpool of diminishing returns on education. We will explain how to lead change at a local level as a parent, administrator, teacher, business leader, and community leader.
The stories we tell are gripping and authentic. Portraying real people caught in real crises, they could give you glimpses of what could work in your neighborhood and school.
Let's get started. Chapter 2 tells the story of how we first heard the clear and compelling call to go around the Education Machine and begin the work of building new models.
CHAPTER 2
TWO GUYS FROM GAINESVILLE
We're on a mission from God.
For some reason, I accepted the meeting.
On October 23, 2013, my colleague Michael Lagocki and I sat across the table from two guys who owned a school furniture dealership in Gainesville, Florida. Oh, God. Another meeting. Another agenda. Another pitch. But, as they talked, I began wondering Who are these guys? My curiosity came fully alive.
John Crawford, in full beard, was warm and relaxed. At a first impression, he might remind you of a favorite high school science teacher or maybe your minister. But, as I increasingly learned over the coming months, he was also an immovable rock. Bill Latham was intense, fierce, and maybe dangerous. His eyes glowed. As these two fellows talked, I began to realize that they were not John and Bill – they were really Jake and Elwood, “The Blues Brothers,” on a mission from God.
Their mission? To transform education in America.
Seriously? Two furniture dealer guys from Gainesville?
They had read my book about the dismal state of workplace engagement and what some of the best companies in the world are doing about it.3
So they thought I was the guy to lead the charge into the dark valley of an obsolete and contaminated education system.
“But, guys, I know nothing about the education system.”
“Yes, but you have a process for tackling monster challenges. We think it will work with education.”
“I don't have a network to recruit from.”
“We do.”
Let's be real. That education monster had already killed and eaten far better and smarter people than the four of us at Table 7.
“My calendar is full and the process is long, involved, and expensive.”
“How expensive?
I threw out a number intended to blow their boots off.
“We think we can come up with the funding.”
These guys just kept coming. My carefully constructed roadblocks were bouncing right off the road as they plowed into them. So, yes, they were gaining my attention. But, let's be real, the problems in education had formed a monster, a roaring, multitentacled thing. It corrupted and controlled relationships, power centers, money, community spirit, and that very human reach for a better life. And it had already killed and eaten far better and smarter people than the four of us at Table 7.
But two furniture dealer guys from Florida had decided that I was their man, that I would lead this venture. “O-kayyy,” I muttered, scratching my head and trying to think of something. I bought time by suggesting we identify a list of stakeholders, underwriters, and important voices that might want to contribute. Once we crossed that threshold I outlined a “kick-the-tires” summit to see who would come and how committed they might be to “transforming education.”
After lunch, I pulled Michael aside and asked if these guys were for real. He grinned. “If this summit comes together, your job is to manage Bill. Just keep him at a safe distance.”
I didn't hear much from John or Bill for the next six months. Then in mid-August of 2014 I answered my phone. It was Bill.
“We're ready to launch this thing! What's next?”
They named the companies and experts they had enlisted. I knew only a few. Worse, I still didn't have any indices for measuring their strengths or their commitment to the journey. My previous two book projects had each required about 30 percent of my focus over a two-year stretch. And that was with people who were battle-tested; we had shared foxholes. Now here I was charging into battle with people I did not know, carrying weapons I did not understand, and facing a giant that had devoured whole communities.
I rubbed my eyes, took a deep breath, and laid out the road map for the next steps in a process I called “MindShift.”4
“Okay, guys, we first want to invite key underwriters and experts for a day to present the vision, lay out the timeline and process, practice our action learning workshop approach and tackle some of the issues. At the end of the day we'll take the pulse of everyone's seriousness.
That meeting convened in Tampa, Florida, on October 1–3, 2014 (see Figures 2.1 and 2.2). The participants included architects, furniture manufacturers, school superintendents, and several education experts. I also seeded the room with some of my own invited attendees, people who knew the MindShift process and those who had a link to education. My group included a futurist from Disney, leaders from Balfour Beatty (the third largest school builder in the nation), a Pepperdine professor of education, and a few other trusted companions from my past works.
Figure 2.1 Tampa, Florida, Kickoff Meeting
The opening energy was high and positive. But, it still took me a while to get past feeling overwhelmed with
M. Rex Miller,
MindShift is the process I developed for assembling thought leaders to tackle large and complex challenges. That process will be described throughout the book.
