Act? Care? Envision? Think? -- Follow the herd?

"I chose "Care", but don't always do it," one friend emailed me.

Another wrote on my Facebook page, "Perhaps we are sorted by the occupation we choose. I bet most accountants would fall into the detail ["Think"] section."

Another friend noted that because the original discussion had been about the need for a common vision, she, normally a "Think" person, "likely would have been inspired to choose "Envision!"

Huh? Let me bring our new readers up to speed.

In a previous post, I described a meeting where the people were asked to stand by one of four signs--with no in-betweens allowed--that best described them:

Act! Plunge in and try things.
Care. Make sure everyone has a say before acting.
Envision. See the big picture and possibilities before acting.
Think. Figure out the details before acting.

Here's how the group responded:

Twenty-two of the people stood by two statements. Three people stood by one statement. No one stood by one statement.

The "Think" friend, in the middle of master's level counseling courses, also pointed out that because people could see where other people were moving, a herd mentality might have influenced the outcome.

And, good counselor/student that she is, she also provided other options to help me derive my own conclusion: Even distribution across the sample population OR Act-15, Think-7, Envision-3, Care-0.

A fourth friend suggested the opposite: "Guessing no one in that group chose Act!. 22 took #2 or #4. three chose #3. I would have to say #1 for myself, though only in most general and relative to what I observe in others sense. So, what happened next?"

Good question.

Time for an answer.

Twenty two of the people not only clustered around "Act" and "Envision," they positively swarmed to get there. Two people stood by "Think." No one stood by "Care."

Wait, wait wait!

Hold the horses here.

What happened to the third person who was supposed to be standing by "Think?!?"

Well, the third person was me. I was a bit caught in the crush of people trying to get to the "Act!" and "Envision" side of the room. Before I could move, the leader had positioned herself in front of the "Care" sign, and had begun speaking. I would have had to walk right in front of her to get to the other side.

At least, that's one way to look at it.

Another way, of course, is that I was still "Think"-ing about it and didn't "Act!" quickly enough.

But the distribution concerned me. 

I see too many half-baked ideas being rushed into policy or production without enough thought being given to the ramifications and consequences. I also people abandon brilliant, creative concepts when they can't immediately understand them and put them into action. We love our ruts, no matter how inefficient and counterproductive.

Being a "Think details" person, I know how tedious the work of preparation can be. Translating a "Vision" into "Act"-ion takes time and effort. It's easier just to write off the idea, than it is to make it work.

The irony was that this was a group of educators operating in an ostensibly Dewey-based system. The same John Dewey, who wrote extensively about Democracy And Education, where everyone's voice is part of the process. Only no one, apparently, "Cares" enough to listen. Or maybe we just didn't "Think" before we "Act"-ed. Or maybe we need some to "Envision," others to "Think," others to "Care" before we all "Act."

Or maybe the underlying truth is that we aren't truly made to function in a pure democracy.

You didn't really "herd" that idea here first, did you? :-)

Oh, the irony of it all

I just posted this entry to the Journalism Education blog on Poynter.org. Knowing, however, how few of my faithful readers also faithfully follow Poynter--much less the JE blog on Poynter--I reprint it here for your enjoyment and edification.

During the 2005-2006 school year, Florida Department of Education instructed record clerks throughout the state to code the records of transferring students in particular ways.

[Note: When you start reading through the education bill the Legislature has to review/revise each year, then all the procedural instructions that emanate from the legislation, then all the practical instructions not covered under the procedural instructions, you begin to understand why teaching/learning seems to be last on the list. And you realize that people like records clerks--often pulling double duty as receptionists and other aides--are probably undervalued.]

Back to the FDOE coding during 2005-2006. Here's the instruction given regarding courses a student may have taken to fulfill the practical arts requirement that year (http://www.fldoe.org/FASTER/manl0506/appx-i4.htm ):

The Practical Arts graduation requirement may be fulfilled by substituting one of the basic Computer Education (CE) courses on a curriculum equivalency basis. The course numbers that can be used are 0200300-0200380, 0200800-0200810, 0201300-0201360, 0201380 and 0200890. If a substitution is made the Computer Education course should contain a 1 in the Course Flag field. The Practical Arts graduation requirement also may be fulfilled by the completion of the JROTC program 1800300-1800360, or 1801300-1801330, or 1802300-1802330, or 1803300-1803330, or 1804300-1804350. If that substitution is made, the JROTC courses should contain a zero (0) in the Course Flag field. The Practical Arts graduation requirement may also be fulfilled by Journalism 1006300-1006330. If that substitution is made, the Journalism course should contain a dollar sign ($) in the Course Flag field.

You did catch that last sentence, didn't you? :-)

Poynter Article Published

Whew!

Took five months and a ton of perseverance, but the article I began last May during my internship at Poynter is front-page posted!

High School Journalism Classes Threatened in Florida

And you can read one of my fellow Fellows, Jennifer Cox's, take on the article at 78 Picas -- her blog as a UF doctoral student. Way to go, Jen!

High School Journalism Standards

Censorship, under the euphemism "prior review," may be the most blatant threat to high school journalism programs. The most insidious threat, however, may be how journalism courses are classified by state departments of education.

Here are a couple of entries I posted recently to the Poynter Institute of Media Studies' Journalism Education blog. Poynter, a non-profit organization that owns the St. Petersburg Times, is a resource center for journalists.

Florida J Classes May Lose Practical Art Credit Status

Indiana J Programs Get Major Boost

All Over But the Shoutin'

Oh, wait. Maybe I shouldn't use that for the title of this blog. It is, after all, the title of Rick Bragg's book.

But then titles can't be copyrighted, so technically I'm OK.

And it's a really good title, one that I'm not sure I really understood until now. Because now it really is all over ... but the shoutin' on August 9 when Pomp and Circumstance plays for the gazillionth time and capped and gowned scholars parade past capped and gowned pedagogues and pay homage to Wisdom.

Or something.

I, however, shall participate in spirit only.

So what did I learn this past year?

I learned that trying to define the profession? craft? art? trade? of journalism is like trying to define the boundaries of the oceans. Much depends on the tides, the shifting sands, and whether you're on a boat or on shore.

There are very good reasons for not describing too precisely who is and who is not a journalist -- the Associated Press lists only a high school diploma in its requirements for reporters -- and there are equally compelling concerns about an 'anything goes' rumor-mongering that passes for journalism when the definition becomes too fuzzy.

I learned that most news organizations are three-headed monsters pulling in separate directions, mainly because the business? industry? service? manufacture? of journalism is equally muddled. Financial accounting in the world of journalism is neither strictly based on goods produced nor on services provided. Instead, it's a hybrid. And if you talk to employees in any of the three separate, but supposedly equal (yeah, right) departments -- newsroom, advertising, circulation -- you'll hear three different visions for the company.