About Me
Perhaps the best way to describe me is that I have gravitated toward the “road less traveled” in my choices.
Learning and Education
Learning
I have purposely described my focus as “learning,” rather than “education.” There are several reasons for this:
- Learning is something we must practice every day, all day, in all environments. Education has tended to be confined to more structured, institutionally-driven processes.
- Learning is lifelong. Education is something we are required to do between the ages of 5 and 16, and that most people stop doing by age 22.
- Learning is about what we absorb and the facts and insights we gain. It is our asset, and it is unique to us. Education is about the delivery of standardized content from someone else to us, and it focuses on building a body of knowledge and expertise in centralized systems.
- Learning helps us gain unique, out-of-the-box breakthrough insights. Education is about having us absorb and internalize standardized, socially acceptable insights. Learning is disruptive in a good way; education is designed to help us fit in and become good social citizens.
In essence, education in schools, colleges, universities, and online or adult courses is one way for us to learn, but not the only way. By focusing on learning, I am showing individuals the way to fulfill their potential, regardless of whether they are in an educational institution, or even have access to one. I will also show that overemphasizing educational accomplishment actually retards innovation and the development of our societies.
This blog will be a showcase for learning approaches, some of which are done in educational settings, but some of which are not. I will also focus on educational reform initiatives, the goal of which is to stimulate learning outside the educational system, as opposed to confining it within the educational system.
I have been an advocate and funder of lifelong learning and education programs, including participation on a major charter school board.
As a CEO for Pitney Bowes and a member of various research and advocacy groups, I have supported mixed-use, transit-oriented community development strategies. I have also focused on practical human capital development strategies to rethink how to prepare individuals with low and moderate skills to participate in the new economy.
Partners in the Learning Space:
University of Wisconsin
High performing schools or school systems
Achievement First
Bishop Kearney High School
Innovative digital learning systems
Powered by Learning
Building a critical mass of exceptional teachers
Teach for America
Reforming Teachers’ Unions
Educators4Excellence
Producing legislative and regulatory educational reform
ConnCAN
College and University
Norwalk Community College
Vocational and Technical Education
Indiana Vocational and Technical Education
Books and Resources
"The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning"
by Kevin Carey
Blogs related to
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Dr. And Coach Catana Starks, RIP - By Mike Critelli
Dr. and Coach Catana Starks, the coach profiled in our film From the Rough, passed away on 09/06/2020 and was laid to rest on 09/12/2020. Her death caused me to reflect deeply on why I fought all sorts of obstacles to get her story told.
COPING WITH NEW EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENT - July 2009
I read an interesting and insightful article online called “Hired! Turning a Demotion into a Promotion” which is accessible at www.money.cnn.com/2009/07/10/news/economy/_demotion/index.htm?postversion=200907.
“Crowd funding” for From the Rough - Jun 2013
Yesterday, I went live on a campaign to promote From the Rough through the Indiegogo “crowd-funding” site. You can view and contribute at www.igg.me/at/FromTheRoughMovie/x/3364292
“Do Not Mail” Legislation and “Junk” Environmentalism
It has become fashionable to trash direct marketing mail in the media. Not surprisingly, reporters and editors in the print media, which compete with advertising mail, coined the phrase “junk mail,” and so-called environmentalists have ar
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