Communicators
Posted on Oct 21, 2009
Each generation has its own obstacles to overcome and the wonderful inventions seen throughout history are evidence that humans are adept at meeting such obstacles. However, we sometimes overlook the challenging reality that new solutions need to be effectively communicated to the rest of us mired in the past. Notorious failures in this regard are product instructional and assembly manuals. Great products have become obsolete because ineffective communication fails to sell the concept. Just ask Sony about Beta format video systems! For progress to occur, the ability to communicate with others is essential.
United States Peace Corp volunteers working in less advanced agricultural cultures apparently used to discover contemporary farm equipment, sent expectantly to increase farming productivity, either rusting in the fields or being dragged behind oxen. Technological examples of such frustrations are common too. An exasperated caller to the Dell Tech Solutions desk complained that she couldn’t get her computer to even turn on. After ensuring that the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response, “I’ve pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happens.” The “foot pedal,” of course, turned out to be the mouse.
A superior education provides the tools of learning and communication, which allow an exploration and explanation of our world. Such an education instills wonder while it challenges students to think in creative and innovative ways. Educators in such a model spend little time telling students WHAT to think and a great deal of time teaching students the processes of HOW to think. Students educated in such a way are armed with high self-esteem and the confidence to approach our ever-changing world; they are equipped to teach themselves apart from the four walls of a classroom. Among those students must be communicators able to bridge the generations and to share the value of advances in ways that will capture the minds of others.
All the progressive innovations in the world are not progress until someone has the ability to explain them to others!
