Millennial Ideas Are Worth Sharing
by Keith Morris
Wake Technical Community College
A month and a half following our Target 2020 Democracy 2.0 summit in Charlotte, Emily Pakes and I had an opportunity to meet up again in Half Moon Bay, CA for Big Ideas Fest. Most of the attendees were educators, but Emily and I were excited to bring a different perspective as two of the few students represented at the conference.
There were many wonderful presentations at the conference, but at the heart of Big Ideas Fest were “Action Collabs,” these sort of small-group workshops that took us through a process to design and prototype solutions to real-world problems. Our group’s design challenge was to enable teachers to have the greatest impact on learners. While the solution we came up with teetered on the edge of feasibility, we thought a lot about how we might be able to use the process in our own projects.
For example, I liked the use of improv to break the ice and build an atmosphere of support within our group. To introduce ourselves, we formed a circle. One at a time, we would step into the circle, say our name, make a silly gesture, and then step back out. Immediately, the group would repeat the entire sequence. We were sharing the experience of making fools of ourselves while receiving the support and recognition of the group. I think this is an excellent way to develop a collaborative spirit, and I intend to bring it back to my student club meetings at Wake Tech.
It can be intimidating to attend a conference that is filled to the brim with the most experienced and recognized professionals in the field, but one thing Mobilize.org has helped me to understand is that a good idea is a good idea no matter the source. The folks at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation understand this as well, and are working to attack educational issues from the bottom up as well as from the top down. Who better to understand the struggles of students than students themselves? And who are we students more likely to listen to, school administrators or our peers who are sharing in this experience?
We have more strength as Millennials to make change for ourselves than those ahead of our generation who cannot share our perspective. We are the leaders of today; let us have confidence in our own experience!
Thank you, Mobilize.org, for giving us the energy to take responsibility and tackle these challenges head-on.
