The Only Kind of Diversity That Matters

What are you really good at? Perhaps you've been told that you can do anything you choose to set your mind toward? That isn't true. But the truth may be much better than that.

The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book “This Year I Will...” and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters mediocrity. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”

This is where developing new habits comes in. If you’re an analytical or procedural thinker, you learn in different ways than someone who is inherently innovative or collaborative. Figure out what has worked for you when you’ve learned in the past, and you can draw your own map for developing additional skills and behaviors for the future.

...brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try — the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.

But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads. __NYT

When we learn, we each learn in our own way. We need people who can help us learn in the particular ways we learn best. Whether that person is of our gender or ethnicity or religion is irrelevant to our desire to learn. The only kind of diversity that matters in a learning, apprenticeship, or open working environment is the diversity of learning methods and skills.

We are all somewhat different in what we are good at, and in the ways that we become better within our strengths. But we need to push our "comfort zones" outward little by little, or we will become living fossils--incapable of change or growth. This is something one tends to see within particular intellectually inbred communities. The avoidance of challenge, the tendency to blame "the other" for all of one's shortcomings. The need to demonise and scapegoat, because placing all blame outward relieves one from any need to face fear-inducing change.

Some things you can change. Within that constellation of changeable things inside and outside of you, lives a potential universe that would make a nice place to live. All of us need to develop the ability to explore the world of changeability at our own pace, in our own way.

Bonus:

SmartWired’s three-step process unleashes a child’s potential and fosters a lifelong love of learning:

Recognizing. The Smart Card assessment identifies the child’s unique strengths, gifts, and assets and defines his or her pattern of success.

Utilizing. Online tracking and progress monitoring helps utilize information about each child’s patterns of success and shares it with teachers, educators, coaches, and others who play a role in his or her life. This knowledge will help others motivate and support the child throughout his or her life of learning, using what is right to overcome what’s wrong.

Developing. Helping to create the richest possible environment and support for the development of each child's unique talents, including asset-focused partnerships between the home, school and community. __SmartWired

H/T Kurzweilai.net