NSPRA

I just returned from the National School Public Relations Association Conference in Washington, D.C. At the conference, my team presented two sessions on podcasting. I learned new ideas to help communicate with the stakeholders of C-FB ISD. It was a time of fun including seeing fireworks on The Mall on the Fourth of July and seeing the White House and visiting the Old Post Office. The trip was also a time to collaborate, network and learn. Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, was a keynote speaker and was awe-inspiring! His wisdom concerning the future of our economy and education moved the participants.

Daniel Pink's website explains:
"Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That's what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of "left brain" dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which "right brain" qualities-inventiveness, empathy, meaning-predominate. That's the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times.
In this New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller, Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes to excel. A Whole New Mind reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, and includes a series of hands-on exercises culled from experts around the world to help readers sharpen the necessary abilities. This book will change not only how we see the world but how we experience it as well. "

One of his suggestions was to carry a design notebook. Design is one of the essential aptitudes professionals need (especially future professionals). Daily, I am going to write one good design idea and one design idea that is bad or that I would change. This will open my eyes to design throughout the my world and environment.

I encourage everyone to read the book and implement one new strategy to develop an essential aptitude.