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by Peg Smith, ACA Chief Executive Officer
Isn't it true that today we are often asked to live and work
together with others we've historically distrusted or never before
knew? When we combine that new reality with our recognized need to accommodate
and work with accelerated change, we find we are confronted with unprecedented
demands. In the book, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, it is suggested this
phenomenon is requiring us to do rapid cognition.
As we parent, coach, mentor, minister, and lead people with very different
histories, perspectives, and even values, we are continuously confronted
with the need to find ways to create climates of trust and shared learning.
The learning cannot be accomplished using traditional learning modalities
but strategic learning that includes webs of informal conversations and
networks of relationships. We must recognize it is not about teaching
the "answer" but developing the art of seeking possibilities.
Yet, many of us find this difficult since we have often been taught to
identify the "right" answer. We are not taught how to ask
powerful questions that will lead us to alternatives and new solutions.
Let's consider that we are told that our highest level of creativity
is between the ages of five and seven. We hit our lowest level of creativity
by forty-four years of age. Children laugh an average of 113 times a
day, whereas the average adult only laughs 11 times a day. Yet, humor
is considered one of the higher forms of thinking. And now, it is suggested,
as "seasoned," humorless adults that we must accommodate
and embrace "rapid cognition" in order to manage the accelerated
change that has become the norm.
At the same time, we must recognize that there are a growing number of
children that come to us knowing more than one language by the age of
thirteen. More young adults have traveled internationally by the age
of eighteen. Children are physically maturing earlier and are more exposed
to the realities of the world than we were at their age. Staff, today,
are more often than not expecting opportunities for flex time, telecommuting,
and the opportunity to participate in meaningful decision making. Parents
of our campers are "cocooning," which is changing their expectations
of communication and access. Although our camp world is a place for community
and reflection that affords, protects, and promotes a slower pace, we
must also recognize the world in which we live.
Let's be sure we are "in the moment" and cognizant
of "learning" conversations. We have opportunities to leverage
possibilities rather than continuously focusing on fixing mistakes. We
know how to promote conceptual and contextual leadership in order to
help people discover meaning and relevancy. We know how to work with
multiple "communities of practice"— seeking common
interests found embedded in the differences. We are experienced at creating
climates of trust that encourage critical thinking while embracing intergenerational
age groups. Our practiced intuition and intentionality demonstrates a
community prepared for rapid cognition. We are a community of people
who can offer others the chance to learn and practice the skills they
will need when they re-enter the world after camp.
Originally published in the 2005 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
