Harrison Ford is quoted by Dan Pink, sharing a motto that I wish NorthEast ISD administrators would consider before cutting The School of the Arts in San Antonio, Texas.

“When I was a carpenter, I once worked with this Russian lady architect. I would tell her, ‘Look, I’m terribly sorry, but I want to change that a half inch,’ and she would say, ‘No limit for better.’ I think that is a worthy credo. You keep on going until you get it as close to being right as the time and patience of others will allow.”

Isn’t it a shame the motto of “No limit for better” isn’t being considered when cutting programs valuable to our children?

NorthEast ISD recently announced it was cutting the NorthEast School of the Arts program, a wonderful program that nurtures students from around the city in the Arts, including writing, drama, media production, arts and more. The irony of the cruel cut to this fantastic program–marked by student performances, course work that one only sees in junior and senior college English programs–is that creativity and collaboration are KEY to global survival in our current century. Yet, NEISD has missed this as they scramble to lighten the load of a sinking ship.

In her book The New Global Student, Maya Frost identifies five key qualities that will guarantee “students will be successful in whatever they choose to do in the wild and woolly world of global work.”

In addition to being able to read, write, speak, calculate, and analyze proficiently, bold future leaders share the following characteristics:

F is for Flexible:

-They adapt quickly to their surroundings and make new friends easily wherever they go.

-They think independently and are not attached to a certain “right way” of doing anything.

A is for Aware:

-They read and can discuss–intelligently–a wide variety of subjects ranging from economics to e-learning.

C is for Curious

-They have a natural interest in a variety of topics.

-They know how to ask questions in order to gain knowledge and create stronger connections with others.

-They don’t wait for opportunities to appear–they are actively engaged in research in order to discover their best options for learning, travel, and work.

-They know how to use a variety of tools to both create and distribute information, and they continue to learn as new systems and gadgets are developed.

T is for Trustworthy

-They know that in a global economy there are thousands of people who are willing and able to complete any given task, and they recognize the increased importance of being dependable in order to gain trust and greater opportunities.

-They know how to collaborate with others….

-They hone their professional writing and speaking skills….

S is for Self-Directed

-Their work ethic and motivation are internalized.

-They can focus on the task at hand.

-They have an abiding passion for what they are doing.

While it would be easy to add even more descriptors from Maya’s work, these few shared here are a perfect illustration of the qualities the NorthEast School of the Arts students possess…qualities that, I would suggest, are more difficult to develop in a more traditional high school program.

As students are being prepared in the ways shown above, who wouldn’t understand the disappointment of students who know they are learning far more about what it means to be a global learner than they would if stuck in a traditional high school class molded by low-bid economics?

Furthermore, assuming NorthEast ISD top administrators–such as Superintendent Middleton, who received a pay raise in March, 2009, earning  $287,844, more than any other superintendent in the San Antonio area, a few months short of declaring district-wide funding crisis–have read The World is Flat, it’s probably safe to go one step further and hope they have read the work of Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind. The premise of the book is as follows:

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. 

NESA prepares students–like my daughter–for a future to compete with students from China and India…and if you’re wondering whether we have something to worry about, go get 2 Million Minutes.

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure