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School Partnerships

In 2008, The Wall Street Journal identified and ranked the rise of a new breed of business gurus. Their core ideas, if “synergized” into two sentences, might look something like this: With the flattening of the world at a steroid driven pace (Thomas Friedman #2), business management strategies have become dated (Gary Hamel #1) because you can innovate without emigrating and snap judgments and first impressions can offer us a much better means of making sense of the world (Malcolm Gladwell #4). Because gathering, managing, and using information are essential determinants in success (Bill Gates #3), human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of abilities, talents or mental skills called intelligences (Howard Gardner #5).

Howard Gardner, a professor of psychology and education at Harvard, is best known for his theory of “multiple intelligences” which has had a profound impact on the world of education.Dr. Gardner has noted the profound absence of a discussion of the future in American education, especially as interest in global education grows. As a part of the new breed of business gurus, Dr. Gardner is now focused on “five minds” that he believes are vital for students to navigate tidal shifts in global dynamics.

No matter what metrics we use to describe and measure changes in the world or how we choose to apply them, it is increasingly clear that knowing more about the world and knowing how to know more about the world is critical in a world where it is possible to know more than we have ever known about the world. First Person Publishing plans to help schools connect to our partner communities around the world. By offering them opportunities to develop marketing strategies for our products, students will learn more about our partner communities in the world as well the world of social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Gardner’s “Five Minds” are:

1. disciplined—trained to mastery in at least one area; understands the schema of a subject area
2. synthesizing—able to usefully organize ever-growing amounts of information
3. creating—seeks to ask good questions, new questions, and “make new mistakes”
4. respectful—beyond mere tolerance of diversity (Gardner argues tolerance is a low bar)
5. ethical—conceptualizes the importance of moving beyond self-interest in our sense of being