What We Might Learn As Teachers from Steve Jobs*
*as adapted by bwlp from the online article: WHATS HUGE, The techtainment Blog, accessed at http://whatshuge.com/2011/10/7-rules-of-steve-jobs/ on 10/20/11 at 5:05AM1. Bring what you love into the classroom. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.
2. Put a dent in the universe; inspire children to change the world. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.
3. Make connections in curriculum to a diversity of subjects and realia. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.
4. Say no to 1,000 things; focus on a few key skills for academic success. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each project. Put the "A-Team Attitude" on each semester goal. What are you saying "no" to?
5. Create insanely different experiences; how many things do children see when they walk in the door suggest their lives are enriched upon entry? Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your students?
6. Master the message; humans are conditioned to listen to storytelling- don’t fight the feeling!! Tell good stories that lead students to tasks and expectations. It’s better than appearing to beg them to listen. (I was ‘almost’ there...) You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.
7. Sell dreams, not daily agendas. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your students don't care about your daily agenda. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your students reach their dreams, you'll win them over.
So the overall message is: dream bigger for your students and consequently yourself.
See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision: crafting young people to be the best people they can be first to apply and develop their academic skills second, hence be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.
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