My reading list can be random – something, somewhere catches my eye. When “The Glass House” by Emily St. John Mandel was billed as having a Ponzi scheme guy as the lead character, I was in. It was a quite interesting and creative novel, with the Ponzi aspect only dominating quietly, but powerfully.

Naturally I had to read another book by the same author, namely “Station Eleven.” Published in 2014, would you believe that a pandemic is the pivotal narrative inflection point. Meaningful portions of the text could easily be lifted and transported into a 2020 timeline.

In the Society section below, I had framed a question this way, *What segment of the population will regard their significant individual history as beginning with the virus of 2020, just as some date their experiences from a baseline of 9-11-01.”

Ms. Mandel describes the situation thusly, “this illness Hua was describing was going to be the divide between a before and an after, a line drawn through his life.”

In any case, what follows are a few questions, relatively mundane compared with the apocalyptic scenario in Station Eleven. They are in no particular order, as this would require additional insight. Basically they represent incomplete thoughts in need of closer scrutiny. Any reader could easily add a bunch of questions without breaking a sweat.

In case the memo was missed, nobody really knows how life in the United States is going to evolve.

EDUCATION

*Will there be a devastating negative impact from the pandemic on generational economic mobility.  During the lockdown, the below average K-12 student is being hurt more than the higher average classmate, the younger student more than the older, the lower income student more than the higher.

*Will K-12 schools re-open in the Fall of 2020 without a clue as to whether their students are prepared to move ahead. Will the traditional summer academic fall-off be exacerbated, in fact extend throughout the year as young psyches are slowly massaged back to normality.

*What will K-12 education even look like a few months out: smaller classes, in-class or remote, daily temperature checks, split morning/afternoon enrollments.

*Will the idea of year-round schooling get another look?

*In thinking about the Fall of 2020, which might turn out to be the beginning of the baby year of change in higher education, these are some immediate micro factors stimulated by a forecast of a 15% drop in enrollment and a $45 billion hit to college budgets.

• Delayed deadlines for college acceptances
• Longer wait lists, and more movement down the list
• Maybe more interest by applicants in nearby colleges
• A necessity for colleges to be more proactive about refunds
• A willingness by those with big endowments to provide more financial aid
• Increased dropping or optionality for SAT/ACT requirements, actions which are unclear in terms of what student categories they benefit and which are hurt
• Will parents encourage their collegians to sit out a year
• Easier procedures regarding transferees
• More willingness to accept gap year deferments
• More ingenuity will be needed to keep full-paying international students in the USA
• Fewer opportunities for internships, admittedly not the school’s fault
• Legal bills will rise as colleges defend themselves against class action suits by students and parents who want some of their money back where there are in-class and on-line rate differentials.
• Some colleges are moving up their opening dates in order to finish the Fall semester before Thanksgiving. The break to January reopening would then be almost two full months, sufficient time hopefully to cope with a possible second wave of virus issues.
• At some colleges, alumni are being pressured to provide jobs or “micro-internships” to the new graduates of 2020.

*Longer-term, will colleges, whatever their delivery method, have to realize that for the vast majority of students, they are a place where skills—both tangible and intangible—are learned which are applicable to getting a job. Will the cost structure be altered to fit with more price-buying on the part of applicants, who have heard enough true tales of student debt oppressed graduates.

*Will the hyper-attention to colleges as job training organizations lead to more emphasis on alternative paths, to economic success, e.g., apprenticeships and CTE. (A big “YES”)

*As the new construct of higher education shifts increasingly to on-line – or at least a hybrid model — will credentials, and the accumulation thereof, become the new standard, replacing a conventional college diploma. Already sophisticated employers in the tech area are going in that direction.

*Will the combination of changes at the higher education level finally bring about a true examination of the cost structure of colleges, as distinct from the current total emphasis on how money can be obtained to pay for the obscene expenses of higher education.

*Will colleges react to the new environment by cutting back on their administrative and singular cause staffs, which have been the driver of total higher education employment. 

*Will the almost late, mostly lamented MOOC concept come roaring back to life (evidence is positive), at the eventual expense of many jobs in higher education, particularly if small liberal arts colleges decide their only way to survive is by joining forces with a stronger financial institution.

*Will deferment of student loan repayments until September 30, 2020 prompt a deep dive into the whole debt issue, with real numbers being examined, i.e. not a flippant, “let’s just cancel them all.”

SOCIETY

*“Truth, Ambition, and Compromise” may be the subtitle (with “In Putin’s Russia”) for a book (“Between Two Fires”) about a different country, but that tension resonates everywhere. Will we balance the conflicting pressures of self, family, children, marriage, community, ideals, and economic reality differently after the virus impact has peaked.

*Will we become less individualistic, recognizing that the “this cannot happen to me” attitude proved terribly wrong during the virus outbreak. Will we agree that the health of that person six feet away is connected to my health, making the issue a “we,” not an “I” situation.

*How deeply do we care about increased levels of hunger among children? (I you are not outraged, I feel sorry for you – sorry about the editorializing.)

*Will our increased level of communication persist. If we revert to prior norms, will we miss these days of heightened interaction.

*Will there be a renewed personal resiliency with “legs,” or will the “Coddling of the American Mind” prove to be entrenched as a relatively long-term negative.

*As we Zoom more, do we lose interest in traveling and become even more culturally insular. Airlines are assuming no recovery to 2019 levels for many years.

*Will there continue to be declining interest in having babies; 2019 was a 35-year low.

*Do we eliminate the hug as a dangerous infectious activity.

*Given that Americans have already stepped up their wars on themselves (suicide rates), will the country become more likely to seize upon a flimsy excuse abroad to launch an external war.

*Will entertainment become even more digitized than at present.  Are professional and other sports feasible with crowd restrictions.

*Not a question, but a given: the 2020 election will be incredibly ugly, with more than a good chance that the loser does not accept defeat gracefully.

ECONOMICS

*Will issues of social justice/equity/fairness for all sectors of the populace lead to more discussion and eventual acceptance of the Universal Basic Income concept. Reportedly, 40% of those formerly earning $40,000 or less are now unemployed.

*Will globalization take a big pause as nations recalibrate their degrees of interdependence. Or will there simply be a redistribution of sources, China losing share to other low-cost countries and some manufacturing coming back to the United States itself. The Economist estimates that 90% of the population lives in countries with “largely closed borders” and that countries representing 59% of world GDP have “tightened rules on foreign investment.”

*Given that the country has been slavishly addicted to perpetual GDP growth, does the virus “hiccup” cause one to reconsider that metric as the sole yardstick for quality of life. Or will we instead immediately bounce back to the consumptive model, fueled by ever-increasing debt loads, no longer regarded as a governmental problem under new monetary theory.

*Does the totally atypical debt load of the country suggest that something has to change, to avoid a recurrence of inflation that has almost always gone with a hyper printing press for fiat money. If the Federal Reserve pumps money in to get us out of a recession, continues pumping as the economy recovers, and then tosses in mega-money in response to the virus, what monetary tool remains.

*Will the rise in anti-anxiety and depression prescriptions be reversed if a COVID-19 vaccine proves effective and widely available.

EPILOGUE?

“The other channels were all static and test patterns by then, except for the ones that were repeating a government emergency broadcast over and over, useless advice about staying indoors and avoiding crowded places.” Ibid.

Comment:  Among the collateral benefits of the lockdown – there are very few — has been the opportunity to do an exhaustive clean-up of my files, folders, zip drives, desk drawers, piles of paper resting somewhere gathering dust. Included in this lessening mess have been some writing ideas.

In theory, said creative expressions could be updated to reflect the crazy world we are now experiencing, but in practice, that is unwieldy, awkward, and simply not worth it.

So —- nothing below has anything to do with the virus and its impact.  That belongs in a separate, new piece tentatively called “Brave New World.” Whoops, that nomenclature has been used …. and used …. and used. Perhaps it should be “Brave? New? World?”

****

It is the 530am Lakeland bus out of the Dover, New Jersey terminal, the same bus I took into New York City when I worked on Wall Street several decades ago. Darkness surrounds me, the mostly male construction guys catching some shut-eye before getting to the Big Apple and their well-paid but physically demanding union jobs that typically go from 7-730am to 2-3pm. Many of them, true of the bus drivers as well, live 40 miles or more west of the bus terminal, preferring the lifestyle and tax structure across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

As age begins to make an impact, I sometimes turn off my reading light on the bus, the only one which has been on, swapping productive endeavors for quiet contemplation or actual slumber. Which in fact might be the most productive activity for both the early hour and the full day ahead, and maybe this specific metric is silly anyway.

But productivity is a common characterization about the use of time, and relevant to myself. Herb, a research salesman at my former employer, proclaimed that I was the most productive analyst he had ever met, the definition being published reports, client calls made, and recommendations which were more on the money than not.

Sometimes back in the day on an early bus I would feel a touch guilty about having my light on, but the emotion passed as I wanted to be accomplishing something relevant to a job I loved … until I didn’t. Nobody on a quiet bus asks anybody else how they want to make the ride enjoyable, useful, quick, whatever.

The light bulb going on has long been the imagery of an idea coming to someone. Maybe being the only light has some competitive or creative significance, regardless of the field of endeavor. For a young person, there are multiple lights which must be discovered: illumination on cultural acclimation, inclusive of code switching as he or she winds their way through the often poorly-lit demands of family, professors, peers, friends, romantic partners, the community at large. How many of these lights confuse oneself, compete with each other. Which ones can be combined, coordinated.

Does it always take a well-researched, well-written expose, whether in book form or that of a newspaper or magazine, to shed light on ugly situations of great consequence, e.g. opioid addiction or abuse cover-ups in the Catholic church, or college admission scandals, or race-related institutional barriers to advancement, or gender discrimination in employment.

Can there be an effective light shown on the hypocrisy of super-affluent people lamenting income inequality while their companies actively seek to put the little shops out of business. There is a bodega on East 108^th Street in New York City which advertises newspapers, organic products, and beer, among other products in its unique, community-friendly space.  Can it survive when the corporate big box retailer opens up a half-dozen blocks away; should the spotlight be on the local impact or the lower prices, healthier food selections of the corporate competitor.

If you do not put your own light on, is it the fault of the electric utility or the bus company or the possibly annoyed seat mate … or are you looking for somebody to be at fault for your lack of initiative, curiosity, and determination.

A student asked me for some advice as he pursued life after his recent college graduation. When I re-read what I had said off the top of my head in response, the generalizations did not sound half-bad. Some days you get inspired — or lucky!

Hence they now form the backbone of another entry in my ad hoc series of communications.

*assume the COVID impact is persistent, despite everybody’s desire for a near-term re-opening (in this geographical area, two-thirds of people would not be comfortable getting on a bus, train, or subway; over half do not want to shake hands) 

*every day declare something to be positive

*it is terribly difficult to avoid debt, but try to minimize it, especially on credit cards

*always have a Plan B to backstop your Plan A

*keep networking even when the person you are talking with cannot be helpful at this moment

*stay in touch with friends

*help somebody less fortunate

*maintain your credibility, that what you say is what you do, assuming it is doable of course

*control stress to the extent possible; exercising or journaling are useful

*be grateful for something; for K-12 students, a recent headline captured the feeling of many: “The School Year really ended in March.” And these are young people for whom summer is typically a time when there is regression in terms of being ready for their new, higher grade.

For those continuing on to college in the Fall of 2020, I would add the following:

*colleges are fearful of students not returning. This may help you in negotiating financial aid

*be prepared for either on-campus classes with restrictions or a continuation of on-line college

*showing resolve to continue college under duress could be viewed positively by employers

*make sure your FAFSA filing is the most current possible as family incomes may have changed

*in case you were wondering, nobody really thinks that a total on-line education is a good thing

In the midst of this unprecedented situation, be assured, as previously communicated, that our commitment to your higher education is unchanged. When you have a class schedule and bill for the Fall of 2020, please send it to me as its receipt releases our regular grant check to you. Our support of summer classes in 2020 likewise remains intact; grants vary based on the details.

For those thinking about starting graduate school this coming Fall, while there could be variation, your assumption should be a continuation of the per-semester grant we provided during your undergraduate years. The same assumption can be used by those intending on entering graduate school in 2021; it is understandable, for all kinds of reasons, why a student might not be eager to be on-line this coming Fall.

Here are some websites relevant to refinancing student loans and making adjustments that have been caused by the virus’ impact on parental incomes. These are new to me, probably because I am not a techie, so I name them without it implying an endorsement:

Educatetocareer.org – Students and Families –Students Program page

Formswift, Credible, NerdWallet, Student Loan Hero, Splash, and LendKey.

***

As always, information and communication are critical to decision-making.

Stay safe!                     Bob    

It has been my habit for many years to create what was to be an annual birthday “card.” Alas, world events of the negative variety have intruded and multiple versions have become the new normal.

Below is a compilation; formatting has been made consistent, for ease of perusal. The original “cards” came in different shapes, with a variety of borders.

2020: Version Two

In the past, I have attempted to inject some levity into my birthday “cards.” However, the Coronavirus makes this extremely difficult.

The high road is to quote somebody near and dear to me, who says our situation is “an opportunity for the best of humankind to shine.” To which I typically would be tempted to respond, “and coffee is still readily available,” clearly an attempt at deflection.

Given the extreme nature of the reaction to the Coronavirus, why the complete panic, with each political entity attempting to one-up the next in terms of its draconian regulations?

The answer is simple: we have not, yet, figured out the calculus of the new virus. Uncertainty reigns supreme.

Yipes, what a downer of a BIRTHDAY CARD! My bad!

The saving grace (maybe) of this missive is a moral:           treat each day, not simply your annual celebration, as          24 hours to be valued for and by you, your loved ones, and your broader community, however you define it.                                                         

**

2020

Okay, everything is a little crazy at the moment.

Uh, more than a little — or maybe we are mistaking “crazy” for situations which are only “different.”

No, I do not think there is an on-going error in perception: the combination of characteristics now relevant to the American socio/economic/political scene is truly unprecedented.

Given this environment, it is particularly gratifying that there is one unchanging aspect of your life: your BIRTHDAY is the same date every year!

This is true regardless of the weather, the economy, or the utter nonsense taking place in various government locations.

If the latter is stressing you –(I cannot be alone in feeling angst over the state of the world) ignore it.

Instead ………………….. HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!

**

2019

I try to write a Birthday Letter

which can be used for twelve months. However, every day there is a tweet which makes sustained thought

and commentary impossible.

At times, I feel shut-down,

as if there was a wall

between rationality

and what I see happening.

Ah, forget it, relax,

go to Noches de Colombia

or another restaurant and

have the band serenade you

with music which drowns out everything.

Happy Birthday!

**

2018: Version Two

In attempting to create a new “card,”

I am struggling to cope with

the most bizarre set of circumstances,

make that

the most nauseating political environment,

of my lengthy life.

Attacks, both verbal and otherwise, at times

seem to foreshadow the day when

legislators throw actual stuff

at each other, which happens already in

so-called less developed countries.

The room for nuanced discussion is about as wide

 as a gymnastic balance beam!

It therefore is completely understandable

if on this special day, you toss down

more than one high-octane beverage.

It’s your BIRTHDAY:

ignore my venting and be HAPPY!

**
2018

I am completely confused.

If one pays any attention to the media

or the typical man or woman in the street,

our President is like, you know, the worst ever.

Meanwhile, the economy continues to move ahead and the stock market reaches new highs,

which parenthetically helps not only the 1% but ordinary people whose pension plans are investors.

If the Democrats sweep the off-year elections and/or Trump gets impeached, to expect the economy

and the market to continue growing

is to say that good news has no limits.

Historians might comment that nothing grows

to the sky. Investors might recall the adage,

“buy on the anticipation, sell on the news.”

Do you see why I am befuddled!

The one consistency in this mess is that,

like last year, today is your

BIRTHDAY: ignore the stuff above and be HAPPY.

**
2017

This is unprecedented!

No, I am not referring to the presidency of

Donald Trump, but the fact that I have now been forced to revise my birthday letter multiple times before hitting “send.”

I would have thought that when the whining of the losers subsided and the curtains were fully pulled back, rational attention would have been shifted to the country’s systemic and structural challenges.

Instead, everything political has been chaotic.

It does not appear that an extremist is being pulled back toward the political center, as usually happens. Instead, his own party is more divided than ever.

It is a situation that could drive a person to drink.

It’s your BIRTHDAY. Have a HAPPY one,

even if you need a designated driver.

**

2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Prior recipients of my birthday cards probably have noticed that a modest amount of creativity is typically connected to some observations about negative situations.

I hereby resolve to avoid commenting on crazy things, like the current farce which masquerades as a presidential campaign or our stupidity about gun control or our dysfunctional education system.

Instead, I note that people from everywhere around the world still want to come here to live. See how positive I can be!

So go forth, to a place of ample food and drink,                                    and CELEBRATE your special day!

**

2015

If we can survive atrocities like beheadings and banalities like bieber, maybe people have an inner fiber which defies ordinary logic.

Lamentable and laughable simply become  descriptors of program feeds into a Twitter world.

Yipes, this is supposed to be a Birthday card, not a snappy synopsis of the world.

Besides, I have no idea what it all means: I wrote this while on Sabbatical in Barcelona. The positives there are as ubiquitous as café con leche and as rich as  xocolata croissants.

Which reminds me— take time today for a nice piece of cake and forget how many years you have crossed off the calendar of life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

**

2014

I know this is a crushing disappointment, but the year 2014 will be missing a paper version of my birthday wishes. Kicking and screaming, I have been pulled into the brave new world of technology and am now e-mailing my incredibly creative and deeply meaningful birthday messages. 

Fewer trees fallen, no trips to the mismanaged post office, some dollars saved for use in student scholarships—all are collateral benefits of this seismic shift. 

Wait—the birthday message itself!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

MAY ALL THE SERVERS AT YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT EMBARRASS YOU BY SERENADING YOU AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. AND MAY YOU REALIZE THAT WITHOUT A SENSE OF HUMOR, THIS WORLD IS DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT AS BEING AT ALL RATIONAL.

**

2013       

Let’s see: the economy is lousy, natural and man-made disasters seem to be more frequent, politics has become even more distasteful than ever—-blah, blah, blah!

FORGETTABOUTIT!

HAVE A PARTY!

DID I SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY?

THAT IS WHAT I MEANT TO CONVEY IN THIS MESSAGE.

HAVE FUN. STAY HEALTHY. PEACE.

**

2012

This year’s card is missing in action. I have no idea why. I would make a joke about a virus having eaten it, but somehow that is more than a bit tacky in 2020.

**

2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY..…HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Wasn’t it yesterday when we were worrying about

computers crashing as we moved into the 21^st century?

And now, in 2011, we have an “app” for everything–

except happiness, prosperity, and acceptance of differences.

But the heck with thinking about all of the above,

it’s your birthday—have a great time!

Missives sent over the years to college students assisted by the WKBJ Foundation.

February, 2020: HOPE YOUR WINTER BREAK WAS A USEFUL TIME TO RELAX AND GET YOUR BATTERIES RE-CHARGED FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER.

I continue to roll up the miles and restaurant meals getting together with young people being assisted in their pursuit of higher education. It is gratifying, and often stunning, the incremental insights gained from these conversations. It reminds one of the Amish saying, “too soon old, too late smart.”

Below are some of my learnings, including more than an occasional opinion.

*it is not appropriate or beneficial to bestow “role model” or “leader” labels on high school seniors who have yet to find their way at challenging four-year colleges that are far from home and their community experience. Let those appellations arrive organically, not attached prematurely.

*if a student has done well statistically in his or her high school courses without a responsible adult suggesting that the underlying rigor of the curricula was not high, the chances are good that fully productive study skills have not been learned prior to entering college.

*students say they are not aware of supportive resources at college, while staff of the latter protest that students do not access all those available resources listed on the school website. The difference may be the presence, or more likely absence, of helpful advisors.

*virtually every profession has increased its credential requirement from that of a generation ago, in part reflecting a lack of confidence by employers that the knowledge represented by the previous credentials was on-point to what is needed in today’s world. (Whether the up-credentialing itself is on-point is an interesting question.) In any case, ultimately it is the employer who decides how to value the program of a college or a student’s major.  Lots of data are now available, in contrast to years past; alas, there is no singular equation usable by a student, prospective or current.

*It seems that many young people of my acquaintance have no appetite for life in a corporate cubicle. This does not mean they are necessarily anti-business; in fact, many have an entrepreneurial itch, while typically lacking the capital to get started and, candidly, without a sufficient understanding of the marketing challenges connected to any new venture. It may be that some of what is learned in a corporate environment is useful experience for that prospective entrepreneurial effort.

 April, 2019

Like a typical New Jersey diner menu, the thoughts below are there for your choosing, which ones fit with your current appetite and which ones are for consumption on another day perhaps.

*An exhaustively detailed book titled simply “Principles” was written by, and lists the thoughts of,         Ray Dalio, a hugely successful Wall Streeter, on virtually everything pertinent to human interaction in an organization. He advocates:

Radical transparency: put your thoughts out on the table

Personal ownership: when you commit to something, it is your responsibility to deliver

Write it down: most people cannot remember everything

Search for truth: be skeptical of perceived wisdom, keep digging until satisfied with the “truth”

Idea meritocracy: let the best idea win, regardless of the status of the person with the idea

Evidence-based reasoning: you would think this is obvious, but it is not

Open minded and assertiveness: be flexible in receiving thoughts from others, assert your own ideas

Have clear goals, identify problems and do not let them get in the way; design a plan for that

Be curious; look for people with great questions.

*You have probably become aware of this breakdown:

Left brain: logical, realistic, fact based, non-fiction

Right brain: emotional, artistic, fiction, creative

The author takes this a step further, categorizing people as creators, advancers, refiners, executors (implementers), and flexors (combination of the four types). When you are in a group project, as is increasingly common in a college or workplace environment, it is quite helpful to know which of your colleagues fits with which characterization.

*You will be pleased to know that your academic performance at college not only does not tell an employer about your values, but it does not necessarily provide accurate information about the abilities they are looking for.

*Managers are people who do things right; leaders are people who do the right things

*To find the real answer, ask why seven times

*It is more important to understand than to be understood (the first is possible, the latter is not)

*Associate with believable people with demonstrated records of success

*Intelligence + energy + passion + self-reflection + being proactive = success

January, 2019: HAPPY NEW YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS                                   

(See ending paragraph for some background concerning this communication.)

As you get ready to finish a hopefully somewhat relaxing winter break and prepare for another challenging semester, I am sending a few thoughts stimulated by the book entitled “Deep Work.” Some of the bullet points may be more pertinent to an employment environment than that of a college student – it is up to you to decide which of the points are relevant to your life.

*To maximize time spent on “deep work” (like that major project for Psych class), minimize your time on “shallow work” (how often does that new tweet provide you with an important insight?).

*Time management is the usual umbrella description of a student’s challenge.  The phrase covers a multitude of decisions; make sure that focusing on the most important to-dos is at the top of the list.

*That awesome career goal of yours requires the development of a high-quality skill set, attainable only through an emphasis on deep work.

*Adding specific routines and rituals to your schedule enhances an ability to concentrate on deep work. This can be done in different ways: a set time of day or day of week and a specific location for your highest focus work, with no Internet interruptions permitted.

*Whether it be an objective of being able to fix things or fix people, a person must develop exceptional skills if they intend to become valued employees or entrepreneurs or academicians. The alternative may entail the risk of replacement by machines.

*Being busy with club and activity involvements may be a good thing, generating positive energy which spills over into academic accomplishments. Or it can be the opposite; self-awareness is needed.

*Your professor has heard himself/herself talk many times before; the good ones want to hear from you. Participation in class, where possible, will enhance your ability to do well on difficult subjects.

*High quality work produced = time spent multiplied by intensity of focus. Among other things, this means avoidance of distractions (typically social media-based).

*”The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”    As quoted in “Deep Work,” the speaker being a famous psychologist with the difficult name of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi).

*On occasion, with no artificial push from the professor, having a collaborative partner is beneficial.

*To use the book’s terminology in the context of college, time spent on deep work is a leading factor, while the test result or GPA is a lagging factor. You control the first, but not the second. Think of grades as useful feedback, not conclusive appraisals of your self-worth.

*Do not beat yourself up about those stretches of truly doing nothing or taking a jog, binge-watching a brainless sitcom, whatever. At the same time, be aware of whether giving your mind a reprieve enhances your productivity, which is what scientists say happens with true leisure time.

 *Studies show that multi-tasking is not correlated with deep work success. Training your mind to concentrate intensely has a collateral benefit – you are less attracted to distractions (if you are trying to lose weight, it is helpful to think negatively about ice cream).

*Schedule your Internet time, and when that is done, do not intrude on your non-Internet time. (I realize that colleges are as steeped in the website information/communication world as anybody, so it is not feasible to eliminate periodic checks of that source.)

*It is not enough to justify heavy social media usage by saying you learn something about a subject or a person; you must weigh this use of time against how it could have been used otherwise. Putting more thought into your leisure time activities is a useful way to reduce social media addiction. Facebook and other social media/tech companies want nothing more than converting you into addicts so they can sell your data to businesses seeking productive places to advertise.

*What brings you happiness — how to calibrate your effort (time, focus) in that direction, assuming it is not defined as skipping all your classes in order to lie on the ground and check out cloud formations (actually doing the latter two activities is a good thing, in moderation that is).

*When e-mailing or texting, provide information that will reduce the time spent going back and forth. Example: instead of “when shall we get together to work on our class project,” you might say, “I can meet on Wednesday or Thursday at  3pm or 7pm to work on our project; which is good for you?“

*Every day, declare something a “victory.”

BACKGROUND

One of the joys of getting to know young people is seeing their progress over a long period of time. Recently I traveled to Minot, North Dakota, to see a Latina from New Jersey get pinned as a Captain in the United States Air Force, a tremendous accomplishment.

Not surprisingly in her demanding career, Nesy is a constant reader.  Equally unsurprising is that I am  curious about what people are reading. The book she suggested was “Deep Work,” by Cal Newport.  To say that I found it useful is an understatement. Note that certain of the bullet points above are of my own design and/or are modifications for a college student reader audience.

October, 2019: SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

Shortly colorful leaves will begin to drop, falling with the temperature — and with one’s emotions when their favorite football team inexplicably fails to win.

Time for a few musings before brain freeze sets in:

*if you are looking for an internship or future employment, go to every Job Fair possible and/or the conference in your major, anyplace you can see a human representative of a company or non-profit organization. Take his or her business card and follow-up.

*If you are approaching graduation and lack complete clarity as to your next step, join the crowd. Half of you are in that position.

*if you are doing well at college and are receiving some financial aid from the school itself, do not be reluctant to push for more money from them. They do not want you to leave. Of students whom a college accepts, slightly less than 30% actually enroll at that school. Keeping you is necessary for the institution’s budget to stay balanced.

*If, like two-thirds of students who have answered my question, you are not enamored with your assigned college advisor, you need to either establish a strong relationship with a favored professor or change advisors. In any case, you should be aware of reading and writing loads when it comes to creating a class schedule.

*Each year with the opening of school, teachers of younger students roll out their suggestions on how to study. Wait, they are useful for everybody and forever:

                Organize your work space so you can find needed information quickly.

                Do the important things first; have a consistent approach to prioritization.

Figure out your own learning method, especially whether bite-sized or big chunks of work can be done at a single sitting. In addition to the benefit of knowing thyself, it impacts on the amount of ramen noodles, pizza, and/or beer that  must be on hand.

Studies have shown that writing stuff down is more likely to put information in the memory bank than typing away on a laptop.

*Many of you have been confronted with discrepancies between your high school GPA and your SAT scores. Do not feel alone. Fully one-sixth of SAT test-takers receive scores which are not in synch with their GPA results.

*Maybe a couple of semesters in, some of you may think you miss the rah rah sports scene of a much bigger school and are wondering about transferring, which often the media misrepresents as being an easy thing that lots of students do. Not so fast; there are multiple issues involved. If appropriate, perhaps it is better to “get away” from the presumed dullness of your existing college by taking a semester abroad and returning refreshed.

*Leadership qualities commonly cited in the workplace are fairness, consistency, honesty, and empowerment of those below you. Hmm, these traits are probably useful in leading a school class project, or a fraternity/sorority, or a volunteer effort.

*All the talk about having a passion is true and misleading at the same time. In order for the passion to become a career, it must be an area in which you have or are developing a particular skill and where you have an awareness of how that skill/passion works in the real world, one with employers who have their own axes to grind and one where accreditation/licenses could well be necessary to use that skill/passion.

*Periodically, you may need to remind your mother, grandmother, dad, best friend, and/or significant other that you are not them, nor your cousin, nor anybody except … YOU!

August, 2019:

HELLO COLLEGIANS: ANOTHER IN MY SERIES OF RANDOM AND UNCONNECTED WRITINGS                                        

*Everybody is ready for the Fall semester – yes?  Or simply trying to stay cool or working or interning.

Seniors are nervous as they think about the reality of life after graduation. (They also need to double-check that they have all the credits needed to walk; my trust in college administrators is not high.)

Juniors are beginning to think/worry about becoming seniors.

Sophomores are conflicted – do they love, like, or dislike their current college.

Freshmen are hopeful and nervously eager for the journey, while their parents are nervous about their “babies” leaving the house and entering a world which mom and dad cannot control.

*According to Pew Research, this is the breakdown among Americans of attitudes toward information: 22% of adults are “eager and willing” to pursue information. There are more minorities than whites in this bracket, 16% are confident in their handling of information. This bracket skews white, educated, affluent, 13% are considered “ambivalent” about information; they are labeled “cautious and curious,.” 49% are “relatively wary of information,” comprised of 24% who are doubtful about conventional information sources and 25% (older white males especially) who have minimal trust in  information sources.

From this breakdown, it is easy to see why President Trump stands a good chance of being re-elected. With minimal exceptions (the impact from the tariff battles being the primary one), his base has not been shaken significantly and the bicoastal media/intellectual elites (who are lopsidedly anti-Trump) find it difficult to create bite-sized messages which make an impact on the above 49% category.

*It is mandatory for those of any age, not only those in the political arena, to be able to step outside themselves and engage the opposition in a respectful fashion. It is also wishful thinking in the United States of 2019. Maybe the whole political mess will continue to be dominated by name-calling, with worthwhile programmatic ideas buried under the vituperation. Nevertheless, to not know your enemy’s argument is to not really know your own.

*Meanwhile, back in the prospective classroom, if you are struggling academically in a class, seek help from the professor and/or a tutor and/or the smartest person in the class and/or Khan Academy.

*Interesting question from company interviewers: “what is the last book you read?” And presumably, this means an actual book, not an abbreviated on-line version, with subject matter that has not been part of a class curriculum.

*Self-reflective and proactive … the mantra of success

Not with family or friends, in an airplane, shopped at a 7-11: sounds like a candidate for serious therapy!

However, keep in mind: I flex for facts and … the wrong train can take you to the right destination.

Notes from 2018:

*WKBJ Foundation is now out of money, as planned in its by-laws of 1989. For anybody, particularly the 45 students currently being helped, who is wondering about the financial details, be assured that funds have been set aside for the completion of college by these young people. What the opening sentence means is that new students are not being accepted. Fittingly, our final trustees meeting was held at a diner (truth be told: it was because the fancy French restaurant had lost my reservation).

Meanwhile, we have our first PhD (Applied Mathematics) and a second on the way (Intellectual Property) and our first USAF Captain. Quite cool for sure.

Overall, WKBJ has doled out some $20 million and changed an innumerable number of lives.

My new program idea, to be a personal venture, is something called the 5×12 program. The name emanates from its central idea of using a less stress approach to graduating from college, namely five years of 12-credit semesters. The goal is to raise the college completion rate of Hispanic students.

*Uncommon Schools continues its phenomenal success. Would you believe it is educating 20,000 students, up from 72 two decades back! Quality at scale, with the total story not yet having been told. The diverse group of men and women leading the 53 schools involved are truly exemplary individuals. I remain on the boards of North Star Academy and Camden Prep.

*The Charles Hayden Foundation, where I am a trustee, is undergoing a strategic planning exercise, complete with highly paid outside consultants. I sense regression to the mean as an outcome, but the drill is still worthwhile and, unrelatedly, I have not wavered from my belief that all foundations should have limited lives.

*The young couple sit down for breakfast at the restaurant of their choice, perhaps around the block from their high-rise condo. Immediately, they pull out their phones and are separately, quietly engrossed. Now I am not that knowledgeable about the actions of cocaine users— but I think their addiction is more physical and noisier.  Which compulsiveness is worse: the phone (a mostly unrecognized addiction) or the drug (a well-chronicled problem). 

Sorry, I have to interrupt my preaching to find out if the Kardashians have tweeted about the birth of still another child with an uncommitted father.

*Flipping the switch back to positive — on the family front, Wendy continues helping the Communications Director of Davidson do her thing and husband Ed is consulting with Oncor, in Dallas. Daughter Nora is a freshman at Tufts University.

Kari and Dan are about to move into their new house, which connects them more with their school teaching careers and gets daughter McKenna and son Callan into the center of town and activities.

All of the above are quite talented, bright, energetic, verbal, and pervasively nice people, which is amazing given…. well, you know.

*What would a missive from me be without a little political philosophizing!

Does anybody have a handle on what is to become the new version of the American narrative? Certainly the one most of my generation bought into those many decades ago is closer to being scrapped than being reinforced. Perhaps Trump has simply pulled back the curtains to reveal our dysfunctional and venal selves. As he pulls out of Syria, he leaves our allies in a completely befuddled position. As he rails against the Federal Reserve, he displays abysmal ignorance about how our economy functions. As he lauds the authoritarian leadership of Russia and China, he reveals his wet dream of complete power.

Turnover at the top of the administration is 65%. Only the good get fired? Nah, some of them were true scumbags. Meanwhile, is there anybody on the other side of the aisle who has covered the  emotional ground that the incompetent campaign managers of Trump’s opponent missed.

The college campuses are full of idealistic young people (their own definition) fighting for the right of everybody to agree with them.  Polarization anyone!

What do immigration, abortion, and charter schools have in common? You can win (by impartial standards) every debating point, but nobody changes their minds.

Planned Parenthood is accused of mistreating pregnant employees. A school for blind musicians is being ousted by the Charity for the Blind. The negotiator of the Amazon deal for New York City quits. Priests who have settled sexual assault charges are continuing to preach. HELP!

Get off the main highway, the interstate which has helped homogenize our country, and check out the two biggest buildings in a no-name community. They are the college and the hospital. In common, their costs are inscrutable and absurdly high, with no particular pushback of consequence. For several decades they probably have caused more stress and more hindrance of job and overall mobility than any other set of economic components.

There has been no public decomposition of college costs; all of the emphasis has been on somehow getting more money to students so they can afford the exorbitant prices. Periodically some august journal does dissect health care costs, at which time the analysis devolves into political wrangling, while the negative impact on most people continues to be highly painful.

*Among other strategies to stay sane, I read less and less about so-called education reform; much of the verbiage is the same as that of twenty years ago. I am assisted in my attempt to maintain mental balance by knowing that gambling and marijuana are en route to being completely legalized, and Fortnite (which reportedly has 200 million players worldwide) is adding to the ability of young males to master the nuances of a proper kill shot. 

I am reminded by this trio of thoughts that I did not feel like writing this letter, preferring to stay in bed with the covers pulled up over my head. But the exercise was cheaper than seeing a shrink.

Perhaps surprising to many, I have not watched television news for over 35 years. Instead, I read the New York Times, the Economist, and EuroNews on my iPad. I buy the Wall Street Journal daily, listen to several radio stations throughout the day and sports-surf on television at night. Have I missed anything? P.S. I am continually reading a book, most of which are non-fiction and typically challenge that American narrative I obliquely referenced earlier.

*Basketball remains a delight; I mean, what can be sweeter than hitting the winning basket (happens occasionally) in a highly competitive 4-on-4 battle!

*Traveling to Paris and London with Damaris, Faith, and Paola (a mutual friend) at the end of March was great, occasional uncertainties about lead-follow-or get out of the way notwithstanding.

Faith is running (including multiple 5k events), drawing comic strips, and is living proof that kids say the darnedest things. I wish there was a tape of her five-minute riff on black-while relationships. The three of us were crying we were laughing so hard. Mother Damaris is doing Case Management at CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster care kids), a stressful position to say the least.

*What is family?

A: Accidental, blood, cultural differences in the heart rate when the word mother or father or sister or brother is voiced. Think of it though. A couple of people you never met until they combined for a unique event replicated the latter and, without any involvement by you, produced some other creatures with a combination of physical similarities and mindset dissimilarities sufficient to cause one to wonder whether these newbies actually came from the aforementioned couple of people. Oh yes, you love them anyway; it is stipulated, and properly so, on each birth certificate.

A(2): You grow up, at least in terms of years, and try for a sustainable romantic relationship. It works for a very long time, brings two wonderful individuals into the world, who in turn bring three more – all without anybody stopping to figure out the meaning of life.

B: A relatively short connection ends, in a friendly fashion that brings with it a collateral benefit: a strong relationship with a ten-year old who nearly every time she sees me says, “I love you.”

B: A foundation funding relationship with two young people brings with it a strong connection to their parents, meaning great conversation, exchange of gifts, delicious food and wine.

B: A former work colleague marries a young man known to me and they and their son are like family. Whoa, I have completely understated the depth of this connection, probably because it merits a long essay all by itself, beginning with tears at an unrelated funeral.

B: An ad hoc/accidental situation, wherein the connection to parents in their education and subsequent career pursuits gets augmented by interaction with their two young children.

B: Once, on paper and for a while in the real world, it looked like an ideal match, but it was not to be. Nonetheless, the connection to her offspring has survived, even blossomed.

B: Hard to describe a complicated situation, but the foursome represents all that is admirable about what we have traditionally regarded as American values.

B: What a long time, what a great platonic relationship, born of the office and continuing through the education of offspring.

Each entry above involves love in a family context; excluded are the many individual situations with analogous deeply felt emotion: you know who you are. My life’s focus, assisting young people to pursue their aspirations, brings me into the lives of a great number (including two exemplary individuals on my recent trip, with whom I had outstanding, meaningful, multi-hour conversations) … and it is fun, even recognizing the dysfunctional environments of too many students!

*Did I mention one of the innumerable benefits of curiosity: you ask the focused person next to you at a Barnes & Noble study table about what she is working on so diligently and you meet and get to know a woman who Dares to Dream. Check out the website!

*Almost forgot to explain the opening tease: a quirky set of calendar-related considerations had me involved in multiple Xmas celebrations before the magic day. On the latter I was on my way to Miami, to become secluded in a writer’s apartment (okay, a hotel room, but it had certain amenities needed for serious creativity, you know a coffee-maker and a nice flat table). The 7-11 nearby was the source of  energy bars, the final complement to productivity or whichever term is appropriate for these 1785 words.

My bucket list travel idea —  waiting until the last minute to decide among Serbia (mind), Morocco (soul), or Panama (body) as a destination– has been deferred, the result of a much better-informed analysis of time, energy, and money.

In any case, since the primary objective of said trip was to be writing, Miami was …. Perfect!

PEACE and LOVE, BOB                                                   

Below is background information, as framed in a 2018 letter to my sister and two brothers..

Dear Siblings:

Having taken a page out of the book of Ruth Ann (and a few million others), namely that the contents of a box must be allowed to age properly, over several years preferably, before the contents may be lifted from their repose and brought into the sometimes harsh glare of artificial light, I had left unexamined a box lifted post-mortem from Dad’s storage facility.

All I knew is that there were papers inside, unfortunately not including the category of stock certificates, and they pertained to his father.

The materials turned out to be quite interesting, in a surprising way, namely the question of how one Harry Melcaef Howitt spelled his middle name. Since I have yet to pay off on the $50 I have put up for anybody who spells my middle name correctly, it being Melcaef, this is an issue near and dear to my heart, at least on those days when my jump shot is off.

Maybe karma was in play; I just recently passed a landmark birthday and a meeting scheduled for this morning had been postponed, meaning that the excuse of no time to examine the contents of the box was no longer operable. Now, if middle name spelling is the topic, I had to be all in!

Here is a list of those pieces of paper on which the name was spelled as simply Harry M. Howitt:

Will, tax return, deed, social security letter, grand lodge communication, check, invoice, business card.

In addition, grandma Allene’s will listed her husband as Harry M. Howitt.

One 1917 draft notice had the middle name as Metcalf; another had it as Melcaef. Government administrative consistency apparently was as elusive a century ago as it is today.

The Bureau of Vital Statistics indicated that the birth certificate read Harry Melcalf Howitt; damn, have I been wrong all these years! Who do I sue!

Ah, but wait – there is a copy of an original document attached to the communication immediately above. It was mailed to Grandpa’s mother Isabella, who was married to William Howitt for those who are keeping score. This copy tells a different story.

Unless one believes that a single name with only seven letters would be written by the same hand with both a tall looping letter “l” and an “l” half the size of the former (which is what an open letter “e” resembles ), the correct spelling is …. drum roll please:

                                                                HARRY MELCAEF HOWITT  

There is no question that sleep will come easier to me tonight knowing this to be the truth regarding our grandfather and … myself.

Going “to” (being attracted to a new college or job or residence or relationship) carries better odds of success than going “from,” i.e., leaving any of these situations simply because you are ticked off.

When unsure, emphasize variable, not fixed commitments.

What are the unshakable truths about you: be totally honest.

What decisions must be made now, which decisions can wait.

Income fluctuates, but debt is forever.

Crawl … walk … run.

A house is not really an investment; it is fundamentally a residence: assume you will be there five years when considering buying a house.

Your loving family is not in the classroom helping you take a final exam.

Pursue your passion first; at the same time, have an alternative plan.

Regardless of the different paths in life, everybody’s goal is simple: a place to live, food, clothing, a loving relationship.

Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Decide on your action based on the net: positive factors minus negatives.

There are always unintended consequences.

Bring the bad news first, the good news can wait.

Half of the “answers” come from being able to frame the questions.

Every day is NOT new. You start with the values you created yesterday.

Passion alone does not triumph over inertia: you need a plan.

I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible, but I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. (Borrowed from Gandhi)

To start, you must have a good idea, delivered with passion. This will gain you an audience. When the approach is credible and favorable results ensue, you will have a following. If you add attention to data-gathering, procedural consistency and the development of talent, you will have a sustainable program—if you have funding!

Intentionality + Communication + Consistency = Consequences.

The cruelest, most harmful thing a teacher can do is to allow a student to think the world functions in a way different from that which the teacher knows to be true (lifted from a great Reading while on the exercise bike).

Under-promise and over-deliver; over-promising and under-delivering is a cancer affecting everything a person says he will do.

Group data is meaningful, but it tells you nothing about the characteristics of any individual within the group.

Be aware of the Conflict Avoidance Syndrome: fight when you are right.

A degree opens doors and provides options; it does not guarantee a job.

Every Executive-Director in the non-profit world is smart, articulate, compassionate. Each can describe ad nauseum the lamentable plight of a poster child, one whose life challenges well-told can easily cause a funder to be separated from his or her charitable money. Overall, nonetheless, success in aiding such young people is more random than systematic.

In contrast, those who are accomplishing ambitious, societally-important objectives at scale are attacked by the existing power structure – they must be doing something wrong, they must be making money off their scheme.

We believe the societal return on investment from a positive preschool is high. We underfund it.

Mental health services are a crying need in underserved areas. We give it lip service.

The slope of digitization of education is steep; the education results are a flat line.

Almost nobody talks in polite society about the destruction of the family unit as an input relevant to subsequent education challenges for the children involved.

The Silicon Valley techies who have brought us all those wondrous, addictive products are signing no-phone technology contracts with the nannies who are taking care of their kids.

The cumulative hard copy pages devoted to education reform analyses defy the description of environmentally friendly.

Howard Fuller said it right a quarter-century ago concerning the need for reform in K-12 education: “it ain’t about the research, it’s about the will.”

One must hunt to find in-depth analyses of college costs. Reports with the C word in the heading are rarely about deconstructing the why behind tuition/room and board/the long list of fees. Instead they are about finding money, from the student and from the rest of society, to pay for said costs, as if they were fixed for some reason.

When did the Federal Reserve become solely responsible for economic growth? When did the sole function of the Federal Reserve become managing economic growth?

What if the data analytics people discovered that the combination of single parent households, punitive drug laws, inadequate minimum wage levels, and disproportionately expensive daycare actually drove education outcomes more than any other quartet of factors.

Why does a person lead with, “to be honest.” It raises questions about everything else they say.

Why do so many people respond reflexively to a question by saying “that’s a good question.” Are they stalling for time to dream up an answer.

Writer: not sure when I wrote this, but it certainly was pre-lockout. How many of the questions and comments will still be relevant when the pandemic is behind us?

Perhaps it is useful to start with a series of non-negotiable beliefs pertinent to the charter schools of my experience; if an individual’s mindset does not match up, the question of leadership is moot.

*all young people can learn

*high academic standards are a must

*a commitment to data assessment leads to on-point and timely adjustments

*tightness in school culture does not restrain, but frees, creativity

*without great teachers, nothing else matters; hence, professional development is prioritized

*attentiveness to the balance of rigor and joy leads to superior results

*mission alignment must encompass all adults in the building

*character is a way of acting, not a course to be plugged into a curriculum

*diversity is both an end in itself and a means to an end, enhanced educational outcomes

*the education of minorities is, at heart, a civil rights issue, closing the achievement gap

*parents and the community are partners, as defined, in the education process

*success is never final

*transparency is essential to trust

On the more individual characteristic side of the question, these are some thoughts.

*the top person does not have to be charismatic in the conventional sense, but must be inspirational

*humility is necessary both within the school and attitudinally with respect to seeking out Best Practices          wherever they may be located, under whatever governance structure

*great health, high energy, and a disregard for the clock are part of the maniacal commitment to           superior accomplishments

*there is an understanding that a relatively young person managing others of similar age is challenging              and there will come a time when making somebody unhappy has to happen

*there has to be a trust that the board is comprised of individuals equally passionate about the school

*the instructional leader should consider the Operations person a thought partner, even with their     differing responsibilities

*both must understand every line item                of the budget and believe in complete financial integrity

*overall, they should want growth in both the school and in individuals to be as fast as possible, but as              slow as it must be for quality to be maintained.

*demanding with a smile as a demeanor is not a bad description of the leader

*candor in addressing issues of concern is an essential characteristic

*development of future leaders is essential to evaluating how the current top person is doing

Note: there is no attempt above to prioritize the different factors.

Written  11-20-19, relevant to a potential charter school leader