Inspirational Leadership and Sustainable Values,

Aspen Ideas Festival 5772010 Audio / Video Library: "Inspirational Leadership and Sustainable Values"



This is an hour-long talk with Thomas Friedman and Dov Seidman at the Aspen Ideas Festival 2010. Well worth a listen for the values of ethical leadership they espouse.

Effective Political Action

It's only 23 sleeps away...

I am not sure how the rest of you readers feel but it feels as though the summer has just flown right by. Many of you will be starting a new school year at Trent. Whether it's your first year, or it's your fourth, you are about to start a new year of challenges, laughs and memories at an amazing university. I am currently arriving back to my home in Ajax and for the first time in 4 years, it feels very different because I know I will not be returning to Trent and to my home Champlain College this fall.

This fall I will be starting at a new school, in a new city, with only a few friends. So many of the newcomers to the university I am sure can appreciate some of these feelings. We all embark on new beginnings but these beginnings are marked by epic endings. I had the best 4 years of my life at Trent and especially in the college that is home of the wild. What I now know is that Trent University prepared me to open the next chapter in my life, just as many of your high schools have done for you. Even though my time at Trent has come to a close, I know that it will always be a part of where I come from. As many of you are packing up your rooms at home, and are looking for memories to bring with you, don't forget about the new memories that you will create as soon as you get to Trent.

Some of my best memories at Trent University come from Introductory Seminar Week (ISW). This is the first time in 4 years that I am not gearing up for ISW, nor will I have the privilege to participate in it. ISW is the time when you meet some of your closest friends and people who could become your lifelong friends. My message to the newcomers is make sure you participate in at least one activity. Whether you go to the Great Race, High Table Dinner, you go to every cheer off, or you are the first one up and last one in bed each day, try to make it out to ISW because it could be the place that marks your first and best memories of Trent.

I hope you all will enjoy your last 23 days at home. I know that my summer before I started my Undergrad was the best summer of my life because it was the closing of an epic chapter and the marking of a magnificent beginning. As I write this towards the end of my summer of my Undergrad, I am experiencing many of the same emotions because it means I am closing another epic chapter and I am about to embark on a brand new and exciting beginning in Ottawa. Good Luck to everyone in their first few weeks of school, I hope you all will fall in love with Champlain as many of us have!

Outliers: The Story of Success

Trent Reads 2010 selected the book Outliers: The Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell. I read the book in February 2009 and was intrigued by many of Gladwell's stories. In fact, I still share segments of the book with friends today and at an attempt to encourage them to read it.

If you have not read the book yet, you still have a couple of weeks until Introductory Seminar Week. Borrow a copy from your friend or visit the library and take some time to delve into this very thought-provoking and engaging read.

Check out information about the Trent Reads program and why it selected Outliers as the Trent Reads book here.

For a well-written and comprehensive review of Outliers, read this November 2008 New York Times article. Below is a paragraph from the article:

"Gladwell’s latest book, “Outliers,” is a passionate argument for taking the second version of the story more seriously than we now do. “It is not the brightest who succeed,” Gladwell writes. “Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”

"The Trent Reads program was inaugurated in the summer of 2008. Incoming first-year students read Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and attended seminar sessions during ISW to talk about the book with each other and a faculty member who facilitated discussion. Later in September, Joseph Boyden came to Trent to meet many of the students and faculty who read and enjoyed his book. The Trent Reads program was inaugurated in the summer of 2008. Incoming first-year students read Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and attended seminar sessions during ISW to talk about the book with each other and a faculty member who facilitated discussion. Later in September, Joseph Boyden came to Trent to meet many of the students and faculty who read and enjoyed his book. "

Why 'Park Place' may ruin your academic career...

There are two things that you should know about me: 1) I love board games; and 2) I am competitive.

For many years, board games were banned in my house because I was simply incapable of playing for fun. I would focus on getting Park Place (the most valuable property in the game)* and ignore the rest of the board. When I lost, I would throw a tantrum. In one memorable game of Monopoly, my best friend's 6-year old brother was allowed back into the game only after he sold me his pokemon watch for $500 MP (monopoly dollars). I eventually gave it back to him 3 days later but, at the time, I thought he should learn "the value of a hard earned dollar." I was 13 at the time. Figure 1. "Mr. Monopoly, or prior to the year 2000,

"Uncle Rich Moneybags."

As far back I can remember, I have been very competitive person. Growing up, I was the kid who played sports and, unfortunately, also the kid who cried or threw temper tantrums after losing a game.

Thankfully, by the time I arrived at Trent, I had learned to control this type of behavior.I could laugh at others mistakes, says "good effort," and 8 times out 10 actually mean it. In a true display of progress, I made a conscious decision not to play competitive sports in my first year at Trent. I thought that it would be better for me both physically and emotionally to put more time into my school work for a year or two. I was surprised to find out that, despite not playing sports, my competitiveness remained in tact. It did not peter out but simply took a new form instead. Rather unexpectedly, school became my new sport.

Throughout high school, my grades were average or even slightly below average. I relished the opportunity for a fresh start at Trent and decided that I was going to be the best student that the university had ever seen. I started of by buying all the necessary supplies. If I was going to do well in school, I was going to need to take notes--lots of notes. This meant buying pens, paper, a date stamp for my notes (writing the date wastes valuable time), and a ruler for underlying titles and subheadings. 90 pens, 1 ruler, 1 date stamp, and 8,000 sheets of paper later, I was ready.

I started the year off by attending every lecture, reading every sentence of every assigned reading, taking extensive notes, and even forming study groups. I was going to be the best student that Trent University had ever seen. My first ever paper in university received a B- (72%). I was devastated. Surely, I thought, all the note taking and studying that I was doing must be--at the very least--worth a 90. I thought quite seriously about confronting the professor about my grade. If it had been a soccer game, I would have gone in for the slide tackle. I was angry. I decided instead to see how my other grades played out. Grades from my other first assignments came back: 80%, 83%, 81%, 84%. Clearly, 1 of my 5 professors was insane. I became fixated on the 72.

I worked day and night on my next assignment for the class. On the day that we were getting the assignment back I did not hear a single word that was being said in seminar. I just wanted the paper. I just wanted validation. With seminar finally over, I ran outside and quickly flipped to the back cover. No time to read, I just want the number. My eyes scanned for symbols that weren't letters and settled upon a grade of 70%. All my hard work had yielded even lesser results. My head sunk into my shoulders. I was both sad and angry. What was I doing wrong? Why couldn't I do as well in English 100 as all my other courses?

I went home, read the professors' feedback, and thought about it. I did agree with him. I met with the him and asked "what am I doing wrong?" He made it very clear that I wasn't doing anything incorrectly, but that there were simply areas that need to be improved. I didn't understand at the time what separated "doing something incorrectly" from "needing improvement." It felt like he was playing games with me. No matter how he wanted to spin it, I was not achieving at the level that I wanted to. Over the course of the year I grew to resent English 100 and made little improvement. I was convinced that the professor had something personal against me.

In hindsight, I feel silly. I can't believe how entitled I felt to certain grades and how self-absorbed I was. Occasionally, I look back at old essays and I simply laugh. The Shakespeare-esque prose that I thought I had written now seems kind of terrible to be honest. As a teaching assistant, I can now confidently say that my first papers were in fact B- worthy papers. Further, by focusing on the grade and not the feedback I did not grow very much as a writer.

Now, if this were a Disney movie, things would end here and we would all run away into happily ever after all-the-wiser because of what I've just shared. However, this is not a movie and, to be certain, I still struggle with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy with my school work. In fact, the pendulum has kind of swung in the other direction now. Whereas I came out of high-school lacking confidence and overcompensated by working long hours and thinking that I was the greatest student ever, throughout my Master's degree I struggled with not feeling that I was not as good as my peers. Despite doing fairly well in school, I often feel that I'm not living up to expectations.

As I prepare to begin my Ph.D., I am constantly reminding myself that writing essays (something that I struggle with even now) is a craft. It takes lots of hard work and many 'failed' attempts. Although I still get disappointed when I don't do as well as I would like, I now read the feedback that I receive carefully and consciously work towards slowly and steadily improving myself and my work. I try really hard to remember that academia is not so much an issue of doing things wrong as it is learning to do things correctly, learning to improve.

In Monopoly, you should not focus all your energy on Park Place. There are many other properties (such as railroads, utilities, and the Yellow and Red Avenues) that are worthwhile and will help you succeed. For me, this has meant balancing my new-found academic focus with Champlain college events such as Harvest Weekend, learning to play Broomball, getting involved with Cabinet, and drumming.

I may be slightly biased, but I think that you are extremely lucky to be at Champlain College. Regardless of where you are at, don't be discouraged if you trip and fall a few times. I did it many, many times throughout my time at Trent and it's a learning process. Get involved in whatever way best suits you and try stay balanced.

Cheers,
Phill

*In terms of property value, Park Place($350) is slightly less than Boardwalk ($400) thus making it the second most valuable property. However, statistically, Park Place is landed on more frequently than Boardwalk thus offsetting the $50 difference in property value making Park Place of equal--if not greater--value in the game.

Trent's DSO department

Trent DSO department and New Students

As a student registered with the Disability Services Office (DSO) at Trent, I would like my first blog to be on the topic of the disabilities and other student support services.

In my last year of high school I was diagnosed with dyslexia and even though my disability hadn’t prevented me from continuing my studies towards a post-secondary education, it most definitely presented a hindered potential for a positive educational experience at University.

In my first week at Trent, I booked a number of appointments with the DSO, because I didn’t have a clue about how my disability could function in a university environment. This was probably one of the best decisions as a student I could have made, because the DSO staff knew exactly how to compensate for my disability and provide the greatest effect for my success at school.

My grades have improved at university from the days when I was in high school and I can only imagine that is was partially due to the help from the Trent Disability Services office.

Incoming students or continuing students who have a recognized disability or believe they might have a disability, should take the time in the first week of school to book an appointment with the DSO. The faculty members are there to support Trent Students and if you feel hindered in your education, take advantage in what services the school can provide.

I can only describe my personal experiences with the Department; it very much services the school in a a positive way. If anyone has any questions don’t feel shy to send me an email.

Trent’s disabilities website link:

http://www.trentu.ca/disabilityservices/

Don Markwell's take on liberal education

A couple of months ago, I blogged about a speech that was delivered by Donald Markwell, the Warden of Rhodes House at Oxford University and the Trent University Ashley Fellow for 2010.

During Markwell's fellowship this past February, he also presented in a forum with Edward J Nell, Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research (located in New York City). The title of the forum, "The End of Liberal Education" presented critical questions and thoughts regarding the importance of a liberal education in the 21st century. Furthermore, the speech highlights the academic skills you can obtain from a liberal arts education and how such skills will help you in the workforce. In addition, Markwell alludes to international examples where universities have embraced liberal education in China, Singapore and South Korea.

How is this related to Trent? Trent is still considered a liberal arts university and prides itself on its interdisciplinary education. Indeed, Markwell also spoke to interdisciplinarity being the keystone to a liberal arts education. My undergrad programs at Trent were Environmental Studies and Geography. Both were very interdisciplinary allowing students to explore and critically evaluate a variety of themes/topics and understand how they connect to one another. For example, the bridge between science and policy analysis; something I learned about and explored in a number of classes.

I would highly recommend you take a few minutes to read Don Markwell's speech on the importance of liberal education around the world:

http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/files/On_liberal_education_February_9_2010.doc