Finally! Higher education is not the end-all-be-all

Even though I'm just weeks away from getting my Master's degree, I think this article totally hits the spot:

Education is a bubble in a classic sense. To call something a bubble, it must be overpriced and there must be an intense belief in it. Housing was a classic bubble, as were tech stocks in the ’90s, because they were both very overvalued, but there was an incredibly widespread belief that almost could not be questioned — you had to own a house in 2005, and you had to be in an equity-market index fund in 1999.

Probably the only candidate left for a bubble — at least in the developed world (maybe emerging markets are a bubble) — is education. It’s basically extremely overpriced. People are not getting their money’s worth, objectively, when you do the math. And at the same time it is something that is incredibly intensively believed; there’s this sort of psycho-social component to people taking on these enormous debts when they go to college simply because that’s what everybody’s doing.

We're convincing too many of our children that higher education is the path they have to take to be successful at anything, we're burdening them with tremendous debt loads to buy into the system, and we've decided that going to college is the solution for all that ails us in terms of poverty and inequity for disadvantaged communities. I think higher education has a purpose and can be very valuable - but I also know that I got the most value out of it when I went back to school at 25, at which point I had worked and supported myself for several years and had a much better sense of who I was and what I wanted out of college. We need to recognize and support that there are a much wider range of alternatives for a fulfilling life, and that many of them don't require going to college at 18 - if ever.

This similar article by the same author who posted the above interview with Peter Thiel also discusses why higher education is not the safe route to success that we all keep telling ourselves it is. Here, he quotes Paul Krugman:

The belief that education is becoming ever more important rests on the plausible-sounding notion that advances in technology increase job opportunities for those who work with information — loosely speaking, that computers help those who work with their minds, while hurting those who work with their hands.

Some years ago, however, the economists David Autor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane argued that this was the wrong way to think about it. Computers, they pointed out, excel at routine tasks, “cognitive and manual tasks that can be accomplished by following explicit rules.” Therefore, any routine task — a category that includes many white-collar, non-manual jobs — is in the firing line. Conversely, jobs that can’t be carried out by following explicit rules — a category that includes many kinds of manual labor, from truck drivers to janitors — will tend to grow even in the face of technological progress.

Finally, I feel validated, as I've been arguing for years that pushing kids into college just because everyone says that's the thing to do isn't a particularly good idea. If The Economist says so, I must be right! I'd also like to note that I was arguing something similar about the push to an "ownership society" in housing well before 2008. Maybe I should become a predictor of bubbles?

Reflective practice

One of the things I often say to people who ask how I like graduate school is how much I appreciate the time to think, especially the time to reflect on past experiences and understand what I can learn from them. In my first semester, one of the things that struck me about my classes was how relevant they were to both my current and previous nonprofit management experience. One of my first classes even triggered a PTSD-like emotional response to an exchange with a professor that felt a little too much like certain unhappy conversations with my old board of directors; and while that doesn't sound like a good thing, it actually gave me a chance very early on to recognize feelings and defensive strategies that I was still carrying from my past position and to make a conscious decision to adopt some new ways of responding. (The class ultimately turned out just fine, BTW.)

As the year went on, it seemed like reflection on my past job moved into the background, and the focus shifted to my current organizational involvements in the real-world challenges I would bring to my class discussions and assignments. It was a shift that made sense, of course, and allowed me to become a reflective practitioner in real time as well as after the fact. The trend seemed like it would continue into this year; but as I realized that in planning some of my topics for course projects and papers, I noticed an unexpected sense of regret that I wouldn't be able to process more of that past experience through my current work.

Turns out, I'm not quite done with studying my past job, and I'm very glad for it. I'm taking a course on adaptive leadership this semester; and as I tried to figure out which organization to use as a basis for the papers I have to write, I realized that none of the present situations fit so well as the situation I found myself in just before I left my old job. There are some difficulties in trying to use that position and organization as the basis for my work: both I and the organization have moved on since then, and I've deliberately limited my contact with my past colleagues to provide some emotional space for all of us. I'm not at the point where I want to discuss the events surrounding my departure with most of the people directly involved in the conflict, because even a year and a half later there are still things that make me upset when I think about them.

But that is one of the advantages to studying the situation as a school project: I think it will help me to move past the old tensions and hurts and make the experience as productive as possible for my future development (as a person as well as a manager/leader). The reading material raises probing questions not only about what I thought was going on with other actors in the organization, but also about my own assumptions, values and behaviors. I need to be able to take a closer look at what I did as the situation progressed, because the fact of the matter is that many of my own strategies were just as maladaptive and unfruitful as those applied by my colleagues. In order to become a better colleague, manager and leader in my current and future roles, I have to recognize my own weaknesses as well as strengths and try to develop new ways of addressing change and conflict.

I'm hopeful about what will emerge from my writing, because I feel like I have many opportunities in the present to test out new methods for handling organizational situations. In particular, my challenge areas are dealing with politics, with personality conflicts, with my own tendency to inflexibility in how I want things done and a lack of openness to the suggestions of others, and with trying out new skills or activities that I haven't already mastered. I'd like my work to give me some additional layers of analytical process that can provide a buffer between what's happening around me and a my very sensitive emotional core; I don't want to become emotionless, but I want to get better at managing how my emotions are expressed and how I can use them to better advantage in my dealings with other people.

I think there's a lot of this that will be fun as well as deep and difficult. Case in point, the following excerpt from today's reading (The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, p. 94):

One way to understand the challenges raised by external loyalties is to use the metaphor of a vegetable stew. To make a good vegetable stew, you have to cook the ingredients just enough that they give up some of their original color and taste; otherwise, you'd have a pot of crunchy vegetables, not a stew. But if you cook the vegetables too much, each of them will lose so much of its distinctive qualities that you will end up with a pot of undifferentiated mush.

Imagine these vegetables as stakeholders, and suppose you get the stew just right. When those carrots and onions go back to carrot-land and onion-land, having sacrificed some of their distinctiveness in the interests of contributing to the stew, their old friends and family at home will noticed they have changed. "You ... smell like an onion," the carrots will say. "You're not one of us anymore. You've sold out. We sent you there to represent us and champion our views to the others, not to come back contaminated with their juices on you. What did they do to you there?"

Note to everybody: in no professional conversation anywhere does anyone want to hear about who did what with their juices. It's like my professor who said on the first day of class that he "gets off" on people writing down what he says when he lectures. Even if he didn't mean it literally, it is still just so gross.

But also, very funny!

Help! 'Cause I need somebody.

I know, it's way too early in the semester, but I am already a) super-tired and b) a little behind on my assignments. D'oh!

This last week has clearly been the Week of Adjusting to Reality, following the first Week of Naive Optimism About the Year Ahead. The adjustment started when I was trying to figure out why the heck I was so tired all the time; and then I remembered that going to work and going to school at the same time is kind of insane. Clearly, my experience at my alma mater was like childbirth: a very painful experience that your body and mind promptly forgets in the bliss of your ultimate accomplishment ... which is what allows people to keep having children, and me to embark on my second year of grad school after taking on a new job.

Of course, I loved my undergrad institution and was one of its biggest fans, before as well as after I graduated. Similarly, I still adore my job and I am really glad to be back in school. I appreciate the good feelings that helped me take on the upcoming year; and I also appreciate that I'm getting my reality-check now, so I can prepare myself for the hard work ahead.

I did get a little extra fright from my boss this past week, as he mentioned that he was concerned about how well I would perform in the spring, which is both the busiest period in my job cycle and my final semester. He was suggesting that perhaps I should take the semester off, and come back to school in the fall, as there wasn't any real rush to get my degree by May (from his point of view). I initially balked inside, feeling like if I took a leave, all of a sudden school would dragon forever and I'd never get finished. Then I remembered that, if I had to do my second summer fellowship during the academic year, I'd been planning to take a semester off and come back in the fall anyway - so honestly, if I had to do it for work, what's the big deal? It just illustrates one of my primary personality failings that I'm working on, which is that I tend to reject ideas that don't match with my initial conception of what should go on, without giving them proper consideration before reacting. The good news is that, after a couple of minutes, hours or days, I'm generally able to stop being so stubborn and consider alternatives. :-)

Things I have to remember as I get into the rest of the semester:

• NO GRAD SCHOOL DIETS. My body gave me heck this past week for my indulgence in carbs and candy on Monday and Tuesday. Big no-no; regardless of how crazy my schedule gets, I have to keep on my good food regimen, because it keeps me happy and healthy.
• I am not a socialite. I'm giving myself a couple of additional weeks of being a social butterfly (mostly because of things I already committed to doing), but starting in October, I am shutting down my social scene. I have a job, a graduate fellowship, and 4 different boards to serve on in addition to school; there's no time for partying.
• TV will wait. It's why I have a DVR, so that I don't have to watch everything at once. And I know full well that I get half as much done in twice the time if I put on the boob-tube for "background noise."
• Don't procrastinate. Procrastination may be my number one bad habit, but I have to get it under control and bring out the time-management superstar I know I have within me.

There's probably some other stuff, but I'm due back in class. Cheerio!

Professionalism vs. participation

So, I had my first class of the year tonight - hooray! It is quite nice to be back in school. I think that it's a good sign of how much I really like my program that I haven't been dreading coming back, but actually looking forward to it.

I have to say that I was worried about the class as it got started this evening; the professor has a speaking pace that is very ... slow. He's not monotone, and he's not boring; but after 5 minutes I had a real fear that class was going to feel excruciatingly long. I did feel kind of long, but in the end I felt like he'd presented some interesting topics, and he had an amusing sense of humor (of the dry wit variety, to which I can relate very well as a speaker).

One of the interesting topics he brought up was the conflict between a society built on democratic (and sometimes radically anti-government) ideals and the whole concept of professional public administration. He mention that as a country and a profession we've never quite come to terms with the fact that public administrators, who are not elected or even in most cases appointed officials, are the biggest class of policy-makers we have - far more influential than our elected leaders (not to mention generally more focused on managing the country than political posturing to retain their position). This topic has come up in a couple of classes before, as has the idea of a "politics-administration" dichotomy that is supposed to keep public administrators focused on implementing the policies decided in the political process. But the reality of the complex systems we've set up to govern and manage our society is that our elected leaders don't end up having the time or the knowledge to work out all the details of how our public systems work, and they leave that to the staff of administrative agencies - who become policy-makers every time they create and administrative rule and decide how it should be applied.

On the one hand, there's the argument that we need administrative staff with professional training who can use their discretion based on specialized expertise to determine the minute details that bring vague and far-reaching policies into daily practice. On the other hand, there's an argument that administrators with no direct accountability to the people over whom they exercise power should not have power to make such important decisions about where public resources go and what happens to them when they get there. For the past year, I've kind of thought of this as an academic discussion; but I realized today that it is incredibly personal, and a tension I've been wrestling with for years.

So much of my vocational and avocational philosophy is about community and citizen empowerment, and recognizing the right and the ability of regular people to play a meaningful, dominant role in the decision-making that affects their lives. But at the same time, I'm in the middle of my second degree program that trains people to be professionals in their field - presumably based on the assumption that to do architecture or to manage organizations well, you generally need significant training in the tools and techniques of the trade. The very idea behind these schools is that, excepting the rare geniuses among us, the untrained individual will design or plan or manage or administer very poorly; and in practice, rare genius is rarely recognized unless you've gone to the trouble of getting the credentials to prove what you know.

This is a potentially serious philosophical conflict. How do I argue for open access to governance and decision-making on the principle that we all can participate without the need to be specialists - and then at the same time, defend the value of specialized training in making sure that people are well-prepared to be good decision-makers? If enough of this kind of training can be given to the general public in a simple, inexpensive way that allows them to participate fully, then why do we have all of these specialized schools (and more importantly, why am I spending my money on them)? And if this kind of training can't be gotten expect with specialized study, then doesn't that imply that there is a limit to how much or how well our citizenry will actually be able to self-govern?

Folks will probably argue that it doesn't need to be either-or, there's a balance, different roles for different times, etc., etc. But I feel like there's a little bit of a cop-out there, and a refusal to recognize that the conflict, while negotiable, is still real and sometimes very, very challenging. This is a question that gets played out over and over again, as public agencies are asked both to do their jobs efficiently and professionally and to be accessible and responsive to the demands of the public. It may be almost impossible to satisfy both of those requirements.

I have to head off to class now - but this is an item for further discussion! Heck, I may even turn it into my paper topic; isn't that clever of me?

What doesn't kill you helps you graduate!

I have so many things to be thankful for right now:

1. Start of April work count: 3 papers, 3 presentations, 2 final exams, 1 case study, 1 reflection paper. Current work count: 1 presentation, 1 paper. Hallelujah!
2. I chose my fellowship placement for the summer, and we are all mutually delighted to have me.
3. I had a great interview as the final source for my last paper; education + networking = awesome.
4. My intake today consisted of actual foods with recognized nutritional value.
5. I can go to bed whenever I feel like it tonight, with no guilt about staying up late or going to bed early. I choose early!!

I wasn't sure I'd make it through today successfully - so an extra hooray for that! Thank you, and good night.

Getting an education

When I started my graduate program, one of the things I loved was how clearly relevant the course were to me as a non-profit practitioner. When we studied questions about how non-profits related to their constituencies, or the legal issues surrounding their governance and types of activities, the relationship was clear and direct to the actual issues I'd faced as an executive director. It gave me a sense of confidence that I wasn't in a program of frou-frou academia; I was going to be learning about things that mattered to my daily professional life.

That trend has continued, but I'm struck with a new aspect of it this semester. I find that I am learning things that are not only relevant, but that significantly transform the way I think about my professional practice and my life as a citizen of my community. This realization became particularly forceful today, as I am working to complete a paper on the role of non-profit boards and their members. When I was dealing with the board of my former organization, I had pretty specific ideas of how boards should and should not operate, and what their relationship to the staff should be. These ideas were reinforced by experiences working with other boards in the past, by the advice of our donor organizations, and by the common best practice guidelines in the field. A major part of the reason I ended up leaving was that members of the board executive committee wanted to define the board's work in ways that seemed directly contrary to the best practice recommendations, and I didn't feel that I could support the changes they wanted to make.

I took these same ideas with me as I joined the boards of two community organizations this past fall. I wanted to use my experience - and the new knowledge I would be gaining in my studies - to help these boards become more professional and more effective. I knew that each organization and its board has particular conditions and characteristics, and that you can't just ram a "preferred" model into place; but still, I expected that the best way forward for these boards would look like the models I knew with only minor adaptations to local conditions. (In retrospect, for a girl who is so passionate about the necessity for organic localization in other aspects of public life, I find this especially ironic.)

I started my current research paper with the goal of delving into and defining non-profit board best practices, so I could present them with knowledgeable confidence to my colleagues. But what I am finding instead is that my own perspective is being transformed and expanded, to understand the common and recurring challenges of the traditional governance models. I'm also being introduced to alternative ways of thinking about and doing board work that make me have to revise my own rigid preconceptions. Normally, I hate being wrong :-) ... but in this case, I'm really digging it, because I can feel myself being stretched and can see all the ways that it will help me to become both a better board member and, if I ever go back to non-profit management, a much better senior executive. I love it when being challenged ends up being fun!

I love math! Part 2

So, I didn't get to blog during class yesterday because we were working on some serious inferential statistics - z scores, t scores, confidence intervals, appropriate sample sizes. The massive migraine that I went into class with only got worse by the time I left.

Nonetheless, I totally love it. Just thinking about all that math this morning made me start trying to factor polynomials in my head, which made me want to go dig out a calculus book and do some more awesome math. I knew that I'd get to do all of this reading and writing when I came back to grad school, but it never occurred to me that my inner math nerd would get to come out and play again after being dormant for nearly 15 years. I am so dorky, and so happy!

I love math!

I'm in my Quantitative Analysis class, working on probability exercises in class. And as much as probability is sometimes frustrating and confusing, it also makes me realize how much I miss doing math, and how much I love doing math. I always say I can't wait until I have kids to do math homework with; but it's nice not to have to wait until that far-off event. :-)

Also, statistics and probability are all about precise wording ... beware of data that's not well-defined, and pay attention to the definition if it's given!

A quickie

One fun thing about having a computer class is the ability to blog during breaks. :-)

It's day #2 (for me) of school; I'm looking forward to the semester. This week has already been stressful - not because of schoolwork, but because of a summer fellowship application I've been working on that's due tomorrow. (I swear I didn't procrastinate; I had a really hard time getting the words together for my personal statement.)

Anyway, this application is making me super nervous ... I want the fellowship so much, I'm afraid that I'll jinx it or something. It's this perfect opportunity, working for a local government agency for 10 weeks, and earning a delightful stipend in the process. I think my application is strong, and the program coordinator said I was an ideal candidate. But there could well be twelve equally fabulous graduate students out there who are just more appealing to the jury than I am. I hope not!

The Plan

(No, not the Cylon plan to destroy the human race ... for that, you'll have to wait for the upcoming BSG movie!!)

Things are quickly settling down as to where I'll be and what I'll be doing in the coming months; this period of my life is quite exciting and fun, as it combines the peace and enjoyment of resting and waiting to see what God puts into place with the surprise of discovering exactly what those next pieces will be. It's like Christmas presents: I know what I put on my wish list, but I never know what gifts I've gotten until the day comes and the package is opened.

Gift #1: I got into grad school! Full time in the Master in Public Administration program at Suffolk University. I found out just a day or two before I went down to see my family in DC/VA, after anxiously watching the mail for weeks.

Gift #2: I got money for grad school! About half of my tuition is covered by a grant/employment fellowship, which totally rocks and makes school quite feasible. I'll still have to take out some loans, but not nearly what I was afraid I might have to do. I'm also going to see if I can try to get another on campus job a few hours a week (ideally, in some way related to what I'm studying) or, alternatively, a little outside job (again, hopefully related to my field, but not so involved that it distracts from my studies) to help with the bills. But the bottom line (no pun intended) is that I should be able to stay in Boston and in my current apartment for the fall.

Gift #3: I still get to spend time in VA with my family! Killing two birds with one stone, I'm going to help my sister out by watching my nephew in July and August (eliminating day care costs and allowing her to work an extra job during those months), and I help myself out by subletting my place so I don't have to worry about paying rent and utilities out of my limited cash reserve for that same period. In a special bonus benefit, I get to be near my other sister while I'm helping her with the wedding planning, and I'll get to see my parents and youngest sister all throughout the summer. So, if you know anyone looking for a July and August sublet, drop me a line! :-)

All in all, it's been a delight to keep seeing what happens next, and to do it in a different way than my normal angsty, trying to figure out how to make everything work, trying to create the options for myself kind of way. I have the blessed luxury of resting - not being lazy or inattentive, but being content in where I am at the moment and knowing that when the next step comes, it will be clear to me and I'll be ready and able to take action. There are still some things that I get nervous about at times - will I find the right sub-letter? do I have enough money to get all the way to September? will I have enough time to get back to Boston and settle in before school? will my relationship with my boyfriend change because of the time apart? - but I'm doing pretty well at turning those worries back over when they pop up. And I remain very, very happy; there's no doubt in my mind that I left my job at the right time, and everything I've done since then has been wonderful time with family, friends and new people I meet. My mom's still a bit concerned for me, but I think she's getting used to my new-found free-time status.

*****

Speaking of free time status, I realized after two weeks of a rather variable waking-dressing-leaving the house routine, I have to give myself a bit more structure. For June, I'd like to make sure I get up, take an exercise walk around the neighborhood, fix myself breakfast and shower and dress before 11AM. For July and August, a friend just inspired me to plan some regular weekly activities for me and my nephew. Not necessarily getting up at the same time every day, but having a day where we go walking or biking around the neighborhood; a day where we go to the library; a day when we go visit my parents at their apartment (and take advantage of the pool in their complex); a day when we go into DC for activities at the museums or other cool places. Hopefully, it will keep us both from watching the Disney Channel and playing Xbox all day ... Although there's sure to be some of that, too!