No. 27: The campus/community divide, turning fear into a game, and the give-and-take of feedback
How physical design is causing American universities to grow more isolated from the communities around them
First, some numbers:
$2.2 million: What it takes to be “wealthy” in America
89%: of teachers say their school monitors student activity on school-issued devices
66/31%: ratio of male to female entrepreneurs - trending up from 27% female in 2020
Elite Universities Are Out of Touch. Blame the Campus.
I’d never been to Boulder, or visited the University of Colorado’s flagship campus there, but even from 30,000 feet, I could tell exactly where it started and ended. The red-tile roofs and quadrangles of the campus formed a little self-contained world, totally distinct from the grid of single-family homes that surrounded it.
In urban universities, the dividing line between the campus and the community can be even starker. At the University of Southern California, for example, students must check in with security officers when entering the gates of the university at night. At Yale, castle-like architecture makes the campus feel like a fortified enclave.
The elite American university today is a paradox: Even as concerns about social justice continue to preoccupy students and administrations, these universities often seem to be out of touch with the society they claim to care so much about.
Read further in the New York Times
Take fear and turn it into a game
I believe that “fear” is the greatest limiting factor between us and our goals.
Humans naturally create fears in their own head. It’s what has helped us survive for thousands of years, but it also hinders our forward progress.
I’m human too. Many times I have been:
too scared to ask a customer for the price I deserve (missed opportunity to get paid what I’m worth!)
too scared to approach a girl that I think is attractive (missed opportunity to meet a life partner! Fortunately, I did eventually)
too scared to reach-out cold to a person I admire (missed opportunity to make a lifelong friend)
Overcoming these types of fears helps us grow.
I’ve found two ways in my life to overcome fear.
Turn it into a game
Invert and use the regret minimization framework
Read further via The Business Academy
How to give and receive feedback
Father and edtech investor, John Tan, writes about raising curious, self-directed learners in his newsletter, Education and Catastrophe. The snippets below are taken from his latest issue around Giving and Receiving Feedback.
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Most people receive feedback on a regular basis - at work, in school, or from relationships. The ability to reflect and act on feedback is key to improving. This week's post dives into how we can give more constructive feedback and help kids become better at receiving them.
About framing feedback
In the book Radical Candor, former Google and Apple executive Kim Scott wrote about the "ruinous empathy" of keeping quiet about a colleague's weaknesses. At the same time, we need to avoid "manipulative insincerity" and "obnoxious aggression". The key to giving feedback, according to Scott, is to "care personally" while "challenging directly". That's a lot of catchphrases, but the simple takeaway in the parenting context is that parents need to let their kids know what to work on, and communicate in a way such that the the child feels the feedback comes from a place of sincerity and wanting them to do better.
About giving actionable steps
Winstone believes the ability to process feedback should be developed from a young age. A core strategy for developing students’ feedback literacy is for teachers to share their own experiences of being on the receiving end of feedback, and how they managed this process.
About productive listening
Give 100% of your attention, or do not listen. Maintain constant eye contact.
Do not interrupt.
Do not judge or evaluate.
Do not impose your solutions.
Ask more (good) questions. Good questions help someone delve deeper into their thoughts and experiences. Asking “is there anything else?” often exposes novel information and unexpected opportunities.
Reflect on your listening and think about missed opportunities.
Read more at Education and Catastrophe
Till next time…
Image: Ricardo Gomez Angel