Today's young people are more independent, in-touch, tech-savvy, and entrepreneurial than previous generations, and less motivated by old-school rewards of grades and money. They want to create more than to consume, to be actors, not spectators, and, above all, to change the world in a positive, lasting way. At the same time, the global economy has shifted and our economic future depends on our ability to compete with the increasingly nimble and entrepreneurial workforces of countries such as India and China. The next generation has the potential to compete—if we can give them the innovation skills to realize it.
In this groundbreaking work, education expert Tony Wagner examines why innovation is imperative to our global competitiveness and profiles today's most compelling young innovators. He reveals how they found their way because of parents, teachers, and mentors whose unconventional methods nurtured and developed curiosity, imagination, creativity, and initiative. In their experiences, Wagner discovered a surprisingly consistent pattern of play, passion, and purpose: a childhood of unstructured play led to finding their passions—often as adolescents, and the pursuit of those passions evolved into a deeper and more mature sense of purpose. It is this combination of play, passion, and purpose that is key to developing young people's innovative capacity.
Wagner then looks more widely at the education system—especially colleges—and how we can better parent, teach, mentor, and manage young people to pick up where that system has failed. He takes listeners into the most innovative and cutting-edge schools and workplaces in the country, those that have been the most successful in fostering the skills needed for innovation: collaboration, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and dynamic problem-solving. Throughout, he emphasizes ways that play, passion, and purpose can be incorporated into the culture of home, school, and work. The result is a timely and optimistic manifesto that will change how we look at innovation and the next generation's potential to be changemakers.
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"Businesses, schools, and even the military are recognizing the need for change. It is no longer enough to compel people to comply, we must expect them to innovate--to think, to collaborate, and to problem-solve. So says Wagner in his latest book, which is innovative in that it makes its case less through philosophy and statistics, but through the stories of successful individuals. Readers can also access video testimonials via QR codes throughout the book. I have even greater appreciation for Tony Wagner lately: he did an online interview with one of my high school freshmen this week for a project in my class."
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Mitzi (5 out of 5 stars)