Mind = Blown
That is the best statement I can say in relation to the book Hacking your Education: Ditch the lectures, save tens of thousands, and learn more than your peers ever will by Dale J. Stephens and published this year. I found out about the book from @joesabado's Goodreads list and am glad I did!
Stephens begins the book by recounting his own experience dropping out of school in the fifth grade, and then out of college in his freshman year, to become an unschooler. This book is not in fact a call to action, asking everyone to drop out of school. Instead, the author encourages readers to create their own intentional learning opportunities, whether within the post-secondary system or not.
Stephens offers several suggestions for those looking to 'hack' their education, from broadening social networks, to taking out books from the library, and hopping on a place across the globe.
I think that working with students, we often hear them complain that they don't really know what they want to do, and are only in schools because that's what is expected of them. This book encourages those students to take some time to figure out why they are in school, and determining whether that is the best way to achieve the goals they have in that moment.
I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, as we all know that learning is a lifelong process, and it's never to late to start!
Showing posts with label #goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #goals. Show all posts
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Book Review #13: The Audacity of Hope
The book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream written by Barack Obama in 2006 was recommended to me during a session at the College Student Alliance's Transition Conference in 2009. I purchased the book immediately following the conference, put it in my desk drawer, and completely forgot about it, until last week.
I found this book extremely refreshing, especially when considering it was written when Obama was a US Senator, not one of the most powerful men in the world. Obama writes this book partly as a memoir of his own personal experiences, as well as several suggestions for improving quality of life not only in the US, but around the world. Reading it now, as Obama begins his second term in the White House, one can truly appreciate the fact that he has remained true to his own principles, and taken steps to meet some of the challenges he himself set out to American politicians.
I found this book extremely refreshing, especially when considering it was written when Obama was a US Senator, not one of the most powerful men in the world. Obama writes this book partly as a memoir of his own personal experiences, as well as several suggestions for improving quality of life not only in the US, but around the world. Reading it now, as Obama begins his second term in the White House, one can truly appreciate the fact that he has remained true to his own principles, and taken steps to meet some of the challenges he himself set out to American politicians.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Book Review #9: Ask for It
On Sunday I wrote a review of the book Women Don't Ask (WDA) by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. In this blog, I said how I planned to use the book as a starting point to help me get more of what I want out of life. When I had ordered WDA from Amazon, I got the recommendation for a second book by the same authors, Ask for It: How women can use the power of negotiation to get what they really want, published in 2008, so I purchased it at the same time.
Well, if I thought the first book was a good starting point, then the second one is the how-to guide. The same real-life scenarios are included in this new work, but the book itself is broken down into a series of steps which should be taken in order to increase negotiation power. One chapter even includes a six-week 'workout' in negotiating, which is supposed to make the reader more comfortable with the process as a whole. From asking for little things you're likely to receive, to requesting a 'bulk discount' on gasoline (yes, I immediately thought of the commercial as well), the exercises are designed to create habit in asking for more, as well as reduce the sting of hearing 'no'.
What I really liked about this book is that although it was still mostly aimed at women, the strategies discussed could easily be applied by a man or woman looking to get 'more' out of life.
On a personal note, I've already started working on outlining some of my own goals, and am planning to begin asking for them soon :)
Well, if I thought the first book was a good starting point, then the second one is the how-to guide. The same real-life scenarios are included in this new work, but the book itself is broken down into a series of steps which should be taken in order to increase negotiation power. One chapter even includes a six-week 'workout' in negotiating, which is supposed to make the reader more comfortable with the process as a whole. From asking for little things you're likely to receive, to requesting a 'bulk discount' on gasoline (yes, I immediately thought of the commercial as well), the exercises are designed to create habit in asking for more, as well as reduce the sting of hearing 'no'.
What I really liked about this book is that although it was still mostly aimed at women, the strategies discussed could easily be applied by a man or woman looking to get 'more' out of life.
On a personal note, I've already started working on outlining some of my own goals, and am planning to begin asking for them soon :)
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Book Review #8: Women don't ask
When I first joined the twitterverse, a few individuals recommended that I read Women Don't Ask:The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiations - and Positive Strategies for Change, written by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever in 2003. I was trying to go back in my tweet history to see exactly who it was that made the recommendations so I could thank them, but I can't see back that far :(. Instead, I'm just going to send a huge thank you out into the universe and hope that they receive it!
As a new professional, I have often found myself unsure of how much is reasonable for me to ask in terms of salary, benefits, development opportunities, etc. This book not only tells me that I am not alone in these feelings, but that I am in fact like the majority of women out there. One would think that there is comfort in knowing that there are others like me, but instead it makes me feel even more frustrated. Simply by being female, I am not only more likely to earn significantly less than my male counterparts, but can actually be looked down upon by asking for equal treatment, benefit, and compensation.
This book was a bit of an eye opener for me, in that it not only taught me the value of introducing negotiation in my daily life, but that it pointed out the drastic financial losses I could face by not doing so:
As a new professional, I have often found myself unsure of how much is reasonable for me to ask in terms of salary, benefits, development opportunities, etc. This book not only tells me that I am not alone in these feelings, but that I am in fact like the majority of women out there. One would think that there is comfort in knowing that there are others like me, but instead it makes me feel even more frustrated. Simply by being female, I am not only more likely to earn significantly less than my male counterparts, but can actually be looked down upon by asking for equal treatment, benefit, and compensation.
This book was a bit of an eye opener for me, in that it not only taught me the value of introducing negotiation in my daily life, but that it pointed out the drastic financial losses I could face by not doing so:
By neglecting to negotiate her starting salary for her first job, a woman may sacrifice over half a million dollars in lost earnings by the end of her career...I hope to use this book as a starting point to setting specific goals for myself, both personal and professional, and determining what steps I need to take in order to achieve them. Most importantly, I hope that I will find the strength to ask for not only what I want, but what I deserve.
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