mamamusings: April 24, 2006

milken institute global conference

I’m having a serious “how did I get here” moment…

This conference is nothing like any I’ve been to before. I may be the only person here not in a suit—and that includes all the staff members at the registratio desk. I’m typing this in the “AOL Pavilion,” an ultra-modern tent that feels more like an electronics store, with multiple TV screens showing news, sports and weather, loud upbeat VH1-style music that I think is supposed to show all these staid business people what “the kids” are listening to these days, and a variety of odd and uncomfortable workstations with computers where those same staid business people are checking their mail and forgetting to logout. (I’ve seen a staffer stop at least 3 people to tell them they really need to log out…)

There is no wifi, at least not here in the pavilion. Instead, we have to use these public workstations, which are running “AOL Explorer” as their browser. I’m hoping I might find a bit of wifi in the main hotel, since it’s a Hilton, but I’m not holding my breath.

I’m headed to a series of talks today related to corporate partnerships with education, in hopes of getting tips on how to increase external funding for my lab at RIT; if I can do that, going back there (as opposed to staying at MSR) would start to look much more attractive.

So here’s the question—do I go shopping for a suit today? Or just stick with what I feel comfortable wearing? I can argue it either way. “Be yourself” or “When in Rome?”

Wifi or no wifi, I’ll be blogging a lot of what I see today. I don’t often get to attend conferences with speakers like Lance Armstrong and Leonard Nimoy. Should be quite an experience…

milken conference: "ensuring america's success in education"

First panel of the day. I was assured a few minutes ago that WiFi would be available, but the “Milken” network that shows up for me is requesting a WEP password. The self-proclaimed “technology guy” for this room decided it must be a “Mac issue” (insert eye-rolling animation here), and the “Mac expert” he called in did the classic “I dunno” shrug, so I’m stuck without connectivity for this session. Thank goodness for Ecto. (Update, 30 minutes later—woohoo! They fixed it!)

I also ended up in the wrong room, for which I’m kicking myself—I wanted to attend the panel on “Mind-to-Market: Increasing Role of the University in the Global Economy.” But now I”m stuck on the far side of the room with no graceful way to exit. Aargh. This panel looks interesting, but far less relevant to my specific needs and interests right now.

Speakers on this panel include Harriet Arnone (VP for Planning at NYIT, and Provost of NYIT’s Ellis College),Dennis Vicars (Exec. Director of Professional Assn for Childhood Ed Alternative Payment Program and CEO Human Services Mgt Corp), Tom Vilsack (Governor of Iowa), and Susan Tave Zelman (Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio Dept of Education).

The moderator, Susan Sclafani (Managing Director, Chartwell Education Group) starts by talking about declines in educational achievement and production, despite the concurrent increases in expenditures (we’re second highest in the world on per student spending). The students are not the problem, she emphasizes. There’s a disconnect in the system between what we know is critical for their success, and what the students know.

Arnone laments current students’ increasing inability to clearly and logically describe and defend a position, and the need to improve those communication and analytical skills.

Vilsack talks about the pushback (from parents, not students) when they tried to make high school curriculum more rigorous. He notes that this means not just math and science and language, but also their creativity. (He’s very articulate, charming, and convincing.)

Vicars talks about early childhood education. In a good preschool, everyone’s an artist, everyone’s a singer, everyone loves math.

Zelman talks about the development of STEM high schools throughout Ohio, schools in which they will cultivate “both sides of the brain”—not just the procedural aspects of science, but the affective aspects as well. (She cites Daniel Pink, whose excellent book I blogged about last year…)

There’s a lively dialog that follows, but I’m not tracking it closely because this isn’t really my area of professional focus.

what was i thinking?

It’s not like I don’t have enough on my plate these days. Despite that, I’ve been made an offer I couldn’t refuse—to join the august list of contributors on TerraNova, the world-class blog on virtual worlds and gaming.

When my colleague Andy Phelps started working on a game design and development program at RIT several years ago, I said I had no interest in being involved. “Games really aren’t my thing,” I said. And from a professional standpoint, that was mostly true. From a personal standpoint, it wasn’t true at all. I’ve always loved computer and video games—from Hunt the Wumpus and Zork in high school through Pikmin and Katmari and World of Warcraft today.

As games have become more social and less solitary, however, they’ve forced my personal and professional interests into a point of intersection. And I can’t pretend any longer that I’m not interested in studying the social aspects of gaming and game development. So the invitation from TerraNova came at a perfect time.

I can’t begin to say how honored and delighted I am that they’re willing to welcome me—a relative neophyte in this field of study—into their ranks. And I’ll do what I can to carve out the time to post there on at least an occasional basis. I’m rather hoping that this will help me to get my blogging groove back, since I’ve not been posting much lately to any of the group blogs I’m associated with.

At any rate, my introduction and inaugural post are up and ready for your perusal.

frustrating conference day

First I ended up in the wrong session this morning. Then I got stuck waiting forever for the shuttle from the Century Plaza (I got put in the “overflow” hotel) to the Hilton, and by the time I arrived the afternoon session on Educational Philanthropy (with Andre Agassi as a panelist!) was already full, so I’m stuck out here in the lobby.

On the plus side, at lunchtime I stopped by Macy’s, and found a lovely suit on sale, so I’ll be wearing it tomorrow in order to blend in better with the natives. I also acquired a USB cable to charge my phone with—I forgot to bring a charger with me, and the phone was nearly dead.

Agassi and Lance Armstrong are speaking this afternoon, in a larger room (which I’ll get to early, thankyouverymuch), although it’s on a health topic rather than education. (Diana Nyad is moderating their conversation; quite an all-star lineup!)

I’m debating whether or not to attend the dinner event tonight. The topic is “the future of space,” and that’s not something I have a burning interest in. But the introductory remarks are by Leonard Nimoy, and that’s oh-so-tempting. My guess is his remarks will be short, however, and then there will be two hours of dinner conversation with people I don’t know. My inner introvert is lobbying hard for a food court dinner at the mall followed by an early night in the hotel.

milken conference: agassi, armstrong, and nyad

I’m at a table up front for the conversation between Andre Agassi and Lance Armstrong, moderated by Diana Nyad. There’s quite a crowd here, so I doubt I’ll bringing back a Lance Armstrong autograph for my younger son. But I’m close enough to snap a cameraphone photo, and to feel engaged with what’s going on here.

(There are a lot of recognizable names at the tables around me; I literally tripped over Richard Riordan’s feet on my way to my seat…)

Nyad starts with a retrospective of Andre Agassi’s career, with photos projected to illustrate it. Mentions that he’s raised 52 million dollars to help kids through his charitable foundation. That’s followed by an equally rich intro of Armstrong’s career. (He was a world champion triathlete at 16!) I didn’t realize that his testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and brain when he was diagnosed. She notes, quite rightly, that this is one of the most impressive athletic achievements ever.

She asks Armstrong to talk about the talent necessary to be an endurance athlete. He’s often asked whether the physical or mental aspects are more important. They’re both necessary, he says. You need to be born with the physical capability—but the mental capability is, if anything, more important.

Upon reflection, it’s not being int he best shape of his life he’ll miss the most, nor is it the glory of being on the winner’s stand. He’ll miss the dinner with the 8 guys on his team, those moments at the end of the day, even more.

Armstrong describes himself as “old” at 35…and Andre says wryly “Yeah, I remember that.” (At which point Armstrong, not jokingly, describes Agassi as his hero.)

Nyad poses a similar question to Agassi—are his talents something he was born with? Or is it something you can learn? He was born with athletic skill, but his skill was nurtured properly by his family. He was never taught things that held him back down the road. (He’s quite engaging and funny—I’m utterly charmed.) About his playing style, he says “The most important point to me is the next one.”

She asks him how you keep focus when you’re older and have a more complicated life. He says that having good people around makes all the difference. A wife that’s willing to travel with him. A business manager that’s been his friend and partner for decades. It’s not (just) a sport where you have to train, it’s a sport where you have to recover. (Interesting; I hadn’t thought of it that way.)

Is it tougher to recover now that he’s older? Yes, absolutely. But you get smarter, too, and can train smarter as a result. “A strong body obeys and a weak body commands.” Now that’s a quote worth posting over my mirror. He says he’s very goal-oriented, but his goal is tomorrow, not Wimbledon. Tomorrow is the next step to Wimbledon, perhaps, but that’s not the whole focus.

(I note that Nyad and Armstrong are both wearing jeans, which makes me feel oh-so-much better about not wearing a suit today.)

Nyad asks Armstrong how age has affected his performance. He says the most valuable thing you can have as an athlete is experience. Cycling, he says, is made up of the three things—marathon (because it’s grueling), NASCAR (importance of drafting), and chess (tactics are crucial). Life is harder now that he’s not racing—racing is simpler. All you have to do is eat, sleep, ride (as long as you’re wearing the yellow or holding the cup over your head, he notes wryly).

She asks Agassi about the state of technology in the sport today. He’s known as someone who researches every aspect of his sport—so where is he now with that? He was ahead of the curve in terms of the importance of physical training in his sport. When he started nobody did weight training, for example. Tennis doesn’t have an off-season, so you have train differently. Equipment has made tennis a ballistic sport—it’s violent, he points out. When you can serve at 150mph, what does that mean for the person on the receiving side?

Armstrong responds to the same question—talking about the fact that cyclists want a weight lifter’s legs on a jockey’s body. (“My soulmate!” cries Agassi, to much laughter in the room.) Keeping your weight low is the most important thing. After the illness, he was 15-20 pounds lighter, which made a big difference. The bike he rode for his first win was 22 pounds, and the bike he rode for the last win was 14 pounds. His team spent lots of time on technology to lighten the weight—clothing, gear, etc.

One last question for Agassi—what was it like when he was at his lowest. “I never played a match I expected to win. I never took one thing for granted.” Most importantly, he said, he never tried to be more than one day better each day. Each day can be better, but you have to take it one day at a time. He never knew where he’d end up, but he knew that tomorrow he’d better than today, because that was in his control.

And a last exchange for Armstrong about his commitment to cancer survivors. The fans move on to a new sports hero. But what you do off the sports stage is what will matter for the long term. This army of people, this family of cancer survivors, those are the people you have to make time for. She asks if cancer will be solved in his lifetime. “While we’re sitting here,” he says, “there’s a 47 year old woman dying in a hospital here, leaving 3 children behind.” Why is he here and she isn’t? Because each of these cancers is a different disease, and we need to be working to understand and treat all of them.

Nyad closes by saying that in sports there are many winners—but few champions. And both of these men are champions.