12 little gems of Genius for HR, L+D, teachers and business folk to keep in mind

Welcome to 2012 (and I say ‘twenty twelve’ rather than two-thousand and twelve. After all, I wasn’t born in one-thousand, nine hundred and seventy four...)
Before I broke up for the New Year I was challenged about my knowledge and understanding on instructional design and how to make impact with people in change programmes, creativity programmes, culture, innovation etc. on thinking about it for the weeks over the festive season I realised most people within a square 10 mile or more of me at any moment have little of the same experience on this subject as me.
I’ve been on both sides of the instructional fence since I started ‘delivering’ material when I was 17... that’s over half my lifetime so far and only getting more each day. Trumpet blowing over, here are a dozen points of view that schools, business, Heads of L+D and academic thinker types will do well to keep in mind... enjoy the list.

1. There is a difference between training and educating. Would you like your daughter to be sexually educated or sexually trained?
2. Something school curriculums ought to remember over business L+D is that 15,000 hours with breaks in context allow children to ultimately move from where they are at the start to somewhere else at the end. Seriously, in all that time are teachers going to blame the parents consistently when kids don’t learn?
3. Something businesses L+D ought to remember over school’s curriculum is that children have to go to school by law. No-one in business has to attend your crappy management course, pay attention to your instructor or apply what they’ve learned to their role. You can’t make anyone in your workforce learn or do anything in fact.
4. Setting learning objectives in any L+D programme is as important as choosing what knife and fork to use when cutting a banana.
5. The only circumstance where learning should take place in a theoretical setting is first aid. I don’t want my arm broken in class before someone learns to splint me up. Please then don’t give me a case study on health and beauty to learn an innovation process if I work for a bank.
6. It was once thus: 2+2=4. It then became: Mandy had 2 apples and so did Paul. How many apples did Mandy and Paul have together? .... This is because some over anal educationalist got caught up in context and forgot that there is a balance between setting the scene and solving the problem. Look no further that everyone in the UK who remember Jules and Jim from their French text books but can’t order a beer in Paris without looking a total idiot.
7. There is no need to write everything down on a flip chart when facilitating a meeting. I’ve gone to the cinema on several occasions without the need for a notepad.
8. Children in their early teens use more IT skillset in setting the SKY+, uploading an image to facebook and file sharing their music than most teachers in their late 30’s early 40’s have to deliver as set by the school curriculum. Typing up their French Essay in WORD doesn’t count for useful hours either. Upsettingly some teachers still insist that standing at the front of the class with a big screen and moving their mouse about and clicking icons is an effective form of tuition. Look no further than any teenager who has taught themselves guitar chords from YouTube to prove there are other methods.
9. There are two types of problem solvers. People who use ipads and people who use notepads. IQ before IT. The first computer is at the end fo your wrist. It’s called your hand. With it we’ve created everything we’ve got right now. Best we don’t forget that.
10. Less typing. More chatting.
11. Teaching should not be a first choice career. In stead everyone at the age of 30 should serve 18months national teaching service an injected into schools to really help students, learn, grow and develop.
12. We’ve all gone to school. Which sadly makes that common happening the one unique experience we can all hold a strong point of view on. Best we remember that we’re all different, learn at different rates and that a textbook, workshop manual or 3 day retreat works for some and not all.
I’m open to comments...