The Tinkering School: Helping Kids Discover Danger
Thursday, February 21st, 2008Last week, I wrote about a teen panel I attended that suggested that, except for a few small differences, today’s teens seem pretty similar to their boomer parents. Considering how differently these generations were raised, this is surprising.
When I was young, my favorite game was called stretch. My opponent and I would face each other, […]
Video: A Vision of Students Today
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008My last post described an excellent panel discussion that ended last week’s O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in New York city. The facilitator, Stephen Abrams, asked seven teenage girls and one 22 year-old young man questions about their lives.
Mr. Abrams ended the session by showing a short film by a sociologist named Michael […]
How Different Are Today’s Teens?
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008For the last couple of days, I’ve been attending the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in NY city. Yesterday’s closing session ended with a “Teen Panel.” Eight young people, seven girls in their teens and one boy aged 22, were seated up on stage and answered questions from the moderator and the audience.
The […]
The Myth of Boomer Retirement
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007For a number of years, the media have been reporting that many countries will be facing a severe shortage of workers due to the impending retirement of the baby boomers. Increasingly, I don’t think this will be the case.
If they haven’t already begun to do so, many boomers will soon be taking a sobering look […]
Will 35 Year-Old Adolescents Join the Workforce?
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007(Still on the subject of an aging workforce) The Coming Death Shortage, written by Charles C. Mann and published in The Atlantic Monthly, examines the possible effects of increased human longevity on society.
According to Mann, “From religion to real estate, from pensions to parent-child dynamics, almost every aspect of society is based on the orderly […]
Sears Catalog Workers Call It Quits in Droves
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007My last couple of blog posts have been about the ramifications of changing workforce demographics. Because of our aging population, governments will be encouraging people to keep working as long as possible to avert an impending labor shortage.
Some of those people will need to work. They will not yet have achieved financial independence. Many others, […]
Mobile Learning and Older Learners
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007When I was in my late 30s, my eye doctor told me that, by the age of 40, I’d begin to notice a change in my ability to focus up close. So, I exercised more, upped my intake of lycopeine-rich fruits and vegetables, and felt confident that I’d be able to stop the aging process […]
The Coming Boom in Older Workers
Monday, July 30th, 2007I’ve been thinking a lot about aging. (No, I’m not planning to quit my job, buy a red convertible, and join a rock band as part of a midlife crisis.) Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the future impact of a rapidly aging population.
The Canadian Census Bureau reported a couple of weeks ago that the Canadian […]
