We know our math scores aren’t competitive with other developed countries. We all know someone, or we may be someone, who dislikes math. But why does an interest in math matter? Yes, being competitive in the global arena is crucial for our nation’s advancement. Yes, taking a math course is required to graduate. But math helps individuals accomplish much more than an “A” on their exam.

On the most basic level, learning math promotes analytical thinking skills. Dr. Vinod Menon, professor of psychiatry and neurological sciences at Stanford University, has conducted research illustrating how one year of math instruction has significant impact on the brain’s approach to problem-solving as revealed through brain scans of second and third graders.¹ As students move through math curricula from elementary to high school, they must learn to apply what they know to new ideas and different types of problems, building more complex thinking processes. Years of math where students work through steps, identify patterns, and apply complex thought processes hardwires the brain for deeper level thinking.

Beyond brain function, studying challenging math can promote perseverance and a mindset for rigor, which helps students far beyond the math classroom. Conquering math involving deeper and more complex thinking promotes a mental agility for problem-solving that can be called upon in a variety of arenas. And the willingness to work through challenging math helps students to develop the mindset to stay and wrestle with problems longer.

Students need math skills to think critically about finances. Stephen Meier, assistant professor at Columbia University, conducted a study indicating borrowers with poor math skills were two times more likely than others to experience home foreclosure.²  While he believed the results were no surprise, he hadn’t expected as great of a correlation between math abilities and foreclosure rates. The math skills necessary for sound investing are just as important for sound borrowing. Consider the “house of card” investments, ponzi schemes, hidden charges in investment portfolios, and other hard to assess situations people must wade through to make smart investment choices.

But for many students, learning to embrace challenge and build upon successes earned by overcoming difficult material, breeds confidence and an internal motivation stoked by knowing that with effort, achieving what was once believed too difficult, becomes a key ingredient for success. Overcoming the challenges that math often presents provides this experience.

Possessing math skills can open many possibilities for individuals, whether it leads to making more educated decisions in everyday life or leads to a career choice in a STEM field. How do you get students interested in math?

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¹â€œAdding it Up: Research Shows how early math lessons change children’s brain,” by Erin Digitale, http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2011/june/math.html

²â€œStudy Says Math Deficiencies Increase Foreclosure Risk” by Bob Tedeschi, June 11, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/realestate/12mort.html

Grit.

What does it mean to you? Maybe you tapped into your grit to pass your college physics course. Or possibly to look for a new job or train for a race. Grit is a powerful soft skill that could stand between you and success in any area of your life, personal, academic, or professional.

At LifeBound we often talk about grit in our Academic Coaching Training and books for teens. We ask coaches to work with their students to help them tap into their intrinsic motivation, dig deep to see the power they have over their lives, and discover their grit. We also encourage educators and parents to use the power of grit in their own lives.

As people continue hunting for jobs, high school and college graduation rates dip, and new grads try to crawl out of debt, grit has become a popular trait in the post-recession American. The following are a few articles that can help the student, grad, or professional see the value of grit today:

• Back to School: Why Grit Is More Important Than Good Grades – Letting your kids struggle academically may the best way to help them succeed, by Paul Tough.
• How Important Is Grit in Student Achievement?  – When it comes to high achievement, grit may be as essential as intelligence, by Emily Hanford.
• Getting Grit — How educators can find grit in their own lives, by Kim Gilmer.
• Young College Grads Create Opportunity in a Challenging Economy — Stories of young college grads entering the world of work, by Carol Carter.

How do you define grit? How do you live with grit? Share your examples and rules to live with grit.

Half of employees were either ready to leave their jobs or unhappy in their position, according to last year’s Mercer survey.¹

As we discuss how to get more students graduating from high school and college and into a career, it’s important individuals, schools, and businesses align their definitions of success so that an individual’s strengths and abilities are maximized. In school, success is largely measured by class standing and grades. In your career, success can be measured by status or money. But what about fulfillment? Purpose? Meaning? Contribution?

I recently attended TEDxMileHigh where I heard Dr. Natalie Baumgartner speak on how she helps people find “fit” in their careers.  When companies are concerned with the fit of people in their company, instead of just filling chairs, they create a culture that supports highly productive individuals. As a student or an employee, we are responsible for our own “fit,” meaning our happiness and fulfillment in work is directly tied to the connection between our abilities, skills, and knowledge and what a specific job requires.  We have the responsibility to identify and change a bad fit – in school or in a job—as well as excel in a good fit, taking the job to a new standard of quality and contribution. We all have a choice, whether it is getting out of an academically directed school if you are a student who prefers to make things with your hands or you are a lawyer and you are wondering why you took that path when you’ve finally realized you’re not competitive. Life is a series of options and we can decide to pursue things that align with our strengths and say “no” to the things that don’t measure up.

When individuals are filled with purpose, whether they are students or seasoned professionals, they are more committed and happier in their positions. Imagine if we encouraged more students to follow their passion and find their purpose, instead of only earning a grade, passing a standardized test or getting a paycheck. It could mean more dedicated college students who persist to graduation day. It could mean more graduates excited to see how their ideas can influence the world of work and improve the world as a whole. It could mean the difference between a bad fitting job and a rewarding career that creates prosperity, purpose and passion. When people feel “lit up” and inspired, they can surmount every challenge and change the world in major ways.

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It’s summer and many new graduates are getting ready to make their first career move. Some grads are relocating to follow a dream or take an offered position. Others are searching locally or digitally for a career that will keep them close to home, while others are still brainstorming before making any decisions. Transitioning from school to life overnight can be stressful. All of a sudden new grads are faced with a new lifestyle full of adult freedoms, as well as adult pressures to hurry up and find a job. In addition to the new stresses of a transition, college grads may also face push-back from friends, family, bosses, and coworkers about how their choosing to approach the rest of their lives.

When you were choosing a major, did your friends, family, and teachers whole-heartedly support your decision? When you began a new relationship, did your friends and family support you from the get-go? Were your goals ever swayed by someone’s reaction to your decisions? At this uncertain time as a new grad, it can be especially confusing and angering to not have people supporting your decisions. After spending most of your life preparing for this moment, you still might not know where your career choices will ultimately take you, but you have an idea of how you want the next chapter in your life to go.

If you’re not getting support from friends and family to follow your dreams, know that it isn’t necessarily because you are making a bad decision. And, if it is because you are making a bad decision, it’s probably a mistake you will have to experience to understand — no matter how much those who care about you want to protect you from getting hurt. As you get closer to reaching your goals, stand firm. Fear, jealousy, experience, selfishness, etc. can all motivate people to try and discourage you from living a life they think you shouldn’t have. Take a risk, get out of your comfort zone, and follow your heart. There you will find yourself and what makes you happy, personally and professionally.

Internships were originally intended for students in the medical field. Doctors knew medical students needed hands-on experience working with patients before they were qualified to work on their own patients. Today, internships have spread beyond the medical field and become an important part of many jobseekers’ resumes in education, technology, writing, marketing, and more.

A recent graduate of a reputable medical school spent her last few years of school in multiple clinicals — a program similar to an internship that pairs students with mentors in the field — which gave her the opportunity to experience working with different age groups of patients, leadership styles, and company size. Entering the medical program she had a strong idea that she wanted to work with children; a decision that was solidified after working with a wide span of patients, from premature babies to geriatrics. Listening to her share her stories of obstacles and successes in the field is enough proof to know she learned more from her time in the field than she ever could from sitting in a classroom. This new grad has already landed a handful of promising interviews and has amazing references from faculty and mentors who can speak to her abilities.

Today, we see many new graduates entering the the job force without experience or direction. What if we expanded internships across the education system like we did across the fields? What if career experience became part of the K12 curriculum? Imagine if this career-based model were used more commonly with younger students and encouraged through their education. Middle school and high school students could work side-by-side with mentors in fields that interest them. Through gaining real-world experience, they could assess their strengths and weaknesses —  a great first step for teenagers to prepare for a career. Their mentors could become references for college applications and college-level internships. Having an internship during school would become the norm for students and the value of the experience would soon show itself as it opened more doors for them.

The career path cannot start after college graduation. The bricks need to start being laid in grade school with programs like mentorships, internships, volunteering, and service learning. Young students don’t need to decide on a career to start preparing for the world of work. Any work experiences, good or bad, are critical for students searching for their place. What is the price of not preparing students with a career mindset? What is the price of sending underprepared college students into the working world without working knowledge?

College students notoriously have overwhelming schedules. Many balance going to school full time, having part-or full-time employment, living on their own, and maintaining relationships. In the whirlwind of the college lifestyle, students can lose sight of how college should support and propel their career, and instead become only focused on grades and graduation day.

Graduates in 2012 will be entering an economy with more debt and less job opportunities than they would have 20 or even 10 years ago.  The last recession of this proportion was actually in 1984, the year I graduated from college.

But the surprise isn’t only on the new graduates. Employers are gaining new hires who have spent some of their most formidable years in a bad economy and who have responded with either apathy or a zeal to overcome obstacles in the professional world. For both kinds of young adults, and those in between, they will be up against some challenges that, although sometimes grim, are the reality of our current economy. Instead of  being the apathetic new hire or job seeker, I encourage you to take on the following challenges with the mindset that you will keep moving forward until you can overcome.

Challenge: There aren’t enough jobs to employ teens and new grads.

There are 75 million people ages 15 to 24 who are currently looking for work around the world. You are not alone in your struggle, and that may require you to be more creative and open when looking for a job. Some new graduates are moving to Asian nations in an effort to get their career started, according to the article “‘Made’ in China: The Millenials Look East for Jobs.”¹Â As population growth in China slows and the number of elderly people increases, more European and American citizens are moving East and taking advantage of the softening migration rules.

Many new graduates are also choosing to create jobs of their own². With the boom in startups and a national call for more innovation, new graduates with an entrepreneurial spirit are encouraged to go back to small business models and use their digital expertise to find their place in the new economy.

Challenge: Many teens and young adults don’t have the skills to land and keep a job. 

More than half of American teens are unemployed, which brings many more long-term concerns than it does for concerns over teen wallets. The scarcity of teen jobs implies that a large portion of teens will go through their high school and college years without having any real-world experience that is critical for learning how to navigate the world of work after college. Young adults will have to have experiential learning opportunities to learn these skills, and many are forced to push this basic learning until after college.

In her article “Too Busy for a Summer Job? Why America’s Youth Lacks Basic Work Skills,” Erika Christakis points out a paradox that today’s young adults are living: “Despite unprecedented technological and cultural sophistication, this generation’s 20-year-olds lack some of the ‘soft’ skills that are necessary to move up the professional ladder: perseverance, humility, flexibility and commitment.”^3 Be willing to take on experiences that could propose a learning opportunity, even if they aren’t ideal. Any job is better than no job when it comes developing transferable skills you need to land a more ideal and better paying job in the future.

Challenge: Many new grads enter the working world are buried in debt. 

Recently, the U.S. student-loan debt reached $1 trillion, surpassing credit card debt.^4 Many students went into their college careers willingly taking on decades worth of debt, believing there would be a job waiting for them after graduation. For many, the jobs aren’t there and for many there are jobs, but not ones that pay a high enough salary to put a dent in their monthly loan payments.

As a result of high student loan debt, a report by Pew Research Center suggests more young adults are postponing marriage, having children, and buying assets, like cars and homes.^5 Is it going to take longer to get to your career goals than you had planned freshman year? Reassess your career path and take it one step at a time.

Employment opportunities are scarce, but available; learning opportunities are abundant, but need to be taken advantage of; and debt cripples many dreams of buying homes, starting families, or pursuing higher education, but there is still hope. There may be challenges ahead, but with preparation, they can be less of a surprise.

To frame this situation in context, the brave men and women who survived World War II came back to the United States with pennies to their name.  They built much of our modern economy by starting in the mailroom, cleaning toilets, and working at more than one job.  What these industrious people learned is, in the words of James Allen:  The situation doesn’t make the man, it reveals him to himself.  In other words, difficult times show us who we are.  No matter who you are, no matter what your situation, this is your opportunity to shine. Adelante!

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Sources:

¹“‘Made’ in China: The Millenials Look East for Jobs,” by Courtney Subramanian. 30 April 2012. Time. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/30/made-in-china-the-millennials-look-east-for-jobs/

²“Why New Graduates Should Consider Entrepreneurship,” by Alexis Grant. 12 May 2012. US News. http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2011/07/12/why-new-graduates-should-consider-entrepreneurship

³“Too Busy for a Summer Job? Why America’s Youth Lacks Basic Work Skills,” by Erika Christakis. 1 May 2012. Time. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://ideas.time.com/2012/05/01/too-busy-for-a-summer-job-why-americas-youth-lacks-basic-worth-skills/

⁴“Student-Loan Debt Reaches Record $1 Trillion, Report Says,” 22 March 2012. Bloomberg. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-22/student-loan-debt-reaches-record-1-trillion-u-s-report-says.html

⁵“US Jobs Gap Between Young and Old Is Widest Ever,” by Hope Yen 9 February 2012. The Oakland Press. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/02/09/news/doc4f33c9b707386347710719.txt

Today’s working world has fewer jobs and more expectations for its workers. The economy is one reason employers have become selective with their limited positions, but another factor involves the speed in which technology is taking over certain jobs–all or part–to save both time and money. However, people who can bring something extra to the table, who can do something more than technology can, are still in demand. Thomas Friedman says this is why “everyone needs to find their extra — their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment. Average is over.”

But, average isn’t only over in the world of work; average is over in the education as well. We need strong principals, unique teachers, and ambitious students. More than higher test scores, we need students who want to learn, teachers who want to teach, and principals who are prepared to lead. We are in a point in education where all the players need to be reinvented with the idea that average isn’t good enough.

I recently read an article by Geoffrey James who interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world to find out what sets them apart from the rest. He was able to breakdown their leadership  styles into eight core beliefs, and under each core belief, he listed how an “extraordinary” boss carries out these core beliefs versus an “average” boss.

It got me thinking, how much different is the business culture than the education culture? This framework could also be used by principals, teachers, and students to set the achievement, interpersonal, and academic standards higher. The “average vs. extraordinary” frame of reference can help professionals and students measure their success by allowing them to look at themselves, no matter their postion, and have the self-awareness to asses where they stand in the spectrum.

Imagine the outcome if principals, teachers, and students dumped “average” from their vocabulary and replaced it with “extraordinary”.   What would be possible for learning if teachers saw students as powerful co-creators in the educational process?  What if teachers understood that their students, if given the opportunity, could teach and inspire them if given the chance to really assert themselves in class and out? What if the whole educational model really can be turned upside down the way Kahn has inverted the model for math learning, getting students to study at home and come to a teacher facilitated class where the students lead small groups in refining and crystallizing in a small group what the began at home?

The step between extraordinary and average doesn’t have to be a big one. An extraordinary boss or teacher sees individuals, respects their ability to get things done on their own, motivates, changes, and supports and approaches their own mission with the same aplomb.  An average boss or teacher sees only the group, commands and demands, feels superior, uses fear as a motivator and stays within familiar confines.  If employees and employers fear that technology will take over our jobs, they can slow down the “get things done” robotics of business or teaching by bringing the humanity back to leadership.  If students, principals and teachers are willing to consider new models which will promote extraordinary outcomes, everyone will be inspired by the intrinsic motivation which keeps us all curious, contributing, interested and committed to contributing at the highest levels. And that  can change the game for all players.

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Many of today’s students are familiar with the option of “extra credit” on an assignment.  Many high school classes give this as an option. Yesterday, I spoke with a professor who works with freshmen at a major state university. He doesn’t believe in “extra credit” because he feels that students should want to do a quality job because it’s important not because they get extra brownie points.   There may be a place and time for extra credit at the college level, but with some caveats.

Many college professors and employers share this professor’s sentiments. When it comes to students or employees going beyond the task at hand in the adult world, it’s a given for competence. Extra credit doesn’t exist. Doing your “extra credit” at work or in college — or having a 110% work ethic — is what’s expected of a stellar student or worker. Your reward for doing extra credit in the real world? Employment. As you show your employer you are an indispensable player on the team, you might get a raise, promotion, or a good letter of recommendation, but these career milestones aren’t points for putting in extra work; they are the reality.

For young children and teens, bribery or compensation might be one way to approach chores, eat the vegetables, or do homework, but as they age, students need to drop the idea that doing an exceptional job or more than is asked of them is anything but the norm. How can K-12 educators and college professors help students realize going beyond — or simply doing your job — in the real world doesn’t always come with an extra reward?  How can we encourage young adults to learn to love the challenge and the reward that doing your best provides?  How can we move from a perspective of constant extrinsic encouragement—a trophy for every child no matter what they accomplish on the playing field—to a more lasting and deeper intrinsic motivation from accomplishing real work through pitfalls, difficulties, and obstacles?

When students and employees put in the work, grow, and contribute, they will get noticed. However, no one will be there to ask them to do the extra work. How can you encourage your students to embrace challenge to get ready for college and the working world? How can your classroom reflect more of these workplace norms that successful grads will encounter  in the real world?   Ask students: who would you rather hire—the person who needs extra credit or the self-starter who enjoys over delivering?  In countries like China, India, Germany, Sweeden, Finland, and Singapore students have the inner drive to succeed.  Will your students be ready to work side by side and stand toe to toe with these students in the global world of work?