[Applause]
so I’m an educator and one of my job’s
is to advise people on what they’re
gonna do with rest of their life when
they leave our school which is
terrifying when you think about it I
mean think about that somebody comes to
you for advice on what they should do
with their life and so you start by
asking them well you know what do you
which by the way if you ask these
students this question they kind of look
at you with this blank stare when I have
nothing to do free time what are you
talking about so I’m asking people what
they like to do doesn’t work and then I
move on to my next question
what makes you angry what is it that
when you think about it
you think if somebody should do
something about that
and again blank stares of confusion I
often get all sorts of people coming
into the into the advisors office and it
doesn’t matter what angle I take whether
it’s what do you like or what makes you
angry
I typically end up with some sort of
response like well mr. Patton I played a
lot with LEGOs when I was a kid so I
think I had a new chemical engineering I
think everyone played with Legos when
they were kids the greatest toy of all
time it doesn’t mean need to be a
chemical engineer actually my favorite
one is I have a lot of people who come
in and they they want to be doctors now
in most cases I taught them biology
I’ve seen them dissect an earthworm
they tell me they want to be a surgeon
all I can think is gotta go go don’t get
sick but I think that people you know
they want to know what they’re gonna do
with their lives because I think that
they want to you know maybe do something
that’s gonna benefit other people or
serve them in some way now whom I
couldn’t people come to me because they
want to talk about how they can make
money and a lot of it and yet no one
seems to get the irony of coming to a
genuinely I really do believe that
people aren’t do something meaningful
with their lives I mean when I ask
myself – what makes you angry question I
thought it really bothers me when people
don’t understand the impact that they
can have not only on themselves but on
those around them and on our planet I
mean that’s what led me into a career in
education because I believe that
inspiring people to become better
versions of themselves and to contribute
to a more peaceful planet well that’s a
mission worth living for so when people
come in to ask me what they should do
with their lives I do my best not to be
biased but I already know that the most
influential and powerful position you
can have in this world is to be a
teacher now I’d love to say this is just
my opinion but actually everybody
already knows this because everybody’s
interested in education have a vested
interest in it and not surprisingly most
everybody thinks they already know
everything about education because you
know they went through school one time
and dreaded it by the way I don’t know
if you’ve heard some of the things that
people will say when they’re in school
it’s like oh thank God it’s the weekend
Oh break is coming yes so I really have
to go back to school summer was so great
that’s just the teachers
I think people think that they’re
experts on education because they’ve
consumed it at some point in their life
and all of a sudden that means that
their self-proclaimed expert and they
know what’s going on with education I
mean I’ve been around since one of the
greatest technical advances of all time
the advent and evolution of cellular
phones now I’ve been around to see the
very first phone believe it or not and
I’ve seen all the advancements and
developments that are come from it and I
might be able to offer some anecdotal
ideas on how phones could be better but
not reality I am in no way place to be
talking about what’s gonna make a phone
really great but you talk to anybody
about education and they’ll get on your
case about how schools are rinsing up or
they’re killing creativity or tests
don’t tell you anything about education
so why do we use them but let’s face it
talking about phones is just nowhere
near as inspiring as talking about
education maybe that’s why people get so
passionate about it I mean after all it
is the most powerful weapon you can use
to change the world said Nelson Mandela
and it seems like a lot of other people
already know that as well because in
2009 the Taliban decided to increase its
campaigning by attacking some 500
schools in that year alone they
recognized that big attack on their
position was an educated female and so
what they did is they did everything
they could to remove that opportunity
from and in North Korea over the last
years and decades they continue to teach
this anti-us rhetoric that permeates
beyond politics and it goes all the way
into media and the overall culture of
the area and even just a few years ago
in Golden Colorado you had students and
teachers and parents lining the streets
to protest the changes of the Advanced
Placement US history course in other
words education is an incredibly
powerful tool and I think leaders
throughout history have known this
really very well but as educators I
think sometimes we forget this I mean
are we really teaching as though we were
the stewards of the most influential
power on earth what if we did I think as
educators we just get a bit distracted
we get caught up on competition we think
how is my country rating against other
countries in science and math scores or
in literacy scores and we talk about is
this test valid or not and should we be
using that to determine if this kid is
as smart as this kid somewhere across
the world and if we’re not talking about
comparisons well then we often get
caught up in the idea of how we should
teach we argue about standards and what
people should know at a certain stage in
their life and we talk about ways in
which we can measure that over time and
we try to determine exactly what a kid
you know how they should know it and how
we’re gonna know if they already know it
no I’ve no argument with discussing
pedagogy in fact I actually really like
it because I believe it’s important for
us to continually evaluate the way in
which we instruct so that we can make
sure we have inspiring lessons every
single day and that the learning that
goes on is really incredible but while
back I was introduced to Simonson X
model of the golden circle and it struck
me that as an educational society maybe
we’re not putting as much emphasis on
the why we teach as we should so what if
we shifted our focus what if we went
from standards and tests and growth
measurements and comparisons across
countries to the empowerment of
individuals to discover their role in
society as what Whitman says in his poem
Oh mean old life he says that the
powerful play goes on and you may
contribute a verse are the people that
are walking through our classrooms each
day discovering their voice and
understanding the verse that they have
to contribute to this powerful play in
the 2016 United States presidential
election forty six point nine percent of
eligible voters chose enough to cast
their vote
they’d been convinced that their voice
simply didn’t matter not to me that’s
indicative of an educational system that
was really focused on what people should
know and talked a lot about how they
should know it but forgot to emphasize
why because your voice is important and
we should have been focusing on that the
whole time
so as educators our role is to help
people understand how they can utilize
their voice and how they can contribute
their verse to this entire world this
global society and I don’t just mean so
they can be competitive in a 21st
century world I mean so that people can
learn to think critically and truly
evaluate their actions and the impact
those actions have not only on
themselves but on others and the health
of our planet and there is no greater
time for educators to refocus than now I
mean human induced climate change is a
serious serious issue and one that
threatens the health of all living thing
on this all living things on this planet
it is time for us to recognize this
problem as it truly is the greatest
attack on our well being the issue of
our time so let’s take a lesson from our
history because in 1942 1943 in the u.s.
the war effort saw no bounds everyone
whether it was a politician or if they
were in the media or if they were in the
workforce their business person or if
there were educators every single person
was taught to contribute to the war
effort in the simplest of decisions I
mean people were told to recycle more
and to grow their own gardens and to be
less wasteful everybody bought onto this
yeah
and there was no problem considering it
nobody even questioned why they should
be doing this this is the type of
education that is centered on why people
should do it and that is what made that
war effort come to it’s positive outcome
it did in other words it wasn’t focused
on competing it wasn’t focused on
teaching people how they can be
competitive against someone else across
the country rather it taught people that
every single decision they made was
important so my fellow educators it’s
time for us to take the lead on this
huge issue affecting our world and use
the power which we have to good effect
positive change I mean we really do have
the most influential power that we can
use for positive change in the world so
let’s act like it let’s remember that
every single opportunity we get to teach
we are there so that we can create we
incredible individuals who are
innovative and responsible caretakers of
our planet more so let’s teach everybody
that they can make decisions that are
life-changing for the long-term
sustainability of our planet
so I’ve refocused my questions now when
people come to ask me for advice of
course I still ask them you know what do
you like and what makes you angry but
now I have a new question how are you
going to be a positive contributor to
the sustainability and health of our
planet now what if we all did something
that simple thank you [Applause]
so I’m an educator and one of my job’s
is to advise people on what they’re
gonna do with rest of their life when
they leave our school which is
terrifying when you think about it I
mean think about that somebody comes to
you for advice on what they should do
with their life and so you start by
asking them well you know what do you
which by the way if you ask these
students this question they kind of look
at you with this blank stare when I have
nothing to do free time what are you
talking about so I’m asking people what
they like to do doesn’t work and then I
move on to my next question
what makes you angry what is it that
when you think about it
you think if somebody should do
something about that
and again blank stares of confusion I
often get all sorts of people coming
into the into the advisors office and it
doesn’t matter what angle I take whether
it’s what do you like or what makes you
angry
I typically end up with some sort of
response like well mr. Patton I played a
lot with LEGOs when I was a kid so I
think I had a new chemical engineering I
think everyone played with Legos when
they were kids the greatest toy of all
time it doesn’t mean need to be a
chemical engineer actually my favorite
one is I have a lot of people who come
in and they they want to be doctors now
in most cases I taught them biology
I’ve seen them dissect an earthworm
they tell me they want to be a surgeon
all I can think is gotta go go don’t get
sick but I think that people you know
they want to know what they’re gonna do
with their lives because I think that
they want to you know maybe do something
that’s gonna benefit other people or
serve them in some way now whom I
couldn’t people come to me because they
want to talk about how they can make
money and a lot of it and yet no one
seems to get the irony of coming to a
genuinely I really do believe that
people aren’t do something meaningful
with their lives I mean when I ask
myself – what makes you angry question I
thought it really bothers me when people
don’t understand the impact that they
can have not only on themselves but on
those around them and on our planet I
mean that’s what led me into a career in
education because I believe that
inspiring people to become better
versions of themselves and to contribute
to a more peaceful planet well that’s a
mission worth living for so when people
come in to ask me what they should do
with their lives I do my best not to be
biased but I already know that the most
influential and powerful position you
can have in this world is to be a
teacher now I’d love to say this is just
my opinion but actually everybody
already knows this because everybody’s
interested in education have a vested
interest in it and not surprisingly most
everybody thinks they already know
everything about education because you
know they went through school one time
and dreaded it by the way I don’t know
if you’ve heard some of the things that
people will say when they’re in school
it’s like oh thank God it’s the weekend
Oh break is coming yes so I really have
to go back to school summer was so great
that’s just the teachers
I think people think that they’re
experts on education because they’ve
consumed it at some point in their life
and all of a sudden that means that
their self-proclaimed expert and they
know what’s going on with education I
mean I’ve been around since one of the
greatest technical advances of all time
the advent and evolution of cellular
phones now I’ve been around to see the
very first phone believe it or not and
I’ve seen all the advancements and
developments that are come from it and I
might be able to offer some anecdotal
ideas on how phones could be better but
not reality I am in no way place to be
talking about what’s gonna make a phone
really great but you talk to anybody
about education and they’ll get on your
case about how schools are rinsing up or
they’re killing creativity or tests
don’t tell you anything about education
so why do we use them but let’s face it
talking about phones is just nowhere
near as inspiring as talking about
education maybe that’s why people get so
passionate about it I mean after all it
is the most powerful weapon you can use
to change the world said Nelson Mandela
and it seems like a lot of other people
already know that as well because in
2009 the Taliban decided to increase its
campaigning by attacking some 500
schools in that year alone they
recognized that big attack on their
position was an educated female and so
what they did is they did everything
they could to remove that opportunity
from and in North Korea over the last
years and decades they continue to teach
this anti-us rhetoric that permeates
beyond politics and it goes all the way
into media and the overall culture of
the area and even just a few years ago
in Golden Colorado you had students and
teachers and parents lining the streets
to protest the changes of the Advanced
Placement US history course in other
words education is an incredibly
powerful tool and I think leaders
throughout history have known this
really very well but as educators I
think sometimes we forget this I mean
are we really teaching as though we were
the stewards of the most influential
power on earth what if we did I think as
educators we just get a bit distracted
we get caught up on competition we think
how is my country rating against other
countries in science and math scores or
in literacy scores and we talk about is
this test valid or not and should we be
using that to determine if this kid is
as smart as this kid somewhere across
the world and if we’re not talking about
comparisons well then we often get
caught up in the idea of how we should
teach we argue about standards and what
people should know at a certain stage in
their life and we talk about ways in
which we can measure that over time and
we try to determine exactly what a kid
you know how they should know it and how
we’re gonna know if they already know it
no I’ve no argument with discussing
pedagogy in fact I actually really like
it because I believe it’s important for
us to continually evaluate the way in
which we instruct so that we can make
sure we have inspiring lessons every
single day and that the learning that
goes on is really incredible but while
back I was introduced to Simonson X
model of the golden circle and it struck
me that as an educational society maybe
we’re not putting as much emphasis on
the why we teach as we should so what if
we shifted our focus what if we went
from standards and tests and growth
measurements and comparisons across
countries to the empowerment of
individuals to discover their role in
society as what Whitman says in his poem
Oh mean old life he says that the
powerful play goes on and you may
contribute a verse are the people that
are walking through our classrooms each
day discovering their voice and
understanding the verse that they have
to contribute to this powerful play in
the 2016 United States presidential
election forty six point nine percent of
eligible voters chose enough to cast
their vote
they’d been convinced that their voice
simply didn’t matter not to me that’s
indicative of an educational system that
was really focused on what people should
know and talked a lot about how they
should know it but forgot to emphasize
why because your voice is important and
we should have been focusing on that the
whole time
so as educators our role is to help
people understand how they can utilize
their voice and how they can contribute
their verse to this entire world this
global society and I don’t just mean so
they can be competitive in a 21st
century world I mean so that people can
learn to think critically and truly
evaluate their actions and the impact
those actions have not only on
themselves but on others and the health
of our planet and there is no greater
time for educators to refocus than now I
mean human induced climate change is a
serious serious issue and one that
threatens the health of all living thing
on this all living things on this planet
it is time for us to recognize this
problem as it truly is the greatest
attack on our well being the issue of
our time so let’s take a lesson from our
history because in 1942 1943 in the u.s.
the war effort saw no bounds everyone
whether it was a politician or if they
were in the media or if they were in the
workforce their business person or if
there were educators every single person
was taught to contribute to the war
effort in the simplest of decisions I
mean people were told to recycle more
and to grow their own gardens and to be
less wasteful everybody bought onto this
yeah
and there was no problem considering it
nobody even questioned why they should
be doing this this is the type of
education that is centered on why people
should do it and that is what made that
war effort come to it’s positive outcome
it did in other words it wasn’t focused
on competing it wasn’t focused on
teaching people how they can be
competitive against someone else across
the country rather it taught people that
every single decision they made was
important so my fellow educators it’s
time for us to take the lead on this
huge issue affecting our world and use
the power which we have to good effect
positive change I mean we really do have
the most influential power that we can
use for positive change in the world so
let’s act like it let’s remember that
every single opportunity we get to teach
we are there so that we can create we
incredible individuals who are
innovative and responsible caretakers of
our planet more so let’s teach everybody
that they can make decisions that are
life-changing for the long-term
sustainability of our planet
so I’ve refocused my questions now when
people come to ask me for advice of
course I still ask them you know what do
you like and what makes you angry but
now I have a new question how are you
going to be a positive contributor to
the sustainability and health of our
planet now what if we all did something
that simple thank you [Applause]
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