Saturday, August 25, 2007
If you spend any time trying to improve the linkages between the business community and K-12 educators, you quickly learn an important lesson: they speak different languages.
Business leaders often have a difficult time communicating precisely the skills they need. On the other side, K-12 educators often have little experience in the business world. In sum, neither group, fully appreciates the pressures that the other is under.
One way to address the gap involves bringing business and educators together as frequently as possible. It also helps to focus on specific opportunities for collaboration. That way, you can avoid grandstanding by one side or the other.
An upcoming event in Beloit, Wisconsin, illustrates how to put together one of these summits. The event will take place over six hours, and it will involve roundtable discussions. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Connecting business with education
