Fresh Perspectives

Skills National Competition

As a follow up to my prior post, 4 students from the CTC of Lackwanna County, a career tech school in Pennsylvania, competed in the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City.  These students did very well, and scored in the top 10 nationally.  Of note here too; they had a problem with the overhead projector, and the team leader improvised and turned the laptop around instead.  They continued with their presentation.  Now THAT is impressive!  Congratulations, girls....Great Job!!

Driving with a Disability II

In my prior post, I gave you a summary overview about driving with a disability.  Today, I'd like to expand on that.

Again, primary driving controls are gas, brake and steering while secondary controls include everything else.  The systems I will be using come from 2 companies; Drive Master and EMC.  As you might imagine, there are not many companies around that manufacture products like this.  It is a specialty, and I'm sure the liability exposure, hence the cost of insurance, is considerable.  That applies to the dealer network as well.  Installing these systems requires specialized expertise, and generally the dealers offer driver training and evaluations as well as installation.  The company I'm working with locally has been doing this for well over 20 years, and they are indeed experts.  

I'll be using mechanical horizontal steering which connects to the steering column.  It can be adjusted on all planes.  Drive Master also retrofits steering boxes and rack and pinions for reduced and zero effort steering.  Among other innovative products, they offer backup steering systems as well.

I'll also be using the gas/brake system from EMC.  Their entire EMC system is called AEVIT (Advanced Electronic Vehicle Interface Technology).  They also offer secondary interface controls and "drive by wire" steering.  Their website is extremely informative.  This page gives a very nice overview of the AEVIT  driving system. 

Another very innovative company in this arena is MPD, Mobility Products and Design.  The hand control in my current van is an MPD product.  It is amazingly reliable, even after 11 years of use. 

Learning to drive with these devices is a little challenging and will require over 10 hours of training.  Mr. Keller has an older trainer van and is in the process of outfitting a new one.  You can imagine the expenses involved in such a specialty, hence the reason for the high cost at the consumer level. This is indeed a very specialized business, and the companies and dealers involved are indeed quite innovative.

I'm enjoyed doing this research.  I hope you enjoy it as well. 

How Full is your Bucket?

Today, I received a complimentary copy (from Gallup Press, Cave Henricks Communications) of the book How Full is your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton.  The original book was published in 2004, and this is the anniversary edition.

I read the entire book in about 45 minutes.  It uses the "Dipper and the Bucket" metaphor to illustrate the power of the positive, and it does so magnificently!  It is a deeper study of the words in the Dale Carnegie book How to Win Friends and Influence People, "Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise, but do so sincerely".  It seems our entire society is rooted in attempting to change behavior through negative means.  This book is a shining light of change.

I will be purchasing this book for my co-workers.  And, I would recommend it to everyone as well.

Driving with a Disability

I'm going through a process of a new wheelchair, new van, and home modifications to accommodate my current and future needs.  Today was interesting!  Unlike my current situation, I'll soon be driving from the wheelchair.  And in order to accommodate my needs for the next 10 or so years, I'm converting to an electric brake/accelerator system, and horizontal steering with zero effort.  These are known as "primary" controls.  As a result of the change in primary controls, the "secondary" controls will change too.  I'm looking at a computer controlled modular system to handle things such as lights, turn signals, gear changes, wiper controls....all of the secondary functions. 

The picture above left shows the hand control I currently use (past 11 years).  It is called a right-angle hand control, and is basic and simple.  The new system is similar, but involves electric assist and is mounted to the immediate left of the driver at arm level.

Today, I did some real on-the-road driving using this system in a training van.  Jim Keller, owner of Keller Wheelchair Lifts, is the driving teacher and an expert in the systems available today.  After a series of adjustments, we developed placement criteria for equipment, and I got to drive with the controls.  It went very well!

If any of you readers are going through something similar and you are apprehensive, please do get in touch with me.  What I'm doing comes down to one mental aspect; the ability to accept and embrace change.  I've learned the hard way, folks.....NEVER let fear lead your life and learn to love change.

New Blog

Check out my new blog, Education Perspectives.  There is an additional link to it at the top of this blog.  Fresh Perspectives is alive and well, but is reserved for personal entries.  Education Perspectives is about an issue I'm passionate about.

Timeless Music!

Some things are just timeless. I'm a fan of Eric Clapton, and I love this rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago". Check it out......

GM - A Lesson Learned?

General Motors is now officially "Government Motors", no longer listed on NYSE.  The reasons are obvious...GM remained an old company whose management style remained in a 1950's mindset.  In the 1980's, W. Edward Deming predicted what is happening now to GM and other companies in the same situation.  And Bob Sutton clearly reflected this mindset in a blog post.

When will we learn?  The learning is happening in the auto industry at Ford Motor Company.  They operate lean in much the same way as Toyota, and they have trimmed down their vehicle offerings.  Ford is now setting the pace for American business.  They are learning to compete globally; GM never learned that! 

Having spent 30 years in public education I can tell you, however, that American public education will learn more slowly.  Education, and more specifically career/technical education, needs to be reflective of the direction industry is taking.  That happens slowly because public education is an extension of the government bureaucracy that created it.  Education remains in the "top down" management mindset where the customer (student) isn't always the priority.  But in this time of unprecedented change, I see a glimmer of hope for public education....the mindset is beginning to change.  Because for public education to survive, it must change!  I hope to be part of that.

Memorial Day

Today, we commemorate the men and women who died while in military service to our country.  These people faced the ultimate fear and paid the ultimate price!

My Dad, who died several years ago, served during WWII in the Army Air Corps.  On a few rare occasions, he spoke of some of his experiences, and of comrades who paid that ultimate price.  Most people who witnessed the bloodshed never spoke of it again.  There is nothing more devastating than war.

Amid all of today's turmoil, corporations bigger than government, an economy in trouble because of greed, a seemingly complete lack of ethics among elected officials, we all need to remember those who died for us as well as those who survived.  No matter our political views, we need to be thankful for the men and women who served before and who serve now.  

Today, I remember and I'm thankful!

In Pursuit of Elegance

Matt May's book, In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing, is being released tomorrow.  I read an advanced copy a few weeks ago, and could not put the book down!  Matt traveled the world to find cases where something was made to be elegant through subtractive means.  He strategically uses stories to drive home his ideas. 

This book is incredibly easy to read, even though it tackles some deep subject matter.  Check out his blog by the same name.  Mark Graban of Leanblog.org has posted a video podcast with Matt.  This work is entirely different than any business related book I've ever read.  It is a book about elegance written elegantly.

Story Musgrave

The video below is compelling!  Story Musgrave was the astronaut who led the team charged with fixing the Hubble telescope several years back.  Although the main focus of the video is teamwork, it is compelling for other reasons.  To me, it shows that an astronaut, who one would assume would be an analytical person, can be creative.  Dr. Musgrave has advanced degrees in both arts and sciences.  Plus his presentation style is wonderful.  Worth watching:

Story Musgrave and the Hubbel - Click here for the most popular videos

W. Edwards Deming

Mark Graban of Leanblog posted 3 videos about W. Edwards Deming.  I watched them twice.  Although Deming's methods involved statistics and measurement of production, all of his ideas revolve around people.  For those new to his work, he provided the main ingredients in rebuilding Japanese industry after WWII.  One quote of his stands out.  "The Japanese were in trouble; We are in worse trouble because we don't know it."

These videos are worth watching.  And Mark's blog is worth checking out.

Bad Rap

We have all heard the stories about the health care professionals who don't seem to care.  I've been going through a process of a wheelchair fitting, a driver evaluation, and a fitting for a foot brace.  Hence the reason for my hiatus from blogging.  But my experience with health care people involved has been gratifying!  Every person I've dealt with, including Occupational Therapists, Physicians, Nurses, Receptionists and support people, have all become advocates for me in this transition.  The person who engineered my wheelchair and complex seating told me that the wheelchair "belongs to me"!  He takes every problem and request I have personally.  Without these advocates, this transition would be difficult at best.

I see the same advocacy among people with disabilities.  We watch out for one another!

Remember that health care professionals have a very difficult job.  Treat them right, because they perform a service none of us could live without.  And sometimes, they get a bad rap!

Excellent TED Talk

On the Presentation Zen blog, Garr Reynolds posted this TED talk.  His comments were aimed at the presentation aspects of the talk, and I must agree the talk was engaging from that standpoint.  But the content of the talk was outstanding.  Check it out.

2009 Skills USA Pennsylvania CTC Lackawanna Pics

I'm so proud to be associated with all of the students at our school.  Here are some pics of this years state Skills USA trip which I posted about the other day.

   
Strategy Session

 
At the closing ceremony

 
Shannon ready to go - What a smile!

 
Stage at closing ceremony

 
The crew - CTC Lackawanna

 
Speaker on stage

 
Kyle takes his medal

 
Entrapreneurship crew takes their gold

 
I don't think Shannon (far left) expected to win!

 
Everyone heading home

 
Back home, Kyle Dileo displays his medal

 
Entrepreneurship crew - Shannon, Ashley, Ryannon and Holly.

Congratulations to all who participated!

Entrepreneurship Competition

I'm CFO at a Career-Technical school where students from area school districts attend to acquire job and college prep skills.  Each year, students participate in Skills USA and compete with students from other schools at the district, state and national level.  This year, around 20 of our students advanced and competed at the state level.  All of them had a great time and enjoyed the experience.

This year, 4 of our students participated in an entrepreneurship competition in which they developed and presented a business plan.  Several of the staff at the school, including myself, mentored these students in preparation for the state competition.  The student's tireless preparation paid off; they won the gold medal!  Each of them received a scholarship at Penn Tech College as a result of their efforts.  Also, they now get to compete at the national level in Kansas City in June.  The students are (from left) Shannon Cawley, Ashley Hiller, Ryannon Boyle and Holly Demianovich. 

The amazing thing is that none of these students had any business experience a month ago!  In a short time, they developed an excellent plan, and the materials they presented were outstanding.  I am proud to be associated with these fine individuals.  Their work was an inspirational.  Congratulations to them and all of the students involved.  These are our future leaders!