
What Is Your Learning Manifesto?
Athletes have pioneered the benefits of cross training. If I want to run faster or improve the velocity of my fast ball, I can’t continue to repeat the same motion over and over. My body is smart and will find ways to yield the same results with less energy but I won’t grow stronger. So I need to continuously stretch my mind and muscles. That is why you see football players practicing yoga or baseball players swimming to work out different muscles. A famous example of the benefits of cross training was demonstrated by Lynn Swann who is regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL. He practiced ballet up through high school which if you know anything about football, is an odd combination, but if you watch Swann play football, you wonder why more players didn’t follow his example.
So why do we continue to read books on education and draft more education policies to fix our current problems in education and learning? People working in education are some of the most brilliant people in the world but I worry we may be losing the edge we need to solve this problem. If we want to figure out how to revolutionize our education system and provide students of all ages with more creative ways to gain the knowledge and skills they need, we need to expand our aperture.
Many of the companies leading the charge are in technology and software and could be sitting on top of the solution and don’t even know it. Many software companies follow agile methodologies which were pioneered in the early 2000’s starting with the Agile Manifesto which is built upon four simple mantras:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
Now the folks who wrote these principles understand that the items on the right are important but they value the items on the left more.
One of the advantages of the agile mindset is dealing with change and uncertainty. The same principles apply to education and learning. Many of us don’t find our sweet spot until years or decades after we leave home. So why should we expect to learn everything we need to know in four years of college or university?
What if we modified the principles to apply to lifelong learning. Here is one version:
Real people & real relationship over policy & processes
A beautiful portfolio over diplomas & GPA
Networking over resumes
Embracing change over following dogmatic plans
This is only one version and I am sure you are already editing it in your head. That right there should tell you how urgent the need for learning cross training is. If you combine this with the idea of Integral Learning Communities, then you are starting to build your own learning guide. The beauty of a manifesto is it provides you with your vision describing what you believe in. When you are trying to acquire new Knowledge in order to gain new Skills so you can meet the requirements for the new Persona you want to become in the Community you care about, your manifesto will help you stay focused.

This is just one “what if” idea when it comes to lifelong learning but we need more. If you agree with this, please let me know. If you hate this idea, please let me know. The point is that we need to practice cross training when it comes to discovering new ways of learning both in schools and in the workplace because learning is a lifelong adventure.
Thank you again for sharing this moment.
