Global Citizens Youth Summit Students Share Ideas on Good Work

by The Good Team

The second annual Global Citizens Youth Summit was held at Harvard University in August 2015, bringing together rising high school seniors from 14 different countries. Founded by Yumi Kuwana, the Summit is an intensive program designed to foster a world-wide civic outlook and to encourage the next generation of leaders to do good. Several of the Summit’s lectures focused on the three E’s of the Good Project (excellence, ethics, and engagement).

Kuwana invited us to come to her session on “Excellence.” During the discussion, she focused attention on the need to cultivate qualities such as self-esteem, resilience, empathy, and integrity in order to thrive in a multicultural world. Asking students to offer their ideas on the meaning of “excellence,” Kuwana stressed the importance of developing a disposition of perseverance while remaining open to continuous learning.

We spoke with four students about their experiences at the Summit and learned about their insights on leadership and Good Work. Please see, in an edited version of our discussion, selected quotes from the young scholars.

Q: After today’s session, which of the 3 Es (engagement, ethics, and excellence) did you find most compelling? Why?

“Excellence, because it can be difficult to remain excellent in challenging situations. I also find ethics to be compelling because it may be hard to hold true to your values as well.”

“I liked learning about all of the 3 Es. One thing I would add to the discussion is that ethics varies based on your culture or doxa (shared beliefs with others), and that through comparison across cultures, we can see the varying norms that shape societies under the surface.”

“Ethics was most compelling for me because there are many ethical problems in the world, and I am very curious about that. There are some Korean people living in Japan because of the former colonization efforts, but sometimes these Koreans are disoriented by Japanese society. Many Japanese young people are interested in this and other ethical problems.”

Q: Tell us about a memorable experience from your own life that you think connects with Good Work themes.

“I see engagement in the way my father loves having children and has a passion for his family. I have over twenty siblings (which is not entirely unusual in Somalia, where I am from), and I see serious engagement in the way that my father cares for us.”

“There is one committee member of my school’s student union who really embodies engagement. He is always able to mobilize other members to take action on specific issues and to bring lots of people together in discussions that incorporate multiple viewpoints.”

“In my own education, I’m used to passively listening to lectures from my teachers. The Harkness method of teaching that was used in this program has motivated me to strive for more.”

Q: What kinds of projects do you do in your own life that reflect Good Work?

“I worked at an orphanage center in Somalia, tutoring children. The military officials who are charged with overseeing the orphans are usually not very caring, but because I showed concern for them, the children came to trust me.”

“I am very active in figure skating, which gives me a sense of accomplishment outside of academics. By striving for excellence and feeling a sense of engagement in this hobby, I find that it easy to stay involved even when there are times I feel like quitting.”

“The organization of our school carnival was a project that required excellence and engagement from me and my peers. This was open to the entire school community, and in order to ensure that everything ran smoothly, we had to put in long hours of effort filling out paperwork, inviting local businesses, and setting up booths. The event was a success because of our dedication.”

Q: Tell us about a mentor that you have or someone that you look up to. What makes this person admirable? Do they exemplify Good Work?

“I look up to Jonathan Starr, a former hedge fund investor who started a school with the goal of providing a better education to young Somalis. Everything was provided to me as a student there. With Mr. Starr as a mentor, I see how he gave me a valuable opportunity to tap into my potential, which I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access.”

“I have a friend a year older than me who is going to Oxford this year. He is gifted at math, and his commitment to the subject demonstrates excellence and engagement. I am grateful for his encouragement, pushing me to do better at my studies and to be more involved in extracurriculars.”

“My father is a doctor, and I really respect him and the way he interacts with patients. Even if he gets a call in the middle of the night, he makes sure to be available, consulting with other doctors over the phone. He works hard and is still very modest, which for the Japanese is an important virtue.”

Q: What does leadership mean to you? What are the characteristics of a “good” leader?

“A good leader understands what his or her people need and the best ways to satisfy those needs. Leaders also set positive examples and create a legacy for themselves, understanding the responsibility they have to show people there is something ‘better’ for which to aim.”

“Good leaders should have the capability to organize people and be forceful commanders with the strength to make difficult choices while still remaining aware and thoughtful. They commit themselves to serve the will of the community. However, good leaders are not necessarily good people (as outlined in Machiavelli’s The Prince).”

“Leadership isn’t only about the ability to talk in front of large groups of people; leaders are ideally good listeners. On a wider scale, I think “global leaders” must understand other countries’ histories and perspectives and respect the traditions of others. I was born and brought up in Japan, so I have only known Japanese people, but when I look around the room at my fellow scholars, I see that I have friends and connections from all around the world.”

Q: How do you think you will take what you learned about Good Work and apply it to your life and work?

“My long-term goal is to help Somalis create a more stable government. It takes time to understand your capabilities, but this program has brought me a step closer to realizing how I can use my leadership skills to help those in my country.”

“I learned how beneficial discussions are to the understanding of multiple viewpoints. In Hong Kong, where I am from, it is taboo to ask ‘stupid questions’ in school, but the sessions at this summit have given me the confidence to ask for clarification if I don’t understand something that is being said in the classroom. I also learned more about life as a whole through the 3 Es; I feel that I now can recognize the effects of culture on our beliefs and how stereotypes can influence thoughts and actions. I will be more curious and seek to learn more in the future.”

“I want to be a diplomat and work globally, and what I learned in this summit will definitely be applicable in that line of work. The biggest thing I learned is to have a broader perspective and to be less judgmental of others, particularly those who come from different backgrounds. Before coming to this program, all I knew about some countries was what I had read in a textbook, and I automatically made certain assumptions about “developing” or “poorer” countries. However, by listening to the stories of the other scholars who come from these places, I see things in a different light. I should have more respect for those countries and those people. Here, we have had many conversations in order to share our ideas and diverse experiences.”

Click here to learn more about the Global Citizens Initiative.

Head of School Chris Fortunato’s Commencement Address at Blair Academy

by Danny Mucinskas

On May 21, 2015, Head of School Chris Fortunato delivered a speech at the Commencement exercises at Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ. Offering reflections and words of wisdom for the graduating senior class, Fortunato’s comments resonated with several of the Good Project’s guiding values, including the importance of purpose, the power of personal principles and ethics, and the vital need for people to do good work that advances our communities and society.

Read the full speech below. (Note: the text has been edited for brevity.)

As I have the privilege of standing before you, our Class of 2015, one last time together, I admit I’m feeling parental, experiencing the range of emotions that no doubt your parents and families are feeling today. I am proud of you, because you’ve accomplished so much; but more so because you are simply very good people. I am sad, because now at the end of my and Mrs. Fortunato’s second year, we have grown to know many of you–you’ve spent time with our own children, and you have brought joy to our lives, and we’ll miss that more than you know. I also feel as hopeful as I have ever been in my life, because you are all becoming exactly what the world needs for it to become a better place, no matter what you choose to do. I found myself, over the last couple of nights, struggling to find the right words that encapsulate this range of feelings that I and our faculty have, to do justice to how much I admire you, how much you’re loved in this community, and how excited we are for you to take on your futures and to live your stories.

I posed the question: How do I sum up the stew of somewhat conflicted feelings we are experiencing as we deliver you into the next chapter of your lives? And I found what I was looking for, what I wanted to say to all of you–and it’s this–“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!” The words come from author A.A. Milne and were voiced by one his title characters–an unassuming young leader by the name of Winnie the Pooh.

Of course, your varied and wonderful voices will echo in our heads and hearts long past your graduation. They have grown strong individually and collectively over your years at Blair. It has been our pleasure for us to hear them, help them grow and celebrate them even when they are quiet ones. There are moments when your voices rose in ways public and not so public that were simply so true to who you are and what you care about that they will forever stick with me, with all of us.

I am grateful to all of you personally as well, for as I have spent the last two years discovering Blair, you have taught me about this community, our culture, what we must always preserve and what things new we might explore. You’ve helped me develop my own voice, no doubt a work in progress, as your Head of School.

As you look ahead, change is all around you. It will in fact be one of the few constants in your life, in all of our lives. But I have also discovered and wish to share with you another observation, if not a piece of advice–the greater the frequency and speed of change, the more important it becomes to recognize and hold on to those things that must remain steady and true. Things such as these:

-Your principles define who you are and they can never be taken away from you. They impact every decision you will make. You will filter every challenge, opportunity, relationship and conversation through those values. So, as you march through life, please keep asking yourself–what matters most to me, what are the things for which I stand? Do this often, so you can know yourself and help others know the real you. Don’t steer away from this exploration of your values, of who you are and who you are NOT, even if others judge you or don’t understand, even if it at times it frightens you, even if you change your mind. And you will change your mind, which is entirely okay. It is part of growing up. Some people might fault you for being inconsistent or impermanent–I will, however, honor you for your trying to find your way, your true north.

-Another thing I also know to be true is the Blair bubble we so often talk about. People have been talking about it since long before you or I stepped foot on this campus. It endures and always will, but the best thing about the Blair bubble has never been what it keeps out but rather what it keeps in, what it keeps close and what it nurtures–curiosity, resilience and, most importantly, friendship. And here’s the thing: The real Blair bubble, the one that really matters, is not the one you leave behind as you leave campus. In fact, it’s the one you take with you. Inside it is the best of what you’ve experienced and what you’ve become, and it lives on in the good work you’ll do and in the people whose lives you’ll enter. Spread the bubble beyond this campus, and go out and make the world more like the best of what you’ve experienced here.

-Finally, throughout your time at Blair, you have heard the following, and I want it to be the words with which you close your time with us. Life is about love. Don’t ever forget that. It’s about love. Love of learning, of living, of family and friends. It is the reason, ultimately, that most of us do what we do, strive to be successful, make a difference and accomplish things that are important. It’s the reason we push ourselves past our limits, take risks and dare to share our stories. And you are, indeed, loved by the people here today–your parents, relatives, friends, faculty and your Head of School. Carry that with you in times of joy and hardship. And share it. That’s the real secret. Discover what you love in the world and share your world with those you love.

Blair Academy Class of 2015, we honor all that you’ve achieved and congratulate you!

2015 Commencement Speech Highlights

by The Good Team

Each year, graduations and the speeches that they bring provide us with words that encourage reflection on the questions that the Good Project seeks to explore: what does it mean to be a good worker, good person, and good citizen? We again feature quotes from a range of commencement speeches that have taken place at institutions of higher education in May and June of 2015. The quotations selected and presented here focus on various Good Project ideas, including finding balance in the digital world, the 3 E’s of ethics, excellence, and engagement, responsibility, values, and professionalism.

“But in addition to taking pride in your work, you should always ask yourself if you could be doing more — and by more, I mean doing more to help others. It’s precisely because you are so talented that you should never be completely satisfied until you have satisfied yourself that you have done all you could. For that to happen, you need to set your own internal expectations and do things that you know are right, even when no one would blame you for failing to act. This is just as important in your personal life as it is in your professional life. There will be chances, large and small, to help others who are closest to you, even when you are not expected to do so. No one will blame you, for example, if you can’t make it to your child’s presentation in an elementary school class because it’s in the middle of the day and you have to work. But if you can figure out a way to be there, go, because you know it’s the right thing to do.” – Dean James Ryan, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“As someone who runs a 24/7 digital media company and who uses every form of social media ever invented, I hope I have some street cred when I urge you to build boundaries, introduce digital detoxes into your life, and learn to regularly disconnect from the jumble and the cacophony and make time to reconnect with yourself. There will be many profound and fulfilling relationships ahead of you, but the relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you’ll ever have. And, like any relationship, it can’t be taken for granted — without care and attention, it will atrophy and, ultimately, break down.” – Ariana Huffington, Vassar College

“Graduates, your values matter. They are your north star. And work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it’s just a job, and life is too short for that. We need the best and brightest of your generation to lead in government and in business. In the science and in the arts. In journalism and in academia. There is honor in all of these pursuits. And there is opportunity to do work that os infused with moral purpose. You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. It’s a false choice, today more than ever.” – Tim Cook, George Washington University

“You have to be willing to venture outside of your comfort zone. Being at ESPN and being in sports was my comfort zone. You have to be willing to venture outside of that. And don’t get in the habit of saying no. I said no for so long, about being in news, that I didn’t even mean it anymore….Don’t worry about the fear factor..Everybody in here has felt it, will feel it. If you wait for it to pass, you’ll be sitting on the sidelines for a very long time. And what I’ve found is, when fear knocks, let faith answer the door…I do not know what it is you want to do, I don’t know your hopes and dreams, only you know that. But I do know you have put yourself in a position for great things to happen to you….This is the moment you have dreamt about, and you have made it possible. So you already have that formula for success. Whatever it is you want to do…remember what you did to get here to this very moment.” – Robin Roberts, Emerson College

“People with vocations don’t ask: What do I want from life? They ask: What is life demanding me to do? What gap is there in my specific circumstances around me that demands my skill set? It’s not found by looking inside you for your passion. People have studied this. Eighty percent of you don’t have a passion. It’s found by looking outward, by being sensitive to a void and need, and then answering the chance to be of use. A calling, like being a teacher or a nurse or a scientist, comes with certain rules, obligations, and standards of excellence. These customs structure the soul and guide behavior and become deeply woven into the identities of the people who practice them. A teacher’s relationship to the craft of teaching is not an individual choice that can be renounced when the psychic losses exceed the psychic benefits. Being a teacher is who she is.” – David Brooks, Dartmouth College

“And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I’ve always known, I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing. Because no matter what happened, I had the peace of mind of knowing that all of the chatter, the name calling, the doubting — all of it was just noise. It did not define me. It didn’t change who I was. And most importantly, it couldn’t hold me back. I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values — and follow my own moral compass — then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own. So, graduates, that’s what I want for all of you. I want you all to stay true to the most real, most sincere, most authentic parts of yourselves. I want you to ask those basic questions: Who do you want to be? What inspires you? How do you want to give back? And then I want you to take a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on the world.” – Michelle Obama, University of Tuskegee 

Civic Education in the Digital Age

by Margaret Rundle

How, where, and what did you learn about civic life?

This was the opening question of a workshop titled Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age conducted at the Fall 2014 Project Zero Conference in San Francisco. The lively discussion that followed surfaced themes related to participants’ civic education: teacher-led lessons and in person conversations, whether at school, with family, or with religious groups, on the topics of facts about the government and voting were most common. After documenting these themes, attendees discussed the following questions:

1. Do you think your education prepared you to engage civically in today’s digital world?
2. What about the civic education received by students today?

A resounding NO was the consensus.

The workshop members then viewed examples of contemporary youth civic engagement, ranging from the Change.org petition calling for President Obama to address gun violence, to the Twitter hashtag campaign #Bringbackourgirls raising awareness of the Nigerian school girls who were kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram, to the Harry Potter Alliance call to action Odds in our Favor addressing economic inequality. Attendees brainstormed the features of the opportunities afforded by digital media for civic action: these actions are youth-led, and can involve anyone, anytime, anywhere, on any issue, in a multitude of ways.

The stark contrast between the civic education themes and digital civic opportunities illuminates the challenges facing educators who work with young people and support their civic development.

The workshop described above was a joint effort between our Good Participation (GP) Team at Project Zero and the Educating for Democracy in a Digital Age (EDDA) Team at Mills College. Both teams are part of the Educating for Participatory Politics (EPP) initiative, which explores how digital media are transforming civic and political life and the implications for educators preparing youth for democratic life. As part of the EPP initiative, the Good Participation team has collaborated with Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO), an international educational and professional development organization, on developing curricular materials designed to support youth to develop the knowledge, skills, motivation, and reflective disposition to participate positively in civic life today. We created activities and lessons with a digital orientation that complement FHAO resources centered on the Holocaust and Human Behavior.

In pilot work with these materials, students reflected on their current digital footprint and how they are presenting themselves online. Furthermore, they used online discussion boards to share their ideas on how digital media is being used currently in local, national, and global events (such as in Baltimore and in the Middle East), and they imagined how digital media might have been used in the past (for example, how might social media have been used by different factions in WWII?). Students also planned how to take action on an issue they cared about, leveraging the opportunities afforded by new media. For instance, one group of students decided to tackle the lack of trauma centers in their city neighborhood.

The Good Participation and FHAO teams are planning workshops to introduce these resources to educators. We will be conducting our first mini-course at the Project Zero Classroom summer institute in July 2015. If you are interested in learning more about these resources and upcoming workshops and mini-courses, stay tuned for updates on the Good Project website, Facing History and Ourselves website, and the Educating for Participatory Politics website.

Conversation with Mary Katherine Waibel Duncan of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

By Danny Mucinskas

Dr. Mary Katherine Waibel Duncan is a Professor of Psychology at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Over the past several years, Duncan and her colleagues Jennifer Johnson and Joan Miller have spearheaded the Good Work Initiative at Bloomsburg University, integrating ideas and frameworks from the Good Work Project into freshmen orientation sessions and classes throughout the university. In February 2015, Duncan was named the Joan and Fred Miller Distinguished Professor of Good Work, the first Good Work-related professorship of which we are aware. We recently caught up with her to talk about how Bloomsburg’s Good Work initiative is evolving and continuing to influence students.

Q: How has the Good Work Initiative at Bloomsburg University developed in the past year?

Mary Katherine: First of all, I am excited and honored that I have been named as the first Distinguished Professor of Good Work at Bloomsburg University thanks to the generosity of Joan and Fred Miller, who created the position with an endowed gift. It was such an unexpected and welcome surprise. I hope to use this occasion and the funds available to me to give Bloomsburg University students opportunities for pivotal, transformative experiences. For example, we would really love to bring students to future Good Project or Project Zero conferences to expose them to the ideas that have come out of these endeavors and inspire them to think about what Good Work means in their own experiences. Students can then translate what they have learned into presentations or projects that benefit BU and the surrounding community.

Also, somewhat unexpectedly, we have been given the chance yet again to facilitate Bloomsburg’s summer assignment for incoming freshmen, and we have of course chosen a Good Work-themed assignment based on the 3 Es (Excellence, Ethics, and Engagement). This is our fourth year organizing the assignment, meaning that all students at Bloomsburg in 2015-2016 will have been exposed to Good Work. My colleagues and I reach about 2000 incoming students each year, and we refer all of these students to the Good Work Initiative website we have created, which is a great source of material. We have not looked into how many students have visited the site, but we hope that they continue to return to this site to learn about campus-based resources that have been designed to support their pursuit of Good Work. Through the Good Work Initiative, we want students to reflect upon and to better understand the challenges and opportunities they have to do Good Work as undergraduates and beyond.

Q: What are the biggest challenges to doing Good Work for students, faculty members, and administrators at Bloomsburg?

Mary Katherine: Although we have seen progress in how our students conceptualize Good Work, there is still more we can do to foster deeper connections. We recently surveyed sophomores and seniors in the Department of Psychology at Bloomsburg about their pursuit of Good Work, and we found that while respondents mentioned values/beliefs as motivators, a sense of purpose was not discussed, and little thought was given to horizontal support from peers. We also noted that students face obstacles to doing Good Work, mostly in the form of impediments to short-term goals, including time constraints, the stress of heavy course loads, and social distractions. We are thinking about how we can help students overcome these challenges.

We’re also encouraged by the number of faculty who have integrated Good Work into their courses. Faculty have led the workshops during our Welcome Weekend (freshmen orientation) sessions. When professors tell students that they also struggle to make sense of what is “right” in particular situations, it makes them more personable and less intimidating. We want students to feel like professors are approachable resources for help and information.

Q: How will Bloomsburg’s Good Work Initiative be expanding in the coming months and years?

Mary Katherine: We have been thinking about ways to continue the influence of Good Work at Bloomsburg beyond the Summer Assignment and Welcome Weekend workshop by injecting it into existing programs and courses, which will allow us to continue to have an impact on students throughout their college experience. In the past, we have hung Good Work posters in dorms and campus buildings as daily reminders of our shared goals and ideals. Some professors have placed references to Good Work in their syllabi after coming to talks that Jennifer Johnson or I have done on the topic. We also have students who have approached us, particularly in the psychology department, to ask about how they can do Good Work in certain tricky or ethically “grey” situations. Furthermore, we have a few students every year who do research and presentations on Good Work as a part of senior capstone projects. Eventually, it would be interesting to follow up with alumnae about how the program has had an effect on their personal and professional lives after graduation.

I am happy to say that we are in the process of tying Good Work to the meaning of our school motto “Unleash Your Inner Husky” (the husky is Bloomsburg’s mascot). When someone asks, “What does it mean to be a Husky at Bloomsburg?”, we want the answer to be tied to the definition of Good Work: Excellence, Ethics, and Engagement. We are planning on making videos of outstanding students who embody Good Work and playing these on the monitors throughout campus as exemplars for other students. There are many other avenues we can pursue to further integrate Good Work into the Bloomsburg experience as well. In the meantime, I will continue to embed the message of Good Work into my on- and off-campus speaking engagements.