Blurring the Lines Between Work and Play

We've posted before about social scientist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi's thoughts on flow, a state of being where one is challenged and engaged because they're in the process of solving a tough problem, without being overwhelmed by the task of doing so. Czikszentmihalyi has said that most often people reach a state of flow at work, and Daniel Pink points out that in a study, those who were denied that feeling of flow in their work, after two days, began to show signs of generalized anxiety disorder. That's a pretty compelling finding.

Czikszentmihalyi goes further. Pink reveals that thirty years ago, the social scientist wrote, "There is no good reason to believe any longer that only irrelevant 'play' can be enjoyed, while the serious business of life must be borne as a burdensome cross. Once we realize that the boundaries between work and play are artificial, we can take matters in hand and begin the difficult task of making life more livable." (Qtd. in Drive, 128)

Pink also quotes Czikszentmihalyi on how children "work" and "play":

"A little kid's life bursts with autotelic experiences. Children careen from one flow moment to another, animated by a sense of joy, equipped with a mindset of possibility, and working with the dedication of a West Point cadet. They use their brains and their bodies to probe and draw feedback from the environment in an endless pursuit of mastery.

Then--at some point in their lives--they don't. What happens?

'You start to get ashamed that what you're doing is childish,' Csikszentmihalyi explained.

What a mistake. Perhaps you and I--and all other adults in charge of things--are the ones who are immature. . . . Left to their own devices . . . children seek out flow with the inevitability of a natural law. So should we all." (128)

We need to make school a place where students are in a state of flow and where they feel like the boundaries of work and play are blurred!

Learning from _Drive_

Daniel Pink's book Drive has been recommended to us many times, but we've been so obsessed with Frank Moss' The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices that we hadn't had time to pick it up. That changed recently, and now we feel compelled to share some of the fascinating ideas in the book that directly mesh with our philosophies. For a test drive of Drive (don't worry, we won't bombard you with driving puns; we promise to use them sparingly.), check out the RSA Animate video narrated by Pink:

Chapter One of Drive

As you may know, RealSchool is all about student-driven, passion-based learning, and so we were immediately taken with Pink's notion that jobs in the 21st century have become and will continue to become "more complex, more interesting, and more self-directed."

Pink writes:

Behavioral scientists often divide what we do on the job or learn in school into two categories: "algorithmic" and "heuristic." An algorithmic task is one in which you follow a set of established instructions down a single pathway to one conclusion. That is, there's an algorithm for solving it. A heuristic task is the opposite. Precisely because no algorithm exists for it, you have to experiment with possibilities and devise a novel solution. Working as a grocery clerk is mostly algorithmic. You do pretty much the same thing over and over in a certain way. Creating an ad campaign is heuristic. You have to come up with something new. 

During the twentieth century, most work was algorithmic . . . . The consulting firm McKinsey and Co. estimates that in the United States, only 30 percent of job growth now comes from algorithmic work, while 70 percent comes from heuristic work. A key reason: Routine work can be outsourced or automated; artistic, empathic, nonroutine work generally cannot. . . .

Partly because work has become more creative and less routine, it has also become more enjoyable. (27-29)

And . . .

Routine, not-so-interesting jobs require direction; non-routine, more interesting work depends on self-direction [our italics] (30).

So! What are educators doing to make sure their classrooms are not places where algorithmic tasks take place, but rather where students participate in heuristic, creative, and self-directed work?

Additional Resources

We recommend reading Scott McLeod's blog Dangerously Irrelevant, for constant updates on what's good and what's still bad in the world of education today.

"I'm Just Not Coin-Operated, Bob"

This summer, we're reading Tony Wagner's Creating Innovators, which is, of course, full of ideas we agree with. One of them is the notion that people get more satisfaction out of doing things when they're internally motivated to do so.

Wagner claims that the Millennials, as they're called, are actually motivated in different ways than those from previous generations, and he quotes Bob Compton, his collaborator on the videos for Creating Innovators, on this topic. Here is Compton, who is a high-tech venture capitalist and graduate of Harvard Business School, on working with today's twentysomethings:

Managing and motivating this cohort of young employees is almost overwhelmingly frustrating. All of the tools and techniques I learned at Harvard Business School, and all of my training and experience since, are ineffective at best. What's worse, traditional motivators -- stock options, commissions, bonus payments -- are often counterproductive with this generation. They take offense at being managed. As one of my young employees remarked when I offered stock and bonus payments as incentive for accelerating product development, "I'm just not coin-operated, Bob." Not "coin-operated"? Well, how are you "operated"? It is still baffling to me (page 19-20).

If this is true of twentysomethings, then we need to consider that traditional notions of grading in school are insufficient ways to motivate students. Grades are, after all, the carrot often dangled in front of students.

So how can we shift education so that it provides intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation for kids to succeed? Another point Wagner makes in his book is instructive here. He quotes Keith Miller, who works at 3M Corporation as manager of environmental initiatives and sustainability [RS Health and Environment is a fan of that position!]: 

Younger employees at the company want to have meaning in what they are doing. . . . It's a huge challenge for my generation. I came up through 3M when you had to put in your time before you got the good projects. You had to prove yourself. This generation comes in wanting to have an immediate impact. The challenge is to connect them with projects that have value and impact for the company (page 21).

What Compton and Miller are noticing in today's young work force is really inspiring and exciting, and it seems to us, something that should be deliberately cultivated in our schools. Our classrooms need to be places where students can find meaning, value, and purpose other than good grades. 

Additional Resources

Here is more information about people's desire to be intrinsically motivated:

On people's natural desire to have autonomy -- self-direction --, mastery, and purpose, take a look at Daniel Pink, author of Drive, in this RSA Animate talk:

Here's an engaging blog post from edutopia on unleashing student's intrinsic motivation.

Finally, here's Tony Wagner on Play, Passion and Purpose: