I am not sure how this works for the rest of you. I find air travel to be fascinating. You take people, their seats chosen or assigned without knowledge of the person who will be traveling in the next seat, and yet, it seems that often, if parties are willing to open up, they find areas of particular uncommon interest.

John, my first traveling companion yesterday, was on his way to Tokyo, as a software engineer in senior management, but his dream was to have a wood shop and make things that gave the satisfaction of being real and the product of his own hands.

My second companion Lynn, who sat next to me on my flight from O'Hare to Arkansas is a trainer for Kenneth Blanchard Companies. Lynn was on her way to continue training senior staff at a very large banking system. Ken Blanchard is famous for his business book "One Minute Manager." One of the things we discussed was the role of the hands in learning. Lynn told me how when she conducts her sessions she always has plenty of hand engaging materials on the table to keep people's attentions centered on the learning process. This strategy comes from study of the brain, and is used to establish comfort in the acquisition of new ideas, and offer ease of engagement in the learning atmosphere. So, if corporations in America can get it, why can't schools come to a better understanding of the role of our hands in learning?

We talked about that, too. But things do change. Leadership is required. Step out and lead the pack. Grab a tool that provides leverage. We are all in this together.