Jan
16
Jeffrey asked me to write about why people are more important than material at a University.
As a freshman in college, I worked my tail off to understand each and every course completely. I practically memorized the texts. I answered questions in class. I studied long, hard hours on my own. I got great grades.
During my junior year I took a class from Dr. Ed Green in the school of education. When he announced that he’d recently attended conferences that have made him question the way the U.S. runs its public education system, I couldn’t help but like the guy from the start. He started talking about Home School as a viable alternative in the School of Education (a real no-no given the politics at BYU). When he asked any in the class for help on some projects he was working on, I immediately volunteered and found myself at his house talking about my non-public school past, he drinking in my every word. We became fast friends and worked on tons of projects together in Home School curriculum, ESL, reading, etc. He even hired me to work at Family Literacy Centers, Inc. right out of school. He made me successful. He also knew that my success meant his success.
Dr. Green didn’t have the research record of some of his peers. He would be the first to say that he’s not an expert in any material. In my years watching him, I’ve learned that he IS an expert in relationships with people. I see time and time again how many people he knows and connects with in all of his interactions. I didn’t understand how important this is until I applied for graduate school and took the GSE examination. I bombed it at BYU’s standards and shouldn’t have gotten into the program, but I wanted to study in the Instructional Psychology and Technology department, which was in the school of education. I applied and became the lowest score in the department. I don’t think my score even qualified. Dr. Green was on the committee and vouched for my character and skills, both of which didn’t show up on the test. The department didn’t regret Dr. Green’s recommendation; I was the first of my group who graduated. I moved through the program in one year and thoroughly enjoyed my Master’s Program.
Later, planning to attend Penn State for a Ph.D., the Penn State chair visited BYU for a conference. I volunteered to give her a ride from the airport. We hit it off well and when I applied to Penn State, I was admitted without having completed the entire application. They, however, told me I’d need to complete the application over the next year to meet their requirements (bureaucratic formality). They let me in because they knew me. They even offered a full-tuition intership with salary. I was beginning to see things differently.
One day, Dr. Green told me the story of a man who helped him through his Ph.D. program. Dr. Green associates all his success with people. He honors his mentor in giving him the break that made his career. He knows that subjects and materials go obsolete very quickly, but relationships never do.
I realize, looking back, that I passed up the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EDUCATION…PEOPLE. Today, now that I understand the web and its capabilities, it makes sense. Why put people physically together at all? We can learn the material without being in the same room. But cyber friendships have a different strength of cement than in person friendships. If I were to do it again, I would have spent my time and energy building lasting relationships with my peers and professors like Dr. Green built with me. Those relationships are the vehicle for accomplishing any meaningful cause in life. I also look back at people I admired in school (Bryan Johnson, Richard Culatta and others) and I think that they understood this principle better than I.
Want a crash course in creating lasting relationships and real value for causes in which you’re involved? Here are my favorites (in no particular order):
- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Love is the Killer Ap by Tim Sanders
Enjoy! Please share any other insights or great books related to this topic.