I’m unsure how I never heard of this book growing up, but I didn’t. My first exposure was at Air Command and Staff College, the Air Forces’s selective professional military education course for Majors. It was an optional reading that I delayed until far later in the year, when we were informed that Card would be coming to the school as a guest speaker. I’d wager based on the questions he was asked that less than 10% of the school read it. Card showed up in cargo shorts and sandals and one of the pilots basically sneered at him “Why should we think anything a guy who had never served and dressed in sandals and shorts for a briefing, think he might have to teach elite Air Force officers”. Card responded with “Well, your leadership, General XXXX thought we might have something to learn from him, and that he dressed in sandals and shorts because he was successful enough to dress as he liked.”
The lessons he gave in that book profoundly shaped the remaining eight years of my career, to include two deployments. The book is absolute genius, and is one that hasn’t been diluted by the sequels, but further enhanced. It remains a must-know in my professional reading, and one that I recommend to anyone I mentor.
Haha I love this. There's definitely something elemental, or universal, about this book. I don't know of anyone who's read it and isn't in some way deeply moved by it. Card has quite a mind.
Card said in that talk that the thing we don’t do is trust the young with the responsibility they are capable of. As a culture, we are too apt to just disregard them because they’re young. Now, that’s not in a “Trust the youth like Greta Thunberg” take, but a DEVELOP the youth and CHALLENGE them to grow their skills and wisdom will come. Accountability is the key, and giving them jobs where you expect they will fail the first time, and letting them fail and find the way out of their mistakes. Some of my greatest learning happened as a part of an “Oh, CRAP” moment where I had to dig myself out.
Excellent distinction between trusting young people to step up and learn and increase in their ability to take on more responsibility, versus abdicating our own responsibilities in a misplaced worship of youth.
Love everything about this. Your post, the book, the character. I similarly fell in love with Bean as my first book in the series was "Ender's Shadow" - still an absolute delight, this series.
I’m unsure how I never heard of this book growing up, but I didn’t. My first exposure was at Air Command and Staff College, the Air Forces’s selective professional military education course for Majors. It was an optional reading that I delayed until far later in the year, when we were informed that Card would be coming to the school as a guest speaker. I’d wager based on the questions he was asked that less than 10% of the school read it. Card showed up in cargo shorts and sandals and one of the pilots basically sneered at him “Why should we think anything a guy who had never served and dressed in sandals and shorts for a briefing, think he might have to teach elite Air Force officers”. Card responded with “Well, your leadership, General XXXX thought we might have something to learn from him, and that he dressed in sandals and shorts because he was successful enough to dress as he liked.”
The lessons he gave in that book profoundly shaped the remaining eight years of my career, to include two deployments. The book is absolute genius, and is one that hasn’t been diluted by the sequels, but further enhanced. It remains a must-know in my professional reading, and one that I recommend to anyone I mentor.
The enemy gate is down.
Haha I love this. There's definitely something elemental, or universal, about this book. I don't know of anyone who's read it and isn't in some way deeply moved by it. Card has quite a mind.
Card said in that talk that the thing we don’t do is trust the young with the responsibility they are capable of. As a culture, we are too apt to just disregard them because they’re young. Now, that’s not in a “Trust the youth like Greta Thunberg” take, but a DEVELOP the youth and CHALLENGE them to grow their skills and wisdom will come. Accountability is the key, and giving them jobs where you expect they will fail the first time, and letting them fail and find the way out of their mistakes. Some of my greatest learning happened as a part of an “Oh, CRAP” moment where I had to dig myself out.
Plus that’s where the best stories come from. “Did I ever tell you about the time I…”
Excellent distinction between trusting young people to step up and learn and increase in their ability to take on more responsibility, versus abdicating our own responsibilities in a misplaced worship of youth.
Love everything about this. Your post, the book, the character. I similarly fell in love with Bean as my first book in the series was "Ender's Shadow" - still an absolute delight, this series.
Yeah, the whole series is great. I think I've read almost all of them. Might have missed one or two in the Bean timeline.