Finding your Tribe - Another lesson from The Element

This chapter really speaks to the Bridgeway experience for our students.  Being in a school where they're surrounded by other students with  learning disabilities - every day - really helps them tap into their true selves.  By being with their tribe - those who share their struggles and strengths - they really get to feel their most natural, feel inspired and feel driven.  Let's hope we get to introduce Sir Ken Robinson to this wonderful "tribe" when he gets to Halifax in April!

Read on for more...
Rhonda & the Bridgeway team

This is a great story, and starts off this chapter of The Element.  Meg Ryan has been a successful actor for well over 20 years.  But she didn't set out to work in movies.  In fact, she was really uncomfortable in front of people when she was still in school.  In eighth grade, she had to speak in front of a group as her class valedictorian.  She froze, and her mom had to lead her back to her seat.  She eventually went to university to study journalism, working in the occasional commercial to earn a few dollars.  That led to her casting in the soap opera, As the World Turns.  Meg soon found out she loved being with actors, exploring the craft and working onstage.  As Sir Ken - she found her tribe and this brings her to her Element.

"What connects a tribe is a common committment to the thing they feel born to do."  Tribe members may collaborate, compete, share a vision or have completely different ones.  What connects them is a shared passion.  Sir Ken believes that finding your tribe can be essential to finding your element.  Even if you start out in the wrong tribe, finding the right one can help you find your Element.  This is illustrated in the book beautifully by the story of Helen Pilcher, scientist turned science comedienne.  (You'll have to read the book for that one.)

"Finding your tribe can hae transformative effect on your sense of identify and purpose."  Sir Ken believes that this is due to three tribal dynamics: validation, inspiration and what he calls the "alchemy of synergy."

Validation - You're not alone if you connect with others who share your passion.  You can bounce ideas off of each other, share and compare, and indulge in your enthusiasm.    You can work alone, as scientists often do, but by simply being one, you're part of a membership or tribe. 

Inspiration - Making this connection to your tribe is a significant inspiration to many people, and prompts many to continue to pursue their passions (or live in their Element) for many years.  (Like Meg Ryan!)

Alchemy of synergy - Members of a passionate community drive each other to explore their own talents.  There is another great story here about Bob Dylan and how discovering the music of Woody Guthrie impacted him.  Sir Ken also notes the power of the group - a how they can often become greater than the sum of the parts.  He believes creative teams can achieve more together than they can separately, because they model the essential features of the creative mind.  They're diverse, dynamic and distinct.

At this point, Sir Ken makes the distinction between being in a tribe and part of a crowd.  Sports fans are the example of the "crowd" - their behaviour is a different form of social affiiliation.  A member of the crowd may bask in the glory of a win, but they don't have anything to do with the outcome.  Fandom is more like "deindividualization".  Tribe membership, on the other hand, helps people become more themselves, leading them to a greater sense of personal identity. 

Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element, will be speaking in Halifax on April 23-24, 2012 as part of Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education.  Registration is now open!