When most people think of the writer John Cheever, they think of the stuff of Mad Men: wealthy old New England suburbs, outdoor swimming pools, bored housewives, frustrated husbands and afternoon martinis. Cheever’s world is hard to imagine from the shores of the Rock River in Beloit, Wisconsin, a town that has endured prolonged economic hardship.
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When we started Books@Work, a surprising number of people questioned the potential impact of professors in the workplace. “Won’t they be intimidating?” asked one skeptic. “Will people really want to read the stuff they want to teach?” worried another. “Aren’t professors too expert to be really open-minded about what adult learners would have to say?” The lack of confidence was frankly dispiriting.
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On day one at Swagelok I asked the Books@Work participants why they signed on for the program:
“The program was a natural. I love to rip through books to find out what happens.”
“I don’t read much besides work-related stuff anymore and thought the program would be a good way to get back into it.”
“I just thought the idea of talking about what I read is cool.”
A few years ago, my wife, Ann Kowal Smith, facilitated an education initiative in Northeast Ohio. She shared with me many an idea. One night she came home quite excited. She had observed that everybody focuses on increasing college attainment rates and on reducing high school dropout rates, but nobody thinks about the rest of the adult population – the nearly 60% of American adults who have a high school degree (and even some college) but no BA. They most likely have kids and a job and a full slate of responsibilities. That many of them may find the time and the money to go back to college is a pipe dream. By creatively engaging this group to become life-long learners and critical thinkers who grow personally and professionally, might we have an opportunity to help shape and nurture the learning environment for their children and their communities?
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In his most recent Topics letter – a periodic communication to his followers using “old world” means: print and snail mail – President Thomas V. Chema of Hiram College shared his excitement about the progress of Books@Work: “Like many good ideas, this is a simple one. But it’s one I believe can grow into a national opportunity.”
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