Have you seen this comparison between the version of Richard Scarry’s Word book you read in school and what the next generation of kids are reading?

I had the same experience with the vocational wheel in the sky, Merlin. I grew up in Tennessee in the 1980s, and in 8th grade all of the “honors” kids had to do a vocational kind of training. (I guess the powers that be figured we wouldn’t be taking shop class in HS.) We got to choose which class to take. Two of my buddies and I, realizing the worthlessness of it all, decided to go where the girls would be. We chose “Hairstyling.” Worked like a charm. The next six weeks about 25 girls, all giggly that there were BOYS in the class, all took turns playing with our hair. We each emerged with several new sweethearts, not to mention a decent understanding of how to nurture fuller-bodied hair. That, my friend, is a lifehack.

That, my friend, is a lifehack

Jesus, Paul, I could have really used a friend like you.

Although I fear 50 minutes of a girl playing with my hair might have produced some anomalous and potentially deadly problems related to my circulatory system. But, oh, man.

Sorry Merlin, but “The Great Cherry Pie Mystery” is by some distance Richard Scarry’s career-defining work.

Anyway, great ‘cast :-)

Hey Merlin, not everyone who follows 43folders rearranges electrons. I am constantly transfering your email tip / next action stuff into my job. I am a finish carpenter (baseboards/windows/doors/stairs). I often have to wait on other trades to do my job and I find that having a next action kind of mindset allows me to stay efficient. I keep an ‘inventory’ of tasks of different lengths on my clipboard. Next time I have to wait 45min for a drywaller to finidh his job I pull a 45 min task from my list and knock it out instead of fuming. I can call in an order, try to get paid, or even just cart materials around. Oh and BTW, as long as people live in houses I’ll still get my page in Richard Scarry.

@Kenbo,

a) the site’s about more than GTD (although I take your point), b) Lucky; I’d kill for a job that could be explained using an adorable cartoon animal, and c) please use a real email address next time. :)

Brainfart. Here’smy email. It’s a .Mac extra I first used when some jerk stole the Raleigh Mountie I had as a kid and remade for my son. Posters all over town - still no bike. (sigh)

It’s hard to believe you don’t know anyone who creates, install, repairs, delivers or sells something for a living, be it food, drink, landscapes, healthcare, clothing, cars, houses or what ever. I’ve been a waitress, a library page, a microbiology lab technician, a paste-up and camera operator, a collator, a delivery person, a novelty assembly person, an admin assistant, and a jack-of-all trades computer person. While many of these jobs did include using a computer (even back in the dark ages of the 80’s!) they were all about something other than using a computer or writing software. Even today, when I do spend much of much of my day using a computer, it’s part of the whole in the delivery of healthcare.

If you would kill to have a job that could be explained using a cartoon animal, I suggest that you are in the wrong career.

[…] 43F Podcast: The Richard Scarry Book of the Future | 43 Folders […]

A few words in favor of vocational education for all: In high school I had no idea that I was going to become a product design engineer (as an AP kid I concentrated on liberal arts classes). But now I regularly use skills I learned in the mandatory Metal Shop and Drafting vo-ed modules (which, granted, were semester-long classes as opposed to Merlin’s 3 week mini-modules).

Few kids know exactly what they’ll be doing later in life; exposure to a variety of skills/occupations may help to steer some in a particular direction, or provide others with a knowledge base that may prove useful in the future (after all, even those of us who do now pound keys all day long do so in some larger context).

On the subject of training our kids for knowledge work skills for the 21st century… I’ve been hooked up with a couple of local universities in Colorado who have put together a class which teaches students how to work on virtual teams with globally distributed projects. They’re simulating this environment by having the teams split with an equal number of students from each school. So they’ll be trying to do projects together, with all the normal frustrations of working with people you never see. Oughta be VERY cool, I think. We’ll see!

A million mice typing (with headphones!)…

Best Word Book Ever - When you Grow Up #2 Originally uploaded by kokogiak. Merlin Mann (my own personal guru of the funny-alpha-geek persuasion) of 43 Folders has a nice podcast up titled The Richard Scarry Book of the……

[…] 43F Podcast: The Richard Scarry Book of the Future The 43 Folders podcast is one of my absolute favorites… the length is perfect for me, since I have the attention span of a gnat. This is also proof that childrens’ books are a great segue into anything. […]