I have tried to tell the story of frustration in a one-day seminar, a two-day course, and even a three-day course, but I remain unsatisfied that the story has truly been heard. If one is to believe Chris Anderson, the curator for TED Talks, my problem has been too many words. According to him, the magic limit is 18 minutes (about 2500 - 3500 words) which he claims is "short enough to hold people's attention, including on the Internet, and precise enough to be taken seriously. But it's also long enough to say something that matters." More words are counterproductive as far as he is concerned.
Even my daughter Tamara Strijack – the producer of my courses for the Neufeld Institute - has gently chided me from time to time about using too many words. I must admit that I have felt a bit defensive about this. I usually feel that I need more words, not less, to explain what I see. The more important the topic, the more words I assumed would be required.
Perhaps I have been wrong.
I have accepted the challenge to share the untold story of frustration in just 18 minutes. I figure if historian David Christian could explain the history of the world in 18 minutes, I should be able to tell the story of frustration within that time frame as well.
And the story of frustration is something that matters very much, as there is no way of making sense of our children, ourselves, or the history of civilization for that matter, without ... (CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF GORDON'S EDITORIAL)
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