September 2008
Originality
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
After describing Link Crew and WEB to seatmate on a recent plane trip, she remarked, “Oh yeah, our school has a mentor program too.” Her tone implied, not camaraderie and shared vision for empowering students, but rather, a certain amount of disdain for our lack of ‘originality’; for just doing what everyone else appears to be doing. Her tone struck me and inspired me to consider the whole concept of originality. What is it? Where does it come from? Eventually I came to the conclusion that most people claim or search for originality merely as an end in and of itself, rather than truly being authentic to who they are and letting their own uniqueness emerge as a statement of their own originality.
If I look around, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Much of education reveres the original works of Shakespeare, Marie Curie, or Alvin Ailey and lets us know that it was their uncommon vision and originality that made their contribution so extraordinary; with models like that, who wouldn’t want to strive to be groundbreaking? To be more and different than everyone else? But sometimes I wonder: what if we flipped that convention? What if we consider for a moment that it was actually their disregard for ‘originality’ that actually made them completely original? I believe the great works of these people were actually the result of their ability to access their own uniqueness, rather than a result of their searching for ways in which to be purposely different.
Consider for a moment that we discard the notion that originality is all about purposely thinking ‘outside the box’. What if we looked at originality as the act of striving to be genuinely who we are, rather than intentionally trying to be different from everyone else? In doing so, I believe we would find complete originality and power in the simple act of being true to who we are.
As we survey the landscape of Link Crew and WEB programs, it is amazing to see the diversity of programs and the varied approaches to creating what’s best for each school environment. One of the consistent things we find is that the best, most unique programs are actually not deliberately trying to be original, and set themselves apart from other Link Crew or WEB schools, rather, they are trying to be authentic to their student population, to their community and to the program itself. The best programs are created around genuine needs, utilizing materials they already have, examining all available resources and ideas in an effort to see how those needs can be met. In the end, what’s created is a program that directly represents both the school’s and the program’s unique character, even though the resources used to create that result might not have been considered completely ‘original’ to begin with. It’s by using innovation and creativity around ideas that are sometimes considered less than unique, that many schools end up with truly original programs. We have often incorporated the ‘original’ thinking of many of these Link Crew and WEB pioneers and used it to further develop both programs.
That is one of the most amazing things about the community of educators to which we all belong. Our willingness to BBS (Beg, Borrow and Share!) each other’s ideas helps our schools transform much faster than if we had to create everything ourselves from scratch. At the Boomerang Project, we love hearing great ideas that we can then share with everyone. This makes our schools vibrant, ever-changing!
Just for You
Announcements
For those times when you are searching for a perfect get-to-know you game, or looking for a way to begin an excellent discussion, the Pocket Prompters Series are ready to help you open up new worlds for your students (and maybe even your friends!) Each of the 3 books is full of stimulating topics, questions and ideas. Best of all “What Would You Be Like?” and “Are You More Like?” are only $5.95 on our website now! Simple, inexpensive and tons of fun, what more could you ask for?
You can purchase on the books in the products section of our website or by calling us at 
1-800-688-7578.
We can’t wait to see you this fall!
Upcoming Trainings
We are SUPER excited to announce that this year we will be delivering a brand new on-line Link Crew and WEB database for assigning and tracking your student groups and leaders. The Database will be much larger, more robust and include more features than the the previous version. Besides all that, it just looks cooler! If you would like to be among the select few who would like to beta test this new database this spring, we would love to have you involved. Call us and let us know!
Refresher
We are getting set for the best refresher Link Crew and WEB have ever seen! We hope to see you there. We will be helping to take your program to the next level. The theme this year is: “If you build it, they will come!” We will be helping you take a hard look at where your school is at, where you want it to be, and how to put the pieces in place to get it there.
March 3&4 - Semiahmoo, Blaine WA
March 17&18 - Chaminade, Santa Cruz CA
April 7&8 - Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs CO
April 14-15 - Temecula Creek Inn, Temecula CA
April 28-29 – Madden’s Resort, Brainerd MN
Go to www.boomerangproject.com and click on Register, to register for the conference near you!
The Basic Trainings are also right around the block. Here are the dates and locations:
Washington: Semiahoo Resort, Feb. 27-Mar. 2
Texas: Lakeway Inn, Mar.9-11
Chicago: Hyatt Lodge, Mar 9-11
Northern CA: Chaminade Conference Center, Mar 14-16
Colorado: Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Apr. 4-6
So. CA: Temecula Creek Inn, Apr. 18-20
Minnesota: The Maddens Resort, Apr. 25-27
New York: Edith Macy Conference Center, May 2-4
So. CA: Temecula Creek Inn, May 11-13
Book Recommendations
Blink: Malcolm Gladwell
What happens in the blink of an eye? How do you come to make the decisions that you make everyday? What information are you using to form an opinion? What information should you be using? Malcom Gladwell, author of the phenomenally successful, The Tipping Point, has written a follow up book that focuses on the amazing power of subconscious thought and internalized knowledge. Blink teaches us why some people are incredible snap decision makers and why others are not. Why some people can assess the intricacies of a situation within split seconds, distilling vast amounts of information down to just a few significant factors that matter, while others get lost in the plethora of variables. Gladwell uses in-depth studies and cutting-edge brain research to make a compelling case for the re-examination of the way we come to decisions, make judgments and think about our thought processes.