This is one of those moments that I yearn for Seth Godin to allow comments on his blog, but I'll offer it here. He's been offering a few details about his local school district bringing a 'school building' question to the voters as part of a larger budget discussion. Apparently the 'yes' votes won out. The state money will be accepted to improve a building (as part of other budget-oriented needs). But what catches Seth's attention were the 200 naysayers who missed the opportunity to embrace the positive outcomes for the town with a 'yes' vote.
During my tenure as a school planning professional and advisor, the school bond election process has always intrigued me. Asking voters to consider voting for extra taxes (often) or other budget measures to improve existing facilities or to build something new brings out the very best and the most awkward in communities. Everyone has an opinion, but rarely does the 'future of learning' mean the same thing to everyone. Ultimately, it always comes down to how many 'yes' votes and how many 'no' votes no matter how sophisticated the political action committee efforts may have been or the # of "Our Children's Future" phrases waived/kicked around. And generally it's a tiny fraction of the community that actually votes. Parents. Retirees. A few business leaders. A few 'others'.
What struck me as most true over time was a colleague a few years back who said to me,
"We don't worry about trying to change the 'no' votes. There are too many reasons for a voter to make that choice. Some we understand. Some we don't. Our goal, however, is to make sure that every 'yes' vote actually shows up on election day. That's where you win elections that will help put up new school buildings. That's where you improve kids' lives. Not by worrying about the 'no' votes.''
Seth's larger point is well-taken in marketing/consumer actions. 'No' as a habit of mind is hard to break. In elections, it's called democracy, no matter how 'obvious' the vote may be to you or I. In learning, however, 'no' has an impact that humbles at best, paralyzes at worst.
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