Additional information
by D. H. Arthur (Author)
"Thank God, It's Monday!" offers provocative insights into the way Generation Y and Generation Z digital learners experience their world and the learning process. This treatise offers teachers and parents a way to understand their young charges and how they problem-solve to make it through each day. The digital immigrant as teacher needs to rethink how they understand decisions are made by the younger digital native in order to insert themselves into the critical thinking and decision-making process. Otherwise, the conversation never really gets started, and the digital native regresses into a deer-in-the-headlights disconnection that precludes engagement and prevents learning. "Thank God, It's Monday!" examines why things have changed since the internet, and takes on the challenge of helping Generation X-ers connect with Generation Y and Generation Z in a meaningful way. The book dissects the obstacles and barriers to learning that are typical for the digital native, and uses facilitated discovery as a tool to bring the learner into full, unbridled engagement. The mission is to connect the life journey's young traveler with his or her passion so career exploration and career selection are exciting, fulfilling exercises. Helping students answer the question "What do I want to do with my life?" is treated as an invigorating, stress-free process that is bubbling with joy and satisfaction. When the facilitated connection process works, the spiritual alignment that results between a person and his or her career is cause for a weekly joyous declaration, "Thank God, It's Monday!"
Author Biography
Doug Arthur has been innovating as a musician and an award-winning educator since the mid-1970's, having brought a group of talented 13-year-olds into a professional recording studio back in 1975, just to have them experience what recording feels like. After two years of teaching middle school near Baltimore, Arthur hit the road as a musician, arranger, conductor, recording studio owner, and jingle producer, first in D.C., then in LA. In Reno, he wrote his first novel - The Pass Key - sitting at the counter at Denny's while serving as music director for Wyoming-based pop singer Dan Miller. He learned word processing to edit The Pass Key, which led to a fifteen year gig in Philadelphia using his self-taught word processing skills to do contract administration for national environmental consultants Roy F. Weston. He then helped a buddy in Baltimore launch an IT dot-com start-up, and returned to working with youth by launching a non-profit called TweenPlace with his wife Dr. Robin Arthur, designed to teach values-based leadership skills to middle-school students. After three successful years, Doug joined Atos Origin, a French-owned IT firm. He was encouraged to accelerate their client relationships by starting a new non-profit called the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati and addressing the "brain drain" from Cincinnati. The mission to improve the then 9% retention of young Cincinnati IT talent was achieved as they increased talent retention to more than 60% in less than seven years. Doug took the INTERalliance model on the road, helping improve the connection of businesses with young talent in such communities as Cleveland, San Diego, Fort Wayne, Austin, and Lima, Ohio. These experiences supported his unswerving commitment that everyone deserves to do what they really love to do for their living, what they have a real passion for. These experiences inspired Doug to share what he has learned, to sit down and write "Thank God, It's Monday!"
