Since 1981 the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago has chosen 20 to 40 people each year to receive a $500,000 unrestricted grant. This grant is given to people who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work." On its face the MacArthur Awards appear to be a good idea. For example, these awards shone an early spotlight on Richard Stallman, who has made major contributions to the field of computer science--doing so in a very selfless way.
Yet the honor of these awards goes far further than the distributed money. What would happen if the MacArthur Foundation chose 100 people rather than 20 to 40 people each year? The monetary award would be reduced to $250,000 per person--but the overall social good would increase. And what if those extra 60 people per year were crowdsource-chosen? It sure would be interesting to read all the nominations that might come in, especially if all nominations were listed on the MacArthur Foundation Web site, searchable by city and field of work.
In the spirit of the above thought experiment, here are 12 people I would nominate for the MacArthur Award. Anyone who knows these folks would concur that these are MacArthur-quality people. After listing their names, I'll explain why I would choose them for a MacArthur Award.
Daniel Bassill, Chicago, IllinoisLorraine Kerwood, Eugene, OregonPat Furr, Chico, CaliforniaSteve Hargadon, Lincoln, CaliforniaDenise Lewis, Fort Washington, MarylandPaul Lamb, Vallejo, CaliforniaJeffrey Elkner, Mt. Rainier, MarylandShireen Mitchell, Washington, D.C.Christian Einfeldt, San Francisco, CaliforniaAlonzo Garbanzo, Los Angeles, CaliforniaJeff Putthoff, Camden, New JerseyBob McNally, Rockaway, New Jersey
Daniel Bassill, Chicago, Illinois
Daniel Bassill has been leading a volunteer-based tutoring and mentoring program, serving children and youth, in some of the most needy areas of Chicago for more than 35 years. He has focused his life's work on expanding learning opportunities for children outside of school, tapping into the time and talents of thousands of adult volunteers. His work is impressive not just in the number of youth he and his organizations have been able to reach. It's impressive because he thinks systemically, reaching out and supporting other tutor/mentor organizations in the Chicago area--even organizing a tutor/mentor conference every six months since May 1994 and an interactive map of tutor/mentor organizations in the Chicago area. Bassill has piloted the use of visualization tools and the Internet to help people understand volunteer involvement in tutor/mentor programs as part of a complex, long-term strategy aimed at helping inner-city kids move through school and into jobs. He goes beyond sharing ideas and mentoring others, to creating public visibility intended to increase the number of people who support tutor/mentor programs as volunteers, donors, and leaders. This commitment to help all tutor/mentor programs in Chicago is one of Bassill's unique forms of leadership.
Bassill's name is well known in many online education communities, too. He's often one of the first to show up, the first to explore new online learning and collaboration tools, the first to explain their usefulness to his peers. I recall a few years ago when Bassill taught me about Elluminate, a very useful online tool. He opened my eyes to learning possibilities I had never before imagined. These days I teach a graduate class in educational technology, but I can safely say that Daniel Bassill continues to be far ahead of me in exploring how educational technologies can benefit our youth and our communities. This guy is not only supersmart, he is superfocused on the well-being of inner city youth. I honestly can't decide whether I admire him more for his intelligence or for his passionate, longstanding, and effective devotion to the needs of youth. Daniel Bassill is exactly the kind of person the MacArthur Awards were invented to recognize. If we listened more carefully to what he has to say, we could be bringing the maximum benefit to youth, too.
Lorraine
Post new comment