The Wired Educator Podcast, Episode 262: "Answering Why" with Mark Perna

I first heard Mark Perna speak at Kalahari in Sandusky a few months back, and I'll be honest. I counted him out at first because he didn't come from a traditional educator's background. Five minutes in, I realized I was listening to one of the greatest educators I've ever met.

This conversation is a game changer. We dig into the engagement gap, the real role of AI in preparing students for the future, and how to give hope and opportunity to the bottom half of the class, the top half, and everyone in between. You're going to walk away with a fresh framework for helping students find their "want to" and build a competitive advantage that carries them for life.

About Mark Perna

Mark Perna is the founder and CEO of TFS Results, a weekly contributor at Forbes, and the multi-award-winning author of Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations. His book has gone through 14 printings in seven years and won eight national book awards, including the prestigious Nautilus Award. Mark is the creator of the Career Tree and Skill Tree strategies and speaks to tens of thousands of students, educators, and employers across North America every year.

What We Talked About

• Why Mark was in "the half of the class that made the top half possible," and why that makes him uniquely qualified to reach today's students
• The massive engagement gap, and why we keep treating Gen Z and Gen Alpha like previous generations
• The three parts of competitive advantage: academic knowledge, technical competencies, and professional and life skills
• Why a 4.0 student and a 2.5 student can both be wildly successful, or both fail, and what actually makes the difference
• The employer question Mark asks every audience, and the near 100% response he gets every time
• How to frame the importance of education so every learner sees the payoff
• What AI and the smart machine age mean for career decisions, and why adaptability matters more than picking the "right" field
• Why younger generations are not a problem to be solved, but an asset to be unleashed
• The power of creating space to think and reflect

Favorite Quote

"Younger generations are not a problem to be solved. They're actually a tremendous asset to be unleashed within your home, your classroom, and your place of business."

Books Mentioned

• Answering Why by Mark Perna
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (Mark's most influential read)

Resources and Links

• Mark's website and everything TFS Results: markcperna.com
• Mark's Forbes column: forbes.com/sites/markcperna
• Career Tree and Skill Tree resources for schools
• The Calm app (Mark's daily mindfulness tool)

A Few Updates From Kelly

• Honored to be keynoting the Miami County ESC Opening Day this August. Welcoming teachers and leaders back to the classroom is my favorite thing to do.
• Big announcement: the relaunch of kellycroy.com is live. Everything is finally under one roof. Speaker, author, educator, podcast, all of it.
• Coming soon on the podcast: Bobby Dodd and Ben Johnson on Intentional Influence, and Frank Poland from Buckeye Career Center on leadership and organizational excellence.
• Four online presentations for the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC) are on the calendar for next school year.

Connect With Kelly

• Website: kellycroy.com
• Join the KnockAbout Newsletter: https://chipper-teacher-8587.kit.com/
• Kelly's books: Along Came a Leader, Unthink Before Bed, Meditations of the Nativity, and Santa Every Day

Subscribe and Share

If this episode moved you, share it with a teacher, a principal, or a parent who needs to hear it. Subscribe to the Wired Educator Podcast wherever you listen so you don't miss what's coming next. And come check out the new kellycroy.com, sign up for the KnockAbout Newsletter, and let's stay connected.

Go out there, stay positive, and make a difference in the lives of others. You're awesome.

A quick note on the Amazon links: those are affiliate links, which means if you grab a book through them it helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. Thank you.