Did You Know?
President
ARK Associates
And the awards go to…
Minnesota ranked first among the 50 states in:
Child well-being – Kids Count ranking 2016
Health – Kids Count ranking 2017
Top State for Business – CNBC 2015
Job creation – Gallup Job Creation Index, 2015
Labor Force Participation – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Minnesota is ranked second among the 50 states in:
Gender equality – US News and World Report, February 2017
Opportunity – Kids Count ranking 2017
Education – Top State for Business – CNBC 2017
Economic well-being – Kids Count ranking 2017
Minnesota is ranked third among the 50 states in:
Best state overall – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Growth of young population – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Healthcare — US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Educational attainment – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Low poverty rate – News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Quality of Life – 2017 Top State for Business – CNBC
Unfortunately
Minnesota ranks in the lower half of 50 states:
Low debt at graduation – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
High school graduation rate — US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Change in incarceration rates – US News and World Report, February 2017, Best States
Quick Stats on Minnesota
86,936 square miles
5.49 million people
$333,267 million GDP
46% college educated
$31,841 median income
How smart are smart phones for teens?
The following information is based on research done by psychologists from San Diego State University and the University of Georgia and published in the journal Emotion. The study, Monitoring the Future, is based on 1.1 million adolescent’s responses between 1991 and 2016.
37 percent of American teenagers had smartphones in 2012
73 percent of American teenagers had smartphones in 2016
Between 1991 and 2016, adolescents who spent more time on social media, texting, electronic games, the internet, etc. were less happy, less satisfied with their lives and had lower self-esteem.
Teens that spent less time on screen activities had higher psychological well-being reports including greater happiness, higher self-esteem and more satisfaction with their lives.
Finding the Good. A good a way to start the day
People that record or share three good events each morning may contribute to happier and more successful students and staff. A 2005 study led by psychologist Martin Seligman in Pennsylvania found that listing three positive events was a technique that promoted happiness and decreased depressive symptoms. Last year a Duke University researcher along with colleagues in Switzerland reported that the technique improved well-being. – StarTribune, Science and Health, Brainerd project finds the Power in Three Good Things, Jeremy Olson, January 28, 2018 The information is based on Multiple studies cited in the article.
Quotes and Quotables
Kids and Character
“Every non-screen activity was correlated with greater happiness, and every screen activity was correlated with less happiness.” – Monitoring the Future
“The problem is that my generation was pacified into believing that racism existed only in our history books.” – Chance the Rapper
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.” – William Safire
“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.” – J.C. Watts
Leadership
“Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.” – Simon Sinek, author, speaker and marketing consultant
The Future
“Employers want workers with strong skills in written and oral communication, teamwork and ethical decision-making, as well as the ability to think critically.” – Nancy Crotti, Real-World Skills, Twin Cities Business, February 2018
”Minnesota was pretty good at retaining its residents, but not as good at attracting new ones.” – Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Gretta Kaul, MINNPOST, February 2017
“We’ve developed a dichotomy of knowledge work versus manual work as though they were mutually exclusive…” – Matthew Crawford, philosopher physicist, Kappan, 2015
I grew up in a physical world, and I speak English. The next generation is growing up in a digital world, and they speak social. – Angela Ahrendts, Senior Vice President of Apple
