New kinds of collaboration needed

by Iowa Future

September 26, 2011

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“We want to be on the cutting edge in education in the world and we can’t do that under the scenario that we have today,” says Craig Lang, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

The state has fewer resources today to spread over its students, so Iowans are going to have to collaborate in different ways than they have before.

“We have to figure out a way to provide a better opportunity for the students than we have in the past,” Lang says, “and what we’ve done in the past is not necessarily going to equip us to be prepared for the future.”

An interview with Craig Lang continues an Iowa Future series that captures the perspectives of Iowa business owners and managers who employ many Iowa high school and college graduates.

Iowa Future anticipates that school leaders, school board members and others may want to show selected videos at service organizations, to faculties, and in similar venues to get the real-world voices heard as part of discussions on school improvement.

The interviews themselves are very real-world, having been conducted by various Iowa Future correspondents, using equipment ranging from Flip-style to semi-professional cameras/microphones.

In this interview, Lang answers questions that include:

What is the work of your organization?
What kinds of workers does Iowa need for the future?
What do you see as Iowa’s impact in the world in the 21st century?
What should Iowans expect from their schools?

Although the videos are being introduced one at a time, links to all interviews are collected in the Iowa Future Toolkit under the heading “Business Leader Interviews.” In addition, all will be housed on the Iowa Future channel on YouTube. This interview and all the interviews in this series may be used with a brief three-question discussion guide. Download the “Business Leader Discussion Guide“ as a pdf.

Craig Lang, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, answers questions from Troyce Fisher, director of Iowa’s cohesive leadership system.