Synopses & Reviews
You're young, ambitious, entering the field of your dreams; you're on your own, the competition is fierce--and then you see your chance: the big story, the big role, the big discovery. But you'll have to cut a few corners, bend the rules, cheat a bit. What choices will you make?
After studying more than a hundred young people launching their careers, these longtime researchers of "good work"--work that is both skillful and honorable--find unsettling answers. Although young workers know what it takes to do good work, they don't always feel they can follow the ethical route. "Later, when I'm successful," is their implicit promise.
Making Good explores the choices confronting young workers who join the ranks of three dynamic professions--journalism, science, and acting--and looks at how the novices navigate moral dilemmas posed by a demanding, frequently lonely, professional life. The authors also uncover striking comparisons between these young professionals and the veterans in their fields--most notably, older workers recall inspiring models and mentors, while today's beginners see themselves as on their own. With extensive insights into how young workers view their respective domains, the nature of their ambitions, the sacrifices they are willing to make, and the lines they are prepared to cross, this study will prove instructive to young employees and employers alike, as well as to those who wish to understand the shifting moral and social character of the working world.
Review
Howard Gardner and the "Good Works" team that crafted this work have given us hope for the future. In this time of disorientation caused by the creative destruction that is reshaping so many institutions this is the book our new generation of professionals desperately need. Bill Kovach, Committee of Concerned Journalists, Columbia University
Review
As a member of one of the professions explored in Making Good, I found this work accurate--and alarming. Howard Gardner and his colleagues are best known for their writings about the many varieties of intelligence, but their recent provocative explorations of the meanings of work may prove equally important. I recommend this book to anyone concerned about how institutions can attract and support honorable future leaders. James Fallows, author of "Breaking the News"
Review
Gardner and a trio of young researchers explore how young people in [journalism, genetic research, and theater] learn to become--or not to become--good workers. The result is a learned, thought-provoking, and accessible investigation of some of the most pressing issues of our time. Boston Globe
Review
As a member of one of the professions explored in Making Good, I found this work accurate--and alarming. Howard Gardner and his colleagues are best known for their writings aboutthe many varieties of intelligence, but their recent provocative explorations of the meanings of work may prove equally important. I recommend this book to anyone concerned about how institutions can attract and support honorable futureleaders.
Review
In Making Good, Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at Harvard, and researchers Wendy Fischman, Becca Solomon, and Deborah Greenspan capture the complex and often abstract values that shape people's professional goals and guide their decisions. Laura Secor
Synopsis
You're young, ambitious, entering the field of your dreams; you're on your own, the competition is fierce and then you see your chance: the big story, the big role, the big discovery. But you'll have to cut a few corners, bend the rules, cheat a bit. What choices will you make? After studying more than a hundred young people launching their careers, these longtime researchers of "good work" work that is both skillful and honorable find unsettling answers. Although young workers know what it takes to do good work, they don't always feel they can follow the ethical route. "Later, when I'm successful," is their implicit promise. "As a member of one of the professions explored in Making Good, I found this work accurate and alarming. Howard Gardner and his colleagues are best known for their writings about the many varieties of intelligence, but their recent provocative explorations of the meanings of work may prove equally important. I recommend this book to anyone concerned about how institutions can attract and support honorable future leaders." James Fallows, author of Breaking the News
Synopsis
Making Goodexplores the choices confronting young workers who join the ranks of three dynamic professions--journalism, science, and acting--and looks at how the novices navigate moral dilemmas posed by a demanding, frequently lonely, professional life. It offers extensive insights into how young workers view their respective domains, the nature of their ambitions, the sacrifices they are willing to make, and the lines they are prepared to cross.
About the Author
Wendy Fischman is a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.Becca Solomon, M.A. is a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.Deborah Greenspan is a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.Howard Gardner is Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Table of Contents
1. Making the Good Worker Three Dilemmas at the Workplace
"Good Work" in a Healthy Society
The Path to This Study
An Investigation of Good Work
A Study of Veterans: Alignment and Misalignment in the Professions
Our Conceptual Framework
Expectations and Uncertainties
2. From Cocoon to Chaos in Journalism
Introducing the Veterans
Introducing the Young Journalists
Balancing Truths and Consequences: Tensions Faced by High School Journalists
Young Professionals on the Move
Navigating the Moral Minefield
3. The Long Windup in Genetics
Who Are the Veteran Geneticists?
Who Are the Young Scientists?
Integrity, Competition, and Survival
Wrestling with Ethical Dilemmas
4. The Price of Passion in Theater
Meet the Theater Veterans
Meet the Young Actors
Personal and Professional Tradeoffs
Traversing Ethical Faultlines
5. What We've Learned
Three Trajectories and the Quandary of Moral Freedom
Comparing Young Journalists, Scientists, and Actors
Differences across Age Groups
6. Epilogue: Encouraging Good Work
Six Factors: The Route to Good Work
Levers for Good Work: The View from Inside
Messages
Appendix on Methods
Comparisons of Responsibility
Comparisons of Values
Notes
Index