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Life & Style

Remarkable Person: Kerrie Holley

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As a simple linear equation, Kerrie Holley's past wouldn't add up to his present.

Holley was born on the South Side into "the stereotypical life of a black youth — never met my father, grew up poor in a neighborhood with gangs, never lived with my mother, though I knew my mother, was raised by her mother," he said.

Two variables altered his slope.

First, math and science came easily to him. Second, Holley found his way to Sue Duncan Children's Center, first being tutored and then tutoring — including future U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan — until he left Chicago at age 28 with a bachelor's degree in math and a law degree from DePaul University.

Now, at 57, Holley is a computer scientist and inventor with several patents to his name. His work has helped put ATMs on the map and assisted in the recovery of lost mobile devices. Five years ago, Holley, chief technology officer for IBM Global Business Services, was appointed IBM Fellow, the company's highest technical leadership position. He mentors children, recent graduates and seasoned colleagues.

From the San Francisco area where he and wife Gretchen are raising sons Hugo, 11, and Kier, 14, Holley returned to Chicago recently to celebrate the Sue Duncan Children's Center's 50th anniversary and to share his perspective on education, excellence and video games.

Q: Is there a secret to getting kids to love math?

A: Some kids naturally excel, and we see that in all endeavors. … But I do think math and science can become incredibly easy to learn with great teachers, or incredibly daunting and boring with bad teachers. There's a debate as to whether middle school math teachers need to know calculus. Some would argue, no, we don't teach it in middle school so they don't need to know it. One of the failings of our public school system is we don't appreciate that you can't teach something well if you're not really good at it. The other thing … is that kids quit at a very young age. We think they quit in high school but that attitude of quitting happened much earlier, at second, third grade. They develop a perspective they cannot do this, this is too hard, and they stop. That's where teachers play a tremendous role. And parents do, but parents are compromised at times.

Q: At what age should kids start using computers?

A: As soon as possible. In this era some people still fear computers, that they're stifling creativity and learning. I believe the opposite. As with all things, what's good about it is also what's bad about it. If we start using computers where we're teaching kids to be not consumers but producers, that's where the value propositions lie.

Q: Are you for or against video games?

A: I believe in 20 years that the question will be fully answered: Video games make kids smarter. They're having a positive effect on emotional maturity, they're teaching kids programming, collaboration; they're engaging the brain, and that's what's most important. I'm not saying kids should be on video games 24 hours a day. Like eating, like reading; it's about our rich experience.

Q: Was there a fork in your childhood where you made a life-changing choice?

A: There were several key decisions. One was to go to the (Sue Duncan) center. A second was to understand that education was the only avenue I had to break the poverty barrier. A third, even to this day people ask why I don't drink. A lot of the reason was what I observed in childhood. I never grew any addictions.

Q: Were you a straight-A student?

A: In math, but not in all subjects. I'm haunted by a teacher in high school who said, "It's a shame you haven't been taught to work harder." She said it in a positive way. She took me out of her history class and moved me into advanced-placement history class. She was just commenting that I could do better.

Q: Is it a disservice to call kids smart?

A: It can do a disservice to children to believe just because they are smart, things will come naturally. But it also does a disservice to people who think they aren't smart. Some are smarter in A versus B, in social awareness or math or English, but we are all smart.

Q: What music is on your playlist?

A: Beatles and Bob Dylan, Wyclef Jean, Conor Oberst, Brett Dennen, Sweatshop Union. Main Flow and 7L have a song called "Permission to Speak," which I love.

Q: What's your mantra?

A: "Think and believe." It's quite easy to live our lives robotically, to not believe. I'm an idealist, I believe in the world as it ought to be.

Copyright © 2014, Chicago Tribune
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