Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat"

[Charley Norkus]

As I will most likely not be available for Thursday’s (10/16) online discussion, I wanted to pass on some talking points for "Flat" in hopes that you will respond to this discussion.

So far, I've read (actually listened) through Ch 9, just starting "The Virgin of Guadalupe" on the way home last night. Probably because I am currently teaching Recent International Relations as well as US History, my talking points may sound more political than others, but here they are:

1. We must do a better job as a country of reaching out to India, the largest ally with which we share an "English" culture. On both an individual and business level things may be going fine (except for the huge transfer of jobs from "here" to "there"), but laws and military decisions are still made within political boundaries, so we need to publicly make both countries and its citizens (esp. here in America) aware of our mutual ties and interests.

2. China as a country is taking over the world, and it will succeed. It has overwhelming natural and human resources, it has a plan, and it is implementing it quite successfully. This next following-up point is mine and not so far mentioned by Friedman: China will first take over economically; after that, when or if it takes over politically will only be a matter of its choosing and discretion.

3. America as a civilization has seen its highpoint. As optimistic (while sounding all the warnings) as Friedman is, there's no reason to think that America's ability to create the "next thing" will continue: we are losing the education race in a dramatic spiral fashion, and we may have already lost that "innovation" spot to Japan.

Now, although it may certainly sound like it, I am NOT throwing in the towel - I've known since I started teaching in 1976 that we teachers are fighting the losing battle, but it's a great and noble fight (soundtrack from Star Wars, Braveheart, Narnia, and Arthur please), one that's knocked me out of the ring a few times, but not knocked me out! Not yet, anyway - the paper pushing PGP, Blue Diamond, and standards mongers may succeed where over-doting, enabling parents have failed, but right now I'm back and I'm still swinging. What can we do from here to turn this tide around? ... I'm hoping that Dr. Tom will provide some really practical and feasible clues in the rest of the book.
How about you? What are your thoughts?

[Jennifer Cable]

Oh Charles,
Reading your write up on "The World Is Flat" is really depressing to me. I do agree that Japan is very innovative and that China is taking over the world but everything good thing does come to an end. I think that America is not finished yet. I believe that we are producing many creative and innovative students who are motivated. I believe that we have just been on the wrong path lately but the world is like a huge clock. The pendlum swings one way and the back the other. History has shown that things seem to cycle about every 20 years. Our 22 years of bad is about over and we can look for a change over the next 20. A lot will depend on our future leadership but I feel we still have many good days ahead. Let's hide the white towel and give the next generation a chance.
Jennifer C

[Kaitlin]

I would agree with Jennifer. I don't want to throw the towel in yet on the US. I think there is hope. Especially if our economy starts using cost efficient resources. Going green can help end this financial crisis. With the economy hitting bottom, everyone is going to be looking to for a cost efficient way of living and doing business. There will be a greater demand for more cost-saving energy efficient buildings, air conditioning systems, and cars sales with increase. I think if our new leadership thinks "green" we will have better hope for our planet and our country before it is too late.

[Lori Holcomb]

There is clearly lots more to discuss and talk about with regards to The World is Flat. Please continue your discussions here and tackle some of those big questions. Also, be sure to make connections to the 21st century and what the educational implications are.

[Rhonda W]

One of my concerns is that the world is NOT flat. We are not competing against countries like China and India on equal basis. Instead, we are starting in a hole and have to do more to achieve parity because of the difference in population size and the differing philosophies about education. In the US, we believe education is for all students. (OK, so we aren't successful, but we do believe it.) We are unhappy with a 30 percent dropout rate over four years, which is about our current level of achievement. In fact, our elected officials set targets for 100 percent of our students to graduate. The low graduation rate is one of the pieces of evidence people point to in demonstrating problems with our schools. We take everyone -- highly motivated students and students who don't care, students from supportive homes and students with no support at all, students who are gifted intellectually and students with significant developmental and physical disabilities. Countries like China and India can pick and choose the best and brightest students and still have many many more students at high education levels than we have in the US. In The 2010 Meltdown, Edward Gordon cites a statistic of the percentage of high school aged students not in high school. In Afghanistan the percentage of high school age students NOT in high school is 98 percent (wonder if that could explain some of the problems there?). China, he says, is educating only 40 percent of its students and India only 15 percent.

Imagine how different our jobs would be if we only had to worry about the top 15 percent of the students. I'm certainly not suggesting that shift. But I think we sometimes beat ourselves up over things that aren't fair. Let's compare apples and apples, not apples and elephants. (BTW, Gordon doesn't include US data for percentage of high school aged students not in school. He isn't talking about dropouts, but students not in school at all. I don't know what the equivalent percentage in the US would be.)

BTW, this book is really interesting. I got it at the College Tech Conference a few years ago when this man was the speaker. He talks quite a lot about how Career and Technical Education at the secondary and postsecondary levels and beyond can help the US compete in a flat world, which we also discussed in our Illuminate session tonight.

[Karen Hughes]

Rhonda you made some very interesting points. I had never read the stats you quoted. I am so glad we offer an education to all children regardless of their situation, but I like you do not want to be unequivocally compared to other countries.
Karen

[Kelly Maxwell]

As I read the book I natuarally just followed the direction of Friedman, and just assumed that the world was really flat simply because he made several valid arguments. I know that as I read the book I did not think outside the box, but rather I just accepted his argument and that was it. After reading your post it was clear that I did not analyze the material in an indepth manner because I did not realize the educational factor. I never realized that these countries hand selected their top students and allowed them to achieve the higher level of education and top jobs. Therefore, I really enjoyed your different perspective on how education really plays a key role.

[Rhonda W]

Well, this is just one other author's perspective. The truth is probably a combination of both.

[Laura English Lewis]

Kelly,

This week with George Stephanopoulos on 10/19/08, George hosted an “All-Star “Roundtable for the entire hour. The Roundtable included: Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Former presidential advisor David Gergen, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times, ABC News George Will and Donna Brazile. I found myself understanding Friedman, when he said Peace and universal brotherhood almost makes globalization sounds like a dream come true, or should be a dream come true….. I may not have this quote completely correct. However the main point I would like to make is how I found myself listening for his points so that I could compare them from his book The World Is Flat. I could even tell when he included some of the levelers. Education and globalization really came though when Friedman was speaking, I could see that he is really passionate about the world we live in and he is passionate about how flat our world really is. Kelly, Friedman made many valid points about education.

- Laura

[Jennifer Cable]

You can go the ABC website to watch this roundtable session. I have the directions on how to find the discussion on my blog under my world is flat discussion. It was quite interesting to watch. Thanks, Laura, for bringing it to our attention.

[Karen Hughes]

I want to agree with Jennifer and Kaitlin. I guess as much for my sanity as anything, I am not ready to throw in the towel. I am glad we are discussing this topic. The more people are aware of the situation I would hope that we will start addressing some of our deficits as a nation, state, county, and maybe even as a teacher. I know this book really opened my eyes and I am ready to fight for our future and the future of my children. I want to spread the word and make as many people aware of the situation as I can. The one think I do know for sure is if we put our heads in the sand, we will suffer as a nation.
Karen

[Staci Lyon]

I agree with you. As a teacher, I think the battle we are fighting does seem to be a losing one. I also have been knocked down a couple of times...I think we all have. I think that while we work extremely hard in the classroom to educate students we are constantly bombarded with more and more paperwork (the PGP's as you mentioned) and a society that feels we are not competent to do our jobs! As Friedman talks about in the book, there are people that want to make an impact. Now don't get me wrong, I certainly think we should have competent teachers just like the next guy, but I just think the way it is going now is just not working. Put it this way, is it possible for me to be a "lateral entry doctor"? No wonder our profession gets dumped on when everybody and anybody thinks they can teach because they know stuff. But at the same time, do't punish those of us that have achieved degrees in the profession and continue to learn new techniques to better help our students compete with other countries.

Friedman also mentions the dangerous illusion today that some may have is the thought that America will always dominate in technology and science because we have done so in the past. Well the good news is that I think that we are trying to not let that just be an illusion lost. We are certainly talking more about technology in the classroom and at our school, definitely giving a great effort to use it effectively. So we are working on the technology part, but I'm not so sure about the science part. As a matter is seems that last year, students had trouble with the Biology End of Course test. I think we have a little more work to do in the science and mathematics areas. But I'm not giving up either :)

[Jennifer Tingen]

Staci,
I can't wait until we present our emerging technology assignments because mine relates to the EOG's (or EOC's). I felt that Friedman made valid arguments for the world being flat. Jennifer, the idea of the 20 year cycle is intriguing; perhaps we will have that pendulum swing in our direction:) I appreciate how The World is Flat ties this course into political, economic, and social issues of the 21st century. We are learning about great new technologies, teaching methods, and research that will prepare us for EXCELLENCE in the classroom! After reading The World is Flat, I feel much more informed about the future of education and the lives of future generations. Check out my blog for some news about how North Carolina is preparing for the 21st century:)