Classroom 2.0: The Flat World vs Politics

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Permalink Reply by nlowell on March 29, 2007 at 6:14pm

I'd say your post pretty much summed up the situation pretty well. Including the radically out of touch policy makers and what has to happen to turn it around.

Personally, I'm thinking of moving to Mumbai.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on March 29, 2007 at 6:40pm

Brian:

I'm at the conference as well. Got here today. Don't know that we'll have a chance to connect, but ping me if you want to shake hands.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Kennedy on March 31, 2007 at 4:57am

I'd argue that the US government is out of touch. Globalization is as much the result of policies enacted by countries on behalf of corporations as it is the result of the "information revolution" or the fact that the Internet has connected us all, and "flattened" the playing field. These policies have brought about the conditions that make it appear that it is inevitable that US workers have to compete with low wage workers in developing countries. Political decisions that resulted in NAFTA, the WTO /World Bank dominance of world finance, and the "race to the bottom" created these conditions. There was nothing forgone or unavoidable about it. Reversal now depends on political will to bring about policy changes. Walmart took advantage of conditions that were handed to them and have given consumers what they want, cheap, readily available goods.

I question the assumption that it is the primary goal of education to prepare individuals for the workforce. It is far too narrow. I think the discussion should return to what "The End of Education" is as articulated by Neil Postman. There are too many other facets of life than just economics, which after all depend so heavily on politics.

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Permalink Reply by nlowell on March 31, 2007 at 7:57am

I'm with ya on the gummint, Tom. And I want to build on this line:

I question the assumption that it is the primary goal of education to prepare individuals for the workforce.

This is the heart of the current problem in the US. There's a dicotomy between what we say and what we do about the institution of Education. We *say* we want every student to achieve his or her potential, but we *do* things like NCLB that assume that students are a homogenous commodity. We *say* that there's more to Education than the 3-Rs but we've been pulling funding for arts and music programs for years. We *say* that the most important part of school is the learning, but we *fund* sports fields because the lessons learned on the field -- teamwork, following directions, resilience, and perservence -- are important to the child's future (sub-text: as cogs in the industrial machine).

At some point somebody who is not an educator -- because educator's voices are discredited -- has to begin noticing that the emperor has no clothes.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Kennedy on March 31, 2007 at 9:08am

It is not simply my assumption. When critics talk about the shortcomings of our system of education the loudest voices clamor about insufficiently preparing our (student) workforce to compete in the global economy...etc.

At some point somebody who is not an educator -- because educator's voices are discredited -- has to begin noticing that the emperor has no clothes."

I think that it is beginning to happen thankfully. The wheels are coming off NCLB.
The question is, who will speak to the dichomtomy with any credibility? The reason we have NCLB is because politics and special interests have been driving the agenda even as research has shown that this approach is short sighted and decidedly utiliarian. I don't look to the business community for help since the agenda there is provide good employees.

From which domain will our advocate(s) come from? While we are waiting for our "heros" educators have to start speaking up. Otherwise, as Euripides said, "Your very silence shows you agree."

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Permalink Reply by nlowell on March 31, 2007 at 12:18pm

Ya. That's the problem. And a good point.

How *can* we get that message out?

Can we hire Susan Powter to front a "Stop the Insanity" movement? :)

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Foote on April 2, 2007 at 11:47am

I saw Thomas Friedman being interviewed by Tim Russert this weekend, and it left me wondering why there aren't more videocasts of him floating around--Friedman is very dynamic and persuasive.

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