Friedman. Thomas L. Average is over

Friedman, Thomas. L.
January 24, 2012 The New York Times (article)
"Average is over"

"because of the quantum advances in globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing labor with machines or foreign workers.... Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra - their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment. Average is over. "

 I totally agree with the author's idea that workers "with average skills, doing an average job" cannot succeed in living a standard American lifestyle - owning a house in suburban, income around $50,000. The author's solution is that Congress passes a bill which ensures all Americans have access to higher education. But anyone familiar with the costly tuition of university edcuation in the USA which also accounts for a large amount of the national debt knows that "access to post-high school education" itself cannot be a solution after all. To make unversity education affordable, federal and state government need to work cooperatively and universities are to seek for more source of revenue other than students' tuition, such as private company-university partnerships and donations from successful allumni.  

However, there is one thing to keep in mind. Even after ensuring almost all Koreans enjoy university education (approximately 80%), a number of Korean university graduates have a hard time in finding jobs. Unemployment rate in South Korea is not yet serious as 3.1% in 2012. one of the lowest unemployment rate among developed countries. But, youth unemployment rate is 8.0% in January, 2012 according to national bureau of statistics. (USA -The youth unemployment rate was 16.3 percent in July 2013, according to US bureau of labor statistics) Companies complains that college graduates are not equiped with knowleges and skills needed in the workplace.

While passing a kind of G.I bill in U.S and making university education affordable, universities should make money and time of the youth worth by providing them a quality education required for the 21 century.



 

King, Steven D. When wealth disappears

King, Steven D.
October 6, 2013 The New York Times (article)
"When wealth disappears"


"But the numbers no longer add up. Even before the Great Recession, rich countries were seeing their tax revenues weeken, social expenditures rise, government debts accumltate and creditors fret thanks to lower economic growth rates. We are reading end times for Western affluence.... From 2007 to 2012, annual growth amounted to just 0.8 percent."

I'm surprised to know that anuual growth rate of US is merely 0.8 percent over the last 5 years. The thriving technology entities such as google, facebook, apple are apparently expanding their influence all over the world, even seeking the opportunity in China, the potential vast market with the diffusion of internet. Google and facebok CEO's names are listed on Fortune megazine annually as the most "wealthy" people in the world. Nevertheless, US economy in general suffers from low economic growth. Federal reserve of South Korea (Korean bank), one of Asians "tigers" in terms of the miraculous economic growth since 1970 lowers down the expected economic growth rate of 4.0% in 2014 to 3.8% due to the stagnent global economy. South Koreans worry that it is only 3.8% growth rate instead of 4.0% as they had expected. Compared to the growth rate of 0.8%, 3.8% seems much more plasant. What factors into the low economic growth rate of US? I read the headline in CNN that the country benefiting from US federal government shut-down is ironically China because Chinese political and economic stanse and power in the world grows as US is not likely to end shut-down in the near future, facing default at the same time.


"That means a higher retirement age,... less borrowing from aboard, less reliance on monetary policy that creates unsustainable financial bubbles, a further opening of world trade and over the medium term, a commitment to sustained deficit reduction"

This is the author's solution to overcome the hardships of US at present. But it's easy to say but hard to implement them. I want to know why the anual economic growth rate has been so low even after US economy seemed to recover from the Lehmen Brothers shock.

Glossary

Glossary
(more words will be added)

• Term : vocationalism
• Key author / source: Labaree, D. American struggle over educational goals (1997)
• Definition: emphasis on vocational training in education (source: Merriam-Webster)  
• "seen & heard" p.47. "an effort to make the school curriculum more responsive to the needs of the occupational structure", "articulating educational content with future job requirements"  

Labaree, D - Public goods, private goods : the American stuggle over educational goals

Labaree, F David
1997 American Educational Research Journal Vol 34 No.1
"Public goods, private goods. : the American stuggle over educational goals"

p. 40 "I argue that the central problems with American education are not pedagogical or organizational or social or cultural in nature but are fundamentally political." "We are fighting among ourselves about what goals schools should pursue" KEY FINDING

Interestingly, Labaree thinks that educational problems in America are fundamentally political; "who supports which educational values." I thought before that educational problems are pedagogical and organizational because as a english teacher, I wanted the Ministry of Education to focus more on organizing curriculum aligning with communicative language learning method, which is purely pedagogical approach to solve the problem. But if I see the problem more broadly, the reason why they cannot change curriculum based on traditional language teaching & learning easily is due to the multiple choice test questions of the college entrance exam. The college entrance exam is the central mechanism "to pressure education to take on a meritocratic form" (p. 56) The societal system prefers objective evaluation measure such as multiple choice questions of reading and listening comprehension to (somewhat considered as) subjective evaluation measures such as writing and speaking test in order to maintain "a graded hierachy" (p. 52) smoothly without a hitch. Therefore, this educational issue - meeting curriculum to the needs of 21st century - can also be "fundamentally" political as Labaree said.



p.51 "the mobility goal focuses on the needs of individual educational consumers."
p.52 "the outcome for the individual is precisely what matters most." "The resuls is an emphasis on individual status attainment" "looking at schools as a private good" "distinguish myself from the rest of the pack and win the social competition"

The author is very critical about the social mobility goal. But the flipside of the social mobility goal through education can be conducive to the growth of fair society. If a low-income family should be stuck in the social class and cannot move up to the ladder, how unfortunate it is! A lot of Asian american immigrants including Chinese and Korean Americans who barely started a small bunisess like a drycleaning shop viewed their children's education as the pivotal tool for their family to move from working class to average (white American) middle class. I suggest that education encourage students to maximize their potential, and if possible, to break the vicious cyle of poverty through their education.  

writing a journal for class.

This blog is for my class in Fall 2013, "Education and social change".
While reading the articles assigned each week, I am going to write detail note, and what the writer is tying to say. Reflections.. I can connect the given article to the previous articles covered in other classes.   

ps. the picture was taken in front of UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, France. I loved it!