Thank You For Being Late Part 2 - Advice for the Education Sector

Thomas Friedman's Thank You For Being Late
and the Education Sector

In my previous blogpost (May 1), I summarized Part I and II of Thomas L. Friedman's ground-breaking book Thank You For Being Late.

In the first half of his book, Friedman shows how three factors - technology, globalization, and environmental stresses - "...are driving change around the world..." and explores how these factors are impacting people and entire nations. (15)  In Parts III and IV, Friedman presents what he terms "the best adaptation ideas" for people and nations so that the anxiety gap created by these accelerating forces can be narrowed and people and societies can thrive in "this age of accelerations." (202).

Although the author elaborates on adaptation ideas for the workplace, geopolitics, politics, ethics, and community, the focus of this blogpost will be on ideas for those in the education sector.

In writing about the changing requirements of the workplace, Friedman is succinct: "Average is officially over". (202)   While rapid advances in technology are making many routine jobs that involve tasks such as answering phones and taking messages obsolete, new and more dynamic jobs are emerging that require greater proficiency in " ...the three Rs - reading, writing, and arithmatic - and more of the 4Cs - creativity, collaboration, communication, and coding." (211)  Those entering today's work force need to be highly adaptable to change and committed to lifelong learning.  States Friedman, "Like everything else in the age of accelerations, securing and holding a job requires dynamic stability - you need to keep pedaling (or paddling) all the time." (205)

The author maintains that, to prepare young people for the requirements of the workforce in the age of accelerations, educational systems "...must be retooled to maximize these needed skills and attributes: strong fundamentals in writing, reading, coding, and math; creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration; grit, self-motivation, and lifelong learning habits; and entrepreneurship and improvisation - at every level." (212)

Friedman also recommends that schools leverage technology in order to provide learners with the personalized, flexible, and just-in-time learning that they need.   He lauds innovations such as Google's TensorFlow, which "...offer a course online to teach to anyone in the world within three months" (222) and intelligent assistant systems such as the one offered jointly by the Khan Academy and (American) College Board.  The latter "...not only offer free SAT prep ...but they also created an amazing practice platform to help students fill their knowledge gaps....." (227)  A student's results on a practice SAT (PSAT) are fed into a computer, which using [artificial intelligence] and big data, then spits out a message: 'Tom, you did really well, but you need some work on fractions. You have a real opportunity to grow here. Click here for customized lessons just for you on fractions." (228)  For the author, such programs are "worth studying" in that they provide concrete examples for educational systems and institutions on "...how we can make the transition to a different education-to-work-to-lifelong-learning social contract in the age of accelerations." (229)

Friedman also makes a strong case that, as Jeffrey Garten (former dean of the Yale School of Management) writes, "Education will need a strong dose of liberal arts" in this age of accelerations. (343)  The author comes to this conclusion based upon his shared belief with Leon Wieseltier that "There is always a lag between an innovation and the apprehension of its consequences", and that as we are currently "...living in that lag, ...it is the right time to keep our heads and reflect." (340)   The author uses the example of the challenges that have emerged from the development and proliferation across the planet of social media as a case in point.  Unintended social media issues that we are now grappling with include:

-  the rapid spread of rumours that "confirm people's biases" (ie. fake news);
-  its echo chamber effect as we communicate only with like-minded people and "mute, unfollow, and    block" those who have different perspectives; and,
-  shallow engagement with otheres as "...our social media experiences are designed in a way that
   favours broadcasting over engagements, posts over discussions, shallow comments over deep    
   conversations." (275)

 Only through a curriculum that approaches STEM (science, tech studies, engineering, and mathematics) instruction through a moral and ethical lens and develops students' reflective capacities can we ensure that innovations in the age of acceleration help as oppose to hinder humankind's progress and our fragile environment.  Writes Friedman:

               The first line of defence for any society is always going to be its guardrails -
          laws, stoplights, police, courts, surveillance, the FBI, and basic rules of decency
          for communities like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  All of those are necessary,
          but they are not sufficient for the age of accelerations.  Clearly, what is also
          needed ...is to think more seriously and urgently about how we can inspire more
          of what Dov Seidman calls "sustainable values": honesty, humility, integrity, and
          mutual respect. (347)  

Friedman also maintains that an ownership culture needs to be established (or re-established) in the education sector.  Specifically, he would like to see greater autonomy for teachers so that they will feel more engaged in their enormously important task of preparing the next generation to meet the challenges of the age of accelerations.  The author believes that teachers should have an increased role in determining standards and developing curriculum and increased time for professional learning. Teachers should not be "...disengaged from the tools of their own craft, like a chef whose only job is to reheat someone else's cooking." (322)