Restoring the American Dream

Have bickering political ads ruined your morning? The just say 'spend' Democrats attack the just say 'no' Tea Party. While crisscrossing the country, I haven't spotted a race where there is a thoughtful dialog about a growth agenda--innovation, education, and infrastructure.

Tom Friedman quotes Nyan Chanda, "the U.S. seems sadly unprepared to take advantage of the revolution it has spawned. The country's worn-out infrastructure, failing education system and lack of political consensus have prevented it from riding a new wave to prosperity."

Last month I met with Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder of the National Association of Software and Service Companies in India and godfather of Indian angel and venture investing. He's working with Sam Pitroda on an Innovation Council and is planning a $1b innovation fund. In contrast to the U.S. politica food-fight, India's leadership is laying the groundwork for the innovation economy--they are smart, focused, and optimistic.

It looks, Srivastava told Freidman, as if "what is happening in America is a loss of self-confidence. We don't want America to lose self-confidence. Who else is there to take over America's moral leadership? American's leadership was never because you had more arms. It was because of ideas, imagination, and meritocracy."

The mood has soured in America with the Great Recession. We are mad at each other but mostly arguing about the wrong stuff. Fareed Zakaria's article and TV show this week focused on restoring the American Dream--they are must read/watch. Getting to root causes during an interview with Lou Gerstner, Zakaria noted that, "Globalization and technology acted like a one, two punch. The knockout was the recession."

To restore the American Dream, Fareed makes the case for more government spending on R&D--about twice as much--and less on entitlement programs. He and Google's Eric Schmidt pointed out that most advances--computers, semiconductors, the Internet, and GPS--are a product of government investment.

Fareed also pointed to the importance of education and job retraining. Other than Superman and NBC's Education Nation we haven't heard much during this election cycle about education, but right in front of us is the potential for a learning revolution--the historic pivot from books to digital content, from bubble sheet tests to instant feedback, from birthdays to competency-based progress, and from back-loaded employment to diverse performance-based learning professions.

Arne Duncan reiterated at a Virginia education summit this week, "Education is economic development." We'll need to learn our way out of the doldrums. But it won't be high school and college as you knew them--it will be online, it will be customized, it will be anytime, anywhere learning. And it won't cost more--it will actually save families and states money.

There's a catch--we need to reduce policy barriers to education innovation. With 60 days notice, it would be logistically possible to make available to every student in America quality online math and science courses. With 12 months notice, it would be possible to construct a next generation engaging and personalized offering. However, gridlocked federal, state, and local policies, contracts, and budgets make it hard to do anything new. If we don't address America's inability to innovate in the delivery of public services, it is certain that our children will be the first generation to be less well off than their parents.

Restoring the American Dream starts by putting children first and making decisions that make sense for their future. If we invest in infrastructure, curb run away spending, and open our public services to innovation they will have a chance to embrace a new version of the America Dream.

 

Follow Tom Vander Ark on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tvanderark

Comments

[theebookman]

11:28 PM on 10/31/2010

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/29/zakaria.create.jobs/index.html

That's the article that Tom refers to... Fareed Z. mentions 3% of GDP... at $10 trillion, that is about $300 billion or $1000 a person. Where should I invest my grand? online math and science? I'd like to give some of my students that access...

Thanks.

Steve McCrea [e-mail]

[theebookman]

11:25 PM on 10/31/2010

I work at a charter school. I'd like to give my students more access to innovative math and science courses... You write: >>>>>>> With 60 days notice, it would be logistically possible to make available to every student in America quality online math and science courses. With 12 months notice, it would be possible to construct a next generation engaging and personalized offering. >> IF GDP is $10 trillion, then 3% is 300 billion or about $1,000 per person... ???

so, where can I spend $1000 to get started?

Steve McCrea, Fort Lauderdale

[30yearsinak]

06:24 PM on 10/31/2010

Where are these quality programs supposed to come from? I have seen several online high school curricula and they all leave much to be desired. The instruction facet is generally rote learning of facts to be tested by multiple choices at the end of the unit. With all the talk about having high quality teachers, it is amazing to me that there are people proposing that teachers can be replaced by computers. Which really proves that those who bash teachers so mercilessly have no respect for the interaction between teachers and students but rather think of education as a process of pouring facts into children's heads. Heaven help us when we have a society filled with people who have been educated this way; analysis, judgment, and flexibility will not exist.

AND do you really think there is a shortage of qualified personnel coming out of U.S. universities? We have lots of unemployed and underemployed college graduates. Stepping up the numbers of engineers is not going to make one iota of difference in joblessness.

[LockDeltz]

12:42 AM on 11/01/2010

Schools are to primarily benefit the students. I would say 95% of the teachers in this country are bad, most of them don't give a damn about the students, all they care about is a paycheck. The fact is we have too many colleges and they are too expensive because government heavily subsidies these institutions. Schools should be handled by the free-market (ie the private sector) that means no school taxes, no school boards, no mandatory attendance laws, and no government subsidies. But politically that would be impossible, so you want to do it step by step. The first solution would be to abolish the department of education, get the federal government out the schools and colleges. Than get the state government out of the way, and than the local governments. Going to school should be voluntary not mandatory, it shouldn't be funded by taxpayers or subsided by the government. Most of a child's education should come from their parents but how the hell are parents are suppose to teach their kids, if their child spends half the day in school? Studies have shown that schools break down communities, lowers a child self-esteem, and cause all sorts of dysfunctional behaviors. Our country was founded on individual liberty and freedom, yet the people doesn't even have control over their own education, I find that sad.

[Tom Vander Ark]

12:11 AM on 11/04/2010

First gen online curriculum is admittedly mostly flat and sequential like online textbooks. It does provide the benefit of allowing the learner to vary rate and time. It is typically supported by effective teachers online with similar staffing ratios to traditional classrooms. My point is that in locations where it is difficult to staff AP and high level STEM, it's easy to use online learning (and distributed staffing) to offer these courses anywhere.

[thebigbike]

04:22 PM on 10/31/2010

The obscene increase in the cost of getting a college education from 1970 to 2010 is also one of the barriers that MUST be addressed. You want engineers and trained thinkers? Some how its got to be paid for and if it's all going to be paid for by student loans, encumbering the graduate with balances of as much 12 3 times their starting annual income.... well, that just is not going to work... it alsready ISN'T working. And that's not mentioning the ones who don't or can't graduate at local community colleges - the only less exorbitant alternative - becuase budget cuts elieminated the basic classes they need.

oh yeah don't forget technical training at these colleges with outdated equiment and protocols that can't fully meet current industry standards because revenues to the colleges won't allow the quick updating needed.

so. remember the effect of the GI Bill education programs after WWII - that's ancient history I guess.