Daniel+Pink

Mr. Daniel Pink __A Whole New Mind__ [|Website] February 10, 2009

writes about business

looks at education from the outsider's eyes

purpose of public education is not to delivery employees to employers but about good citizenship and allowing individuals to reach his/her best self; but it is the preparation for the workforce;

philosophy on effective speeches contains 3 key elements: -brevity -levity -repetition

"We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past." -Fairfax County Superintendent

went to law school--feels it was a mistake; grew up in ohio in a middle class family; parents said get good grades, go to college, get a degree in a job to have economic stability; left brain path for economic stability - type of abilities employers wanted

still exist today but matter a little less

Left hemisphere of the brain - specializes in logical, analytical, linear, sequential - old work mentality and ability - essential and necessary Right hemisphere of the brain - specializes in processes all at once - example: this is a flag; synthesis - now the abilities that define our kids' future

This is the metaphor for our kids' success left brain vs right brain.

Why is this happening? Not a prescription for a prettier america. Causes: 1. Asia salaries are less than in our country; offshoring hyped in the short term and underhyped in the long run; example: computer sicence engeiner in Pittsburgh makes $65,000 in Asia they make $19,000; India has 1 billion people say 15% are computer science engineers then that is still a very large number, that is bigger than the population in Japan, in the US it is larger than our population; in 2010 India will be the largest English speaking country; __**routine**__ any work that is routine is disappearing in the US - those jobs that have a right answer--that is the work parents told their kids to do--accounting, law, programming 2. Automation machines replaced our back and muscle; software can do better work than we can do replacing the left side of our brains; white collar professions getting nibbled by automation; affordable divorce solutions at completecase.com (fill out paperwork, lawyer looks over the work, and it costs you $249!, stepdivorce, 123divorceme.com); should be worried about that b/c it is intellectually taking routine work Students must ask them themselves three questions about theri future job: -can someone overseas do it cheaper -can a computer do it faster -is what you're delivering in demand in an age of abundance Need high tech, high concept & high touch 3. Abundance

Daniel Pink sees Business is about novelty, nuance, customization Education is about routines, right answers, standardization Right at the moment when we are not about standardization - teachers, principals, superintendents all get this! it is the legislators who do NOT get this.

6 Abilities Needed for a Successful Future - to prepare kids for the future not our past design story. . . not just argument symphony. . . see the big picture. . . not just focus empathy. . . not just logic - hard to outsource play. . . not just seriousness meaning. . . not just acccumulation

5 1. experiment with new metrics - what gets measured gets done. - good at meausring left brain abilities but is not the only thing we should be measuring; limit left brain measurements 2. get real about STEM - science technology engineering math - real stem world taking student to art museums - part of the diagnostic training - routine in the answers but needs to develop the observation skills in order to reason out the non-routine savants - we are giving the STEM world of the 1970's not 2000's 3. tear down those walls STEM world tells us "in addition to analytic skills, which are well provided by the current educaiton systems, companies wnat engineers with passion, lifelong leraningn skills, systems thinkingk an ability to innovate . . ." 4. infuse arts education througout the curriculum- chinese are doing this and w're not! "teachers need to foster 21st cnetury talents. that menas unerstanding that creative arts are no longer a frivolous luxury, but essential to achieveing a competitive edge" Zhao 5. promote and defend autonomy

"We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past." - Pink