Rhem-Westhoff
Assignment
V - Dirty Little Secrets
EDT646
03/02/06
Tom
Friedman writes that he believes America has what it takes to compete in a
global, flat world but questions whether individually and collectively
Americans are doing what it takes to upgrade our educational skills,
particularly in math and science to continue investing in what he calls “the
secrets of the American sauce.” (p. 252) Shirley Ann Jackson, the 2004
president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science speaks of
a steady erosion of America’s scientific and engineering base. To lose this source of American
innovation, she says is a “quiet crisis.” (p. 253)
Not long
after reading the chapter in Friedman’s book The World Is Flat, where he
describes the quiet crisis mentioned above, I read articles contradicting the
level of crisis spelled out by Friedman and Shirley Ann Jackson. While I think
Friedman and Jackson are more right than wrong, and I agree we need to refocus
ourselves to remain competitive in this country, I also think the data referred
to in the articles is valid. In
fact one of the articles argues that the doomsayers regarding technology jobs
being outsourced are actually one of the reasons fewer students are
majoring/graduating in these high tech fields. The U.S. certainly needs to do
some retooling as a country but perhaps things are not quite as dire as
Friedman and Jackson suggest. The
articles I speak of can be found at the following URLs:
“Computing
Error” - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/opinion/01wed3.html?
“Study
Plays Down Export of Computer Jobs” –
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/technology/23outsource.html?
(If the
latter URL prompts you for a Times Select login and you cannot read the
article, I can send it to you.)
The
interview portion of this assignment begins below. The interviewees include six students in the 17 – 20
age group, four adults from the Generation X era (born 1962 – 1981) and
three adults from the Boomers era (born 1945 – 1961).
Interviews
Appendix I
Electronic Interview Questions
Thanks for your willingness
to help me out. For my class, we read
the book “The World is Flat: A brief history of the 21st century. In
this book, Friedman discusses what he calls this “quiet crisis” by suggesting
three “dirty little secrets” we may not be noticing in America. For this
interview/survey, you are asked to share your knowledge and understanding of
the three secrets
First, a “numbers gap” is emerging that will “sap America’s prowess in
science, math and engineering.” The nation’s scientists and engineers, and
those teaching science, are retiring in huge numbers, and American young people
are not entering those fields in nearly sufficient numbers. Foreign-born people
account for an ever-increasing percentage of America’s science and engineering
workers.
What is your knowledge/understanding
of the numbers gap?
Second, we have an “ambition gap.”
While this may seem an unfairly harsh generalization, Friedman suggests that
too many American young people have grown up with plenty and with a sense of
entitlement. They too often lack a feeling of needing to work hard to attain a
better standard of living. They already have the good life. In contrast, Asian
and Indian students are often extremely motivated, much as the great
grandparents of today’s American students were when they first came to America.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the ambition gap?
Friedman refers to the third
aspect of the “quiet crisis” as the “education gap.” He maintains that we’ve got to find ways to stimulate
more of our young children to do better in science and math. “Johns Hopkins
University President Bill Brody remarked to me, ‘Over 60 percent of our
graduate students in the sciences are foreign students.’”
What is your knowledge/understanding of the education
gap?
Appendix II
Interviews - Ages 17-
20
Answers from 6 students
enrolled in the Internet, Network & Securities Technology Class at the
Muskegon Area Career Tech Center (Juniors & Seniors in High School)
What
is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers gap?
1. I have not given this much thought before; everybody
knows the Asians are great in math though.
2. No. I did not know this but I do not think they have
an edge on us with computer knowledge. My friends and I are great with
computers and plan to be security/protocol analysts. Those jobs are going nowhere – we will have to be
onsite. Can you say six figures??!
3. I have heard of this and I think they need to have
more hands on labs with math and science.
Those classes can seem boring and irrelevant. I hear in college most math teachers are foreign and nobody
can understand them!
4. I have heard of this. Are there more Asians and
Indians going to college because it is more affordable? How much marketing is put into those
fields, what I mean is, are these kids told
their entire time in school that the choices to be
successful include only engineering?
5.
Yes, I think lots of kids are going into technology related fields. They
just may not qualify as
engineering jobs. There are computer degrees in
most Colleges of Business for example.
6.
Those people are just good in math and science. I don’t know why. Maybe that is all they do
over there. It is a cultural thing I think and yes
I have heard of it, I just didn’t hear it called a
numbers gap.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the
ambition gap?
1. Of
course they are more motivated, they have until recently not had a lot of
opportunity
other than to farm or work in sweatshops.
2. I
agree there is a gap and I think that these people have gotten a taste of
success, they see a way to a better life and they are going for it.
3. They are no better than us, they are just where the
U.S. once was – people get fat and lazy when you can get by with doing
just enough to get by…
4. Are
they really more ambitious? It would appear so but maybe we are more ambitious
in areas besides math and science.
Will their ambition last once their lives become easier?
5. The
ambition gap will grow like this whenever someone is excited about a new
opportunity, whether it is an entire nation or someone who just learned how to
ski.
6. I did
not know about this really. I know they do well in math and science but I did
not think it was because they are more motivated, or at least I did not think
about it like that. (until now)
What is your
knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
1. They are
talking about increasing the requirements for math for high school
students. Will that
really help? I think kids start to believe they aren’t good at math and
never recover from that.
2. I am not
sure we have to be good at math, logic and problem solving can be developed
other
ways. That is what is
needed for technological advances.
3. They need
more hands on labs, more relevance.
The MEAP makes teachers just brow beat
us to death about math and reading. We need to like math and do well in it for more reasons
than just good MEAP scores!
4. Maybe Asians
and Indians don’t have the choices we do when it comes to careers so they
follow math and science. I
think they do a good job using technology for how backwards some
parts of their country and government are.
5. Parents need
to help kids, teachers need to help kids, our leaders need to be less corrupt
and
encourage kids to do their best. Too much energy is spent trying to just
survive the teen years,
math and science can seem unimportant to us right now.
6. I think MTV
and rappers and maybe even Sponge Bob need to start promoting math and
science and show kids how those subjects can be tied to careers that are
high paying and
fun.
Appendix III
Generation X – Born
1962-1981
Generation X Interviewee #1
What is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers gap?
Since I entered the work force in 1985, I have noticed an
ever-increasing percentage of foreign-born technical people working for
customers and suppliers, while those in purchasing and marketing generally seem
to be American-born.
When my company was looking to fill a position in
engineering dimensional management (which involves application of mathematics)
a few years ago, we were unable to find any qualified internal candidates. We hired a foreign-born person, who now
holds training sessions to teach our American-born engineers how to use math to
identify and solve engineering problems.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the ambition gap?
While many of the young people I encounter in the work force
have ambition, it seems misguided, based more on entitlement than on
industriousness. I see single
experts unwilling to go beyond their job descriptions to get things done and
satisfy customers.
My company has a very generous bonus plan to share success,
but most employees view it as something they are entitled to, not something
earned based on company performance.
Some have left the company when they received bonuses that they felt
were less than they deserved, ignoring the fact the bonus is not guaranteed and
based solely on the company’s overall financial performance.
I see ambition problems with my own children. An illustration would be when, at
dinnertime, they tell me, in effect, “I’m starving, but I won’t eat that.” Well, then they are not truly starving,
and do not know what real hunger is.
Of course, thankfully, neither do I.
What is you knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
When I was an engineering student at Michigan State in the
early 1980s, I was struck by the fact that most of the graduate assistants in
my engineering classes were either Asian, Indian, or from the Middle East. Although many of the professors at that
time appeared to be American-born, they seemed to be an aging group that would
gradually be replaced by the graduate assistants then working on their advanced
degrees. It also seemed that among
my fellow engineering students there were many foreign-born people, although
probably not a majority at that time.
It seems that the USA does not effectively tap all its
resources to fill technical roles.
Namely, it appears to me that females are not encouraged to the same
degree as males to pursue math and science. My wife and I are constantly fighting that. Our two young daughters both get A’s in
math, despite the feedback they get from others, including adult females, that
math is boring and you shouldn’t like it.
I think our young people view technology as entertainment
and, while adept in its use, do not appreciate the science behind it or the
potential employment opportunities it offers for technically educated people as
the world demands things to be better and faster.
Generation X Interviewee #2
What is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers gap?
Prior to your email, I had never heard of the term “numbers
gap”, but I can think of real world examples of where the numbers gap is taking
place. As an agriculture teacher, I can see first hand how the numbers gap is
affecting American agriculture. More and more American farms are retiring from
the business and are finding few family members or young people to take over
the operations. If you look at statistics, you will see a rise in the number of
farms created and run by Mexican born people.
What
is your knowledge/understanding of the ambition gap?
Once again you can see the ambition gap occurring in the
agriculture industry. Not many young American’s want to have a job that
involves manual labor. I believe young American people are afraid of it! And
they don’t want to work for only minimum wage. When you drive past a farm, who
do you see working in those fields? Today, you see many workers born in Mexico
or from Latin American countries here either legally or illegally, working for
minimum wage, supporting their families back in their native country.
What is
you knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
I could see the education gap everyday as I walked by Wells Hall at Michigan
State University, which happens to be the building where all the math courses
are taught. I wish I could understand what motivates foreign students into the
fields of math and science because many of my science students have no interest
in the field.
Generation X Interviewee #3
What is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers
gap?
The numbers gap in regards to IT studies became
evident to me as a high school computer teacher. Less than 2% of my students are girls once you get beyond
the BST classes. I do see an
increase in the number of girls who want to enter the field of medicine. This
will require chemistry, biology, math, etc. Pondering this question makes me wonder if the numbers gap
is valid across all math/science fields or only in engineering.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the
ambition gap?
It appears to be all around us and while I do think
there is a stark contrast between the ambition to succeed for American young
people and the Asians and Indians, it may be somewhat overstated. The young
adults from these other countries finally see a way out of the poverty cycle
and the inability to put their education to good use – and they are going
for it! Much like the former
immigrant generations of the U.S. I do think that our own young people have
more ambition than it would appear at first glance. But do I think there is a gap – absolutely!
What is
your knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
Just this week USA Today had a little graphic snapshot depicting the percentage of students from home and abroad who received doctorates in engineering from American universities. The percentages were: American – 42%, Foreign Nationals – 58%. There’s some numbers for you! I do not think this is a secret. What I do think is a secret, or at least has gone unnoticed is the fallout from this growing gap and what these numbers really mean.
Generation X Interviewee #4
What is
your knowledge/understanding of the numbers gap?
My knowledge of the numbers gap is limited. I do believe, and am starting to see,
that there is a major crisis developing in our nation’s young people. They are no longer interested in
achieving in the areas of science and engineering. I feel that the aspirations of our youth are more towards
entertainment and the social aspects of life rather than the technical
fields. And then you have
foreign-born people coming in and taking those positions.
What is
your knowledge/understanding of the ambition gap?
The ambition gap has
been created because our children are being raised by their parents and the
people around them just giving them what they want. There is no longer the need for them to earn it. This “giving” is crippling our
nation. In the time of our
grandparents if there was something that they wanted they need to earn it, in
order to get it or be able to buy it.
I feel this is because people of our nation have earned many things, and
we are now getting lazy. We as
parents love our children and want to give them as much as we can, but we are
hindering them from achieving what they can on their own. Therefore I think we set lower
expectations for them.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
Like
both of
the previous answers, all of these things go hand-in-hand. We are enabling our children to be
lazy. We are not expecting them to
achieve at the highest level they possibly can. There are endless possibilities out there for success of our
young people we just do not push them, or lead them in the right directions.
Boomers Generation –
Born 1945-1961
Boomers Interviewee #1
What is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers
gap?
The concern of these 3 questions seems to be that
"foreigners" are
filling the gaps in our need for people trained in math and science as
though somehow this is something to be alarmed about. This has been
true in our history since the beginning, they took whatever jobs
Americans did not want or need. Granted, usually, they were the
low-paying jobs and now they are not, however, they are indeed filling a
gap. Why does this gap exist? One important reason is that for
decades
women have been for one reason or another, not encouraged to enter these
fields though they had the intelligence and ability to do so. Parents,
schools, hiring executives, counselors, etc. have not encouraged little
girls or big girls to seek success in and pursue a career in these
fields. This needs to change. This kind of thinking is part of the old
male-dominated thinking. A question, are these so-called foreigners
American citizens, it seems they must be or planning to be to take
permanent employment here. If they are American citizens they have every
right to pursue whatever jobs they are qualified for without
discrimination and we are probably fortunate to have them.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the
ambition gap?
Many young people today dress, act and look like they
have
no ambition. Many times it is not true. Ambition usually comes with
maturity, not always present in youth. Most of the time ambition comes
from how children are raised, if their parents were ambitious and
successful they realize the good life comes from this, most parents make
that point at every opportunity. Parents usually recognize the talents
of their children and try to direct them into fields in which they would
be good. But, they too, do not always encourage their girls in the same
way they encourage their boys when it comes to being engineers, computer
analyst, math and science teachers, etc. Some children are ambitious
from birth others need to see the connection between the good life and
being ambitious and successful. Sometimes a teacher gets hold of a
student he or she sees as having a talent for certain things and tries to
lead them in that direction by giving confidence, etc. But the solving of
this problem lies mostly with the parents who encourage or discourage and
explain cause and effect with ambition and success
What is your knowledge/understanding of the
education gap?
For the most part teachers do try to stimulate their
students to perform at their best in every subject. Some math and science
teachers need to find ways to make their subject
more interesting by not just using the method of lecture to impart
information. Good teachers give challenging homework assignments causing
creative thinking to take place, they vary the day-to-day routine with group
work, etc. Children can be stimulated, but not all children will
like math because it is often abstract and does not lend itself to
excitement. Once a well-known math teacher said that no ones hates math,
they have just not had good teachers. It is not hard to make science
interesting as most young people have a natural affinity to the environment and
see the connections with man and his well being. But again, we need to
encourage ALL of the students, not just the boys. If over 60 percent of
our graduate students are foreign students it speaks well for our educational
system that they would like to come here for their graduate work, we are still
looked up to for our edge on future technology inventions. It is a global world
and whenever a student from any country likes and learns more about science in
math it helps us all.
Is "dirty secrets" a good name for these concerns?
Boomers Interviewee #2
What is your knowledge/understanding of the numbers
gap?
First of
all we agree with all the statements made by Mr. Friedman and have our thoughts
about how they have come about.
To begin
with there has been an ethical decay and a loss of patriotism in the United
States. This has lead to people no longer caring about purchasing products made
in the United States but buying mainly with a view towards costs regardless of
industries being closed. As result of this, and many other reasons, outsourcing
has taken over many businesses that employed scientists, mathematicians, and
engineers. Therefore fewer students are taking these subjects fearing
there would not be suitable employment for them.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the ambition
gap?
Entitlement is a good description
of what many of today’s young people think
in
regards to their future lifestyle.
Too many of young people have not had to work for what they have been
given. Many of them have not known
true hardship or endured character-building experiences. That’s not to deny
that many children are afforded few, if any opportunities to break out of a
poverty-ridden cycle. But even
many of those young adults seem to just get discouraged and seek the path of
least resistance rather than pulling themselves up by the bootstraps and
forging ahead.
What is your knowledge/understanding of the
education gap?
Secondly
our educational system no longer lends itself towards teaching students to
better themselves. There is entirely too much emphasis on passing tests,
athletic awards instead of academic, and programs that are full of non
essentials, i.e., self esteem, balancing check books and the like.
Parents have surrendered their children to the schools with little or no thought
of their responsibility. Yes foreign students abound here, we offer more than
their own homelands, but for how long?
Boomers Interviewee #3
What is your
knowledge/understanding of the numbers gap?
Freidman might be correct if he has the facts and they should be published to stimulate a national conversation. I have not read the book but having taught a little history over the years I do know that America can respond when & if a crisis is at hand. The Manhattan Project and Marshall Plan come to mind and, more recently, landmark educational legislation, the national interstate highway system, NASA, state & national environmental programs and many more all indicate that a federal effort can be jump-started when the spirit strikes. Two remarkable, specific educational efforts from the past need to awake the national conscience if Freidman's thesis is correct; namely an overdue renewal of the National Defense Education Act which stimulated, however late, the teaching of math & science at the elementary & secondary levels; and a new version of the Elementary & Secondary Education of 1965 to remind all of us that equality of educational opportunity does not yet exist in this country. These two extraordinary programs rank up there with the G.I. Bill of Rights and I cannot think of any other federal investments which provide so much promise to what it means to be an American.
What is
your knowledge/understanding of the ambition gap?
It is tempting to start a discourse on the
"disappearance of the middle class" or on the out-sourcing
of millions of jobs around the world, etc. but there is at least an
argument and/or opinion to be expressed about the "perceived lack of
ambition of American youth". It is not so simple as saying "...that
some have it and some don't" but, at least since the post World War II
years or the advent of the "baby boomers" we might have allowed
ourselves to reach shift into neutral at our peril. When positive,
productive role models vanish or are reduced and replaced by a daily diet
of questionable visual stimuli and progress toward meaningful goals,
e.g. self-worth, education, family, service, etc. are not seen as rewarding to
our youth then there is trouble down the road, and we seem to already be down
that road. Access to leisure has been well-earned by many but with no or
little effort this "way of life" becomes short-lived and illusory.
Capitalism has had a mixed track record but it is
better than no capitalism at all. It provided ample stimulation in the
past and apparently must prove itself again. The previously mentioned
"meaningful goals" all have at least one thing in common,
security. We haven't lost the way but we may be standing at a fork in the
road.
What is
your knowledge/understanding of the education gap?
It is apparent that my responses to #1 and #2 are central
to responding to #3. Democracy needs several shots in the arm or maybe a
national transfusion to stimulate a re-direction in American education as we
find ourselves in the 21st century. Yes, this will require more math
& science but that is hardly all. I think an educational revolution
might be necessary with a re-examination of what it is all about. We
would find once again that all of it, i.e. the educational process, is
inter-related. It is obvious that a replay of the 29the century will be
insufficient. We need some educational mine-detectors to steer us toward
a better national course, one which does not cut federal & state funding to
education, and one which really puts our energy where it should be.
Yes, we should turn up the volume on the "quiet crisis" chart a new
national course.
It isn't impossible; it is essential.
Findings and Comparisons
Numbers Gap
Interviews - Ages 17- 20
All but one
of the six students has heard, albeit in different terms, about the numbers
gap. As is typical of their age,
they do not seem concerned and one of them acts as though the Asians are good
at math – “just because they are” without seeing any real cause and
effect as to whether or not the Asians/Indians apply themselves more in those
fields. One student states that he
does think they are ahead of us with computer knowledge and is not worried
about security/protocol analysis jobs being outsourced. Another student says the math and
science classes are boring and schools need to provide more hands-on, relevant
experiences. Another points
out that perhaps it is more affordable to go to college in Asia and India while
another writes it all off to cultural differences.
Generation X – Born 1962-1981
The
Generation X crowd was much more in tune and realistic regarding what Friedman
calls the ‘Numbers Gap.’ Like the
younger set, this group had not heard the phenomenon referred to as a numbers
gap but once I defined it, they all concurred they had noticed it. From the engineer I interviewed who
sees an increasing number of foreign-born technical people working for
customers and suppliers to the agriculture teacher who notices more and more
American farmers retiring and agriculture being taken over by Mexican born
people. The IT teacher sees far
too many young women enrolling in IT classes and thinks there is an entire
gender that has not been effectively tapped to keep this country competitive.
One interviewee thinks our youth our gravitating to entertainment and the
social aspects of life rather than the technical fields.
Boomers Generation – Born 1945-1961
I found the
responses from this group very interesting. The responses ranged from someone wondering why we are
alarmed by foreigners surpassing us in math and science to the person who
blames it primarily on the lack of patriotism and people not buying
American. One interviewee mentions
the gender issue again and states that young women are not encouraged enough to
enter technical fields and that math and science need to be taught in more
interesting ways. One wonders if
these foreign born students graduating from our schools are American citizens
and if they are – what’s the problem?! Another interesting point was the participant who writes
that we need to awake the national conscience and renew the National Defense
Education Act which stimulated the teaching of math and science at the
elementary and secondary levels.
Also needed, a new version of the Elementary & Secondary Education
Act of 1965 to remind us that equality of educational opportunity does not yet
exist in this country.
Ambition Gap
Interviews - Ages 17- 20
The younger set of interviewees was not surprised by the
information introduced to them regarding the ambition gap. One student of the six had not heard
about the ambition gap or thought about it and is not certain that just because
they excel at math and science, that it points to them being more
motivated. The rest of the students
seem to hone in on the fact that given a chance for a better life, the first
time you glimpse that opportunity can be powerful. They associate the ambition the Indian and Asian students
appear to have with the fact that their lives have been hard and lacking and
now they see a way out.
Generation X – Born
1962-1981
The Generation X’ers think Friedman speaks the truth when
he says today’s young adults – as well as many middle aged adults have a
sense of entitlement. People act
as though they are ‘owed’ something rather than having to earn or work for
it. The agriculture teacher thinks
that one reason farming is going by the wayside as far as American farmers is
that people do not want to engage in manual labor. It is considered too hard. One interviewee believes our young
people may not lack quite as much ambition as they would like you to think.
Another responds that the ‘giving’ is crippling this nation. Kids do not have to ‘earn’ things.
Everything is given to them.
Boomers Generation –
Born 1945-1961
As one may suspect, this group was the hardest on our
young people and mention that they have seen the ambition gap for many years
prior to the world becoming flat.
One respondent does say that young people may have more ambition than it
appears. There is no debate about
the fact that those from developing countries are motivated to get ahead and
out of the poverty cycle that has been a burden of their past. One states that access to leisure has
been well earned by many but with no or little effort, this “way of life”
becomes short-lived and illusory. Capitalism has had a mixed track record but
it is better than no capitalism at all. It provided ample stimulation in the
past and apparently must prove itself again.
Education Gap
Interviews -
Ages 17- 20
The young participants begin by saying that kids begin to
believe at a very young age that they are not good at math and/or that science
is boring. They speak again of
more meaningful teaching tools to make it relevant. They also make the point that it is not necessarily just
math one needs to excel at to make it in today’s high tech world. They mention logic and problem solving
skills. They wonder if the Asians
and Indians do not have as many career choices as them so they default to the
math and science careers. This
group who spend a good portion of their life stimulated by electronic media
think that there should be more promotion of the math and sciences by their
‘heroes.’
Generation X
– Born 1962-1981
The engineer and horticulture teacher in this group went
through college witnessing American professors begin to retire as foreign born
students took over as their Graduate Assistants while working on advanced
degrees in math, engineering and science.
Bringing more females on board to beef up America’s math and science
coffers is mentioned again. One
participant states that this education gap is hardly a secret and points to a
USA Today graphic depicting the percentage of students from home and abroad who
received doctorates in engineering from American universities. 42% are American in the graphic
and 58% are Foreign Nationals.
Boomers
Generation – Born 1945-1961
This group takes note that if 60% of our graduate students are foreign students, it speaks well for our educational system. One person writes that it is a global world and if a student from any country likes and learns more about math and science – it helps all of us! Students need teachers who engage them in the subjects of math and science and parents need to encourage both boys and girls to do well in these subject areas. Another interviewee says that our educational system no longer lends itself towards teaching students to better themselves. There is too much emphasis on passing tests, athletic awards instead of academic and too many programs full of non-essentials. Parents have put too much responsibility on the schools for raising children with ethics. One response states that democracy needs several shots in the arm or maybe a national transfusion to stimulate a re-direction in American education as we find ourselves in the 21st century. In summary, this group believes we should turn up the volume on the “quiet crisis” and chart a new national course. It isn’t impossible; it is essential.
References
Friedman, Thomas. The World Is Flat A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. 1st edition. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.
Computing Error - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/opinion/01wed3.html?
Study Plays Down Export of Computer Jobs - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/technology/23outsource.html?
Marklin, Lin – Interview Questions and Format – EDT 646 – Globalization & Educational Technology