Today's NY Times online had an interesting blog by Timothy Egan in the Opinionator. Egan thinks that President Obama needs to come up with a simple, (not grandiose) "Big Idea" to show that he "is on the side of average Americans, who, in turn, must believe the country is moving in the right direction despite a painful economy." What’s needed, is “to do what Americans have always been known for: building, innovating, making things.”
The U. S., as a country, had better come up with a Big Idea...and soon! I just returned from Shanghai this week - my first trip to China in 10 years. Chinese progress in infrastructure and technology is impressive, especially in light of our own crumbling roads and bridges and our inconsistent electrical grid and telecommunications. The Chinese young people I met with were intelligent, SUPER tech savvy and hungry for success. They were NOT, however, creative and innovative thinkers. They had genuine difficulty thinking outside the box. And as a generation of only children, Chinese young people have limited interpersonal skills and lack empathy. All of this bodes well for the next generation of Americans if someone can capture their spirit of optimism and provide them with a blueprint for the future. In AIM's experience, American young people are inventive, multi-dimensional thinkers. And after the jolt of reality provided by the Recession, they are ready to work hard. But they are waiting - waiting for inspiration and that Big Idea...We can't wait much longer.
-Robin Albing
12/07/10
Obama's "big idea" had better include something related to revolutionizing our system of education. The results of the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in which teenagers from Shanghai came out on top and were shown to be far better educated than their counterparts in the US, were sobering. The differences were especially stark in math and science. In a world in which the US faces heightened competition from around the globe, especially in technology fields, we must improve education or face serious problems. I wonder if this is one of the reasons that the young Chinese Millenial that Ms. Albing quoted in another post thinks that Chinese will be more successful than Americans?
ReplyDeleteI also hope that Obama will address another recent trend that could further undermine US competitiveness. In recent years we have been less friendly as a nation to something that has been key to America's economic success - immigration. People currently living in the US do not have a monopoly on the best ideas. Allowing talented people from around the world to come to our country - often from countries and cultures with greater commitments to education - can be a serious competitive advantage for us. China and Taiwan, where I have lived, did not seem to be as open to assimilating immigrants, and indeed in both places the notion of being "Chinese" seemed to be inextricably linked to ethnicity. China is also a country where business is largely conducted - not surprisingly - in Chinese. On the other hand, business in the US is conducted in English, the world's lingua franca. This probably makes it easier for us to assimilate immigrants from around the world and harness their talents for economic growth. Here's hoping that Obama will tackle the thorny political issue of immigration policy in the very near future!
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