Thanks (and actually thanks to all who emailed privately both agreeing and disagreeing with me). The fact that we can have this debate openly is one of the great things about this country. I do not diagree with any of the things that Julian says here in this email, and though it may seem like the opinions are counter to each other - in reality the true outcome is not (in disagreement). So lest we get sidetracked by opinion and debate - let's hit the real issues and responses (note I preface everything with "My response" - I want to note that I am giving my opinion and that it is OK to disagree with me);
1. The world has flattened alllowing other countries to directly compete against the US in key technical areas where they have not been competitive in the past.
My response: Nothing spurs performance like competition, and all this innovation improves technology, in turn improving the ability for others to join in the competition. Even if the US does not develop many of these innovations we will benefit from them. We can and will be competitive in this environment - but we will probably not be the center of all the new developments in the future.
2. The global standard of living will increase.
My response: Julian is correct in stating that there is no reason the US standard of living must decrease for the global standard of living to increase. This is a choice we as a nation will actually make (and are making). Basic infrastructure (roads, plumbing, schools, hospitals, etc..) are what really make the SOL in the US high. (if you don't believe me just visit a 3rd world country, you will appreciate indoor plumbing and sanitary sewer systems after that). We can choose to invest in improvement of these items (or not) and they will have an effect on SOL. As far as the global SOL increasing - we can see countries building this infrastructure before our eye. BUT - the material required to create this infrastructure is finite (at any point in time - no need to go into the economics of this, I do understand it) , so when China purchases more of the worldwide concrete supply, we do see higher prices in the US.
3. The US has been a good world leader.
My response: I agree with this. Despite our mistakes and ills caused by the US, as far as world leadership goes I would have to give it good grades especially compared to the other options. This is probably because we have a very diverse and free population. And we will continue to be a world leader, I simply think that we will be more in a position of sharing the role with other countries. There are other opinions about this I could state (I am bothered that we could concentrate on injustive in Iraq - but completely ignore places like Zimbabwe and Sudan - but I also understand why).
4. We can prepare our next generation for the problems they will face.
My response: Between global warming, flattened world economy, and all the other issues we will leave the next generations plenty of challenges. And I think they will be up to those challenges (we better hope so). By teaching the next generation to think critically, to view problems as opportunities for solutions, to think independently and creatively, to work hard and use their minds, to keep an open mind, and many other things - we are leading them in a good direction. I am very hopeful for the future.
Lastly: We must avoid what many have come to phrase as "engineering arrogance". Engineers do play a key role in what will transpire with our economy - but so do people of other disciplines. It is this arrogance that has made it difficult to recruit students into STEM disciplines as students view them as the hard path. We must work to understand the benefit and the role of all the disciplines to our students and to ourselves.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Response from Julian Schmoke
This is an excellent reply to the issues brought up in the "shift happens" and my response to the shift happens video. As this is a forum for sharing ideas - I am by no means under the delusion that my opinions are correct, and as academicians we all agree that open debate is important to allow us to completely understand the issues. This comes from Julian Schmoke a faculty at Devry;
Ron,
My concern with the lack of US dominance has less to do with our standard of living and more to do with where we stand militarily because there is a connection between the two. A lot of people like to "hate" America, and we have not always been correct in the way we have involved ourselves in world affairs, but people want to forget the good things that America has done and hopefully will continue to do. I don't have to give everyone a history lesson on US involvement in WW1 and WW2, and our role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having been to Taiwan and reading the weekly rhetoric being exchanged between that small island and China I have no doubt that they would have been swallowed up by China by now were it not for the US. Israel might not exist as a nation anymore without US support. We are not perfect, but the US is still the place of choice to live for many people in the world. We should not have to apologize for that or feel guilty about that. Instead, as a nation we try to promote capitalism and democracy a a way of life to other nations over such alternatives as communism, socialism, dictatorships, etc.
I also reject the notion that the US standard of living has to drop in order for the world's standard of living to increase. There are also some pretty low standards of living in isolated pockets of the US and very some high standards of living is some less developed countries. What the US has is a way of government that allows people who are willing to work for it a chance to pursue prosperity that simply does not exist in some nations. Forgive me for flag waving, but having the most powerful country in the history of mankind that promotes "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" has some advantages to the entire world that we should not be so willing to surrender. Even our right to disagree with each other without fear of retaliation is something we should not take for granted.
The example of gasoline has the added factor that OPEC can control prices simply by choosing to cut back on production. There is no real oil shortage, only of shortage of people with control of the oil. We do have a lousy energy policy to begin with, so I agree that oil price increases may be a good thing in the long run to get our dependency removed from it. But lets not lose sight of the fact that as powerful as the US is, we could simply take the oil we wanted. The world knows that will never happen. Why? Because this nation is populated by a people with a moral compass founded on principles expressed in our constitution, and have enough say in the way the government runs to prevent it. Anyone who does not think this to be important should look at our involvement in Iraq. Whether you agree or disagree with the US, the american people have begun to assert themselves in a way that will eventually lead to our withdrawal, for better or worse.
If you think that it does not matter who the major economic power in the world is, I would have to disagree with you. With regards to the solutions, there is a greatr paradigm shift that has to occur in America before the necessary changes get made, and unfortunately that change probably begins at Wall Street. Promoting engineering as a profession only works if engineering is indeed, a better profession to be in than the ones that our prospective students are running to, and US business and government has not helped our cause in that matter with its short term focus on profit over longevity.
Julian Schmoke.
Ron,
My concern with the lack of US dominance has less to do with our standard of living and more to do with where we stand militarily because there is a connection between the two. A lot of people like to "hate" America, and we have not always been correct in the way we have involved ourselves in world affairs, but people want to forget the good things that America has done and hopefully will continue to do. I don't have to give everyone a history lesson on US involvement in WW1 and WW2, and our role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having been to Taiwan and reading the weekly rhetoric being exchanged between that small island and China I have no doubt that they would have been swallowed up by China by now were it not for the US. Israel might not exist as a nation anymore without US support. We are not perfect, but the US is still the place of choice to live for many people in the world. We should not have to apologize for that or feel guilty about that. Instead, as a nation we try to promote capitalism and democracy a a way of life to other nations over such alternatives as communism, socialism, dictatorships, etc.
I also reject the notion that the US standard of living has to drop in order for the world's standard of living to increase. There are also some pretty low standards of living in isolated pockets of the US and very some high standards of living is some less developed countries. What the US has is a way of government that allows people who are willing to work for it a chance to pursue prosperity that simply does not exist in some nations. Forgive me for flag waving, but having the most powerful country in the history of mankind that promotes "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" has some advantages to the entire world that we should not be so willing to surrender. Even our right to disagree with each other without fear of retaliation is something we should not take for granted.
The example of gasoline has the added factor that OPEC can control prices simply by choosing to cut back on production. There is no real oil shortage, only of shortage of people with control of the oil. We do have a lousy energy policy to begin with, so I agree that oil price increases may be a good thing in the long run to get our dependency removed from it. But lets not lose sight of the fact that as powerful as the US is, we could simply take the oil we wanted. The world knows that will never happen. Why? Because this nation is populated by a people with a moral compass founded on principles expressed in our constitution, and have enough say in the way the government runs to prevent it. Anyone who does not think this to be important should look at our involvement in Iraq. Whether you agree or disagree with the US, the american people have begun to assert themselves in a way that will eventually lead to our withdrawal, for better or worse.
If you think that it does not matter who the major economic power in the world is, I would have to disagree with you. With regards to the solutions, there is a greatr paradigm shift that has to occur in America before the necessary changes get made, and unfortunately that change probably begins at Wall Street. Promoting engineering as a profession only works if engineering is indeed, a better profession to be in than the ones that our prospective students are running to, and US business and government has not helped our cause in that matter with its short term focus on profit over longevity.
Julian Schmoke.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Globalization
In response to what actions can we take to prepare our students for the next century as shown in Shift happens
http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift/
I do not often chime in, but this is a good occasion for me to throw in my two cents, some may agree with me, others may not - but hopefully I'll offer some good ideas with real actions that we, as a community, can do now.
- The question is not if America will lose its economic leadership, but more of a question of when. Most of us in the US view this as some potential terrible event - but in reality many nations that do not dominate offer a solid quality of life and standard of living. In the US there will still always be an educated and affluent portion of the population. Loss of our economic dominance will not affect these people as much as it will affect those at the lower ends of the economic ladder as the overall population will no longer be able to afford to sustain programs that help support them.
- In the talk of globalization, this presentation is very US centered. The very presentation carries an attitude that permeates the narrow minded view that most in the US has. What is really changing is the global standard of living. If the US standard of living must drop (for us 300 million) for the standard of living of the remaining billions to increase - is this a good or bad thing? We do see the effects of this daily - competition for gasoline has driven the price of gas up in our country (likely to $4 / gallon by summer's end). It may even force a percentage of American's to (gasp) purchase more gas efficient vehicles to maintain their travel habits or worse (gasp) change those habits. But again - is this a bad thing, and engineer could easily argue that higher gas prices now are a good thing, as they will force us to consider conservation measures, push us to national policy of better energy independence, and force technology to meet the need. And all this will happen!
over a period of time that will allow us to react - rather than push the inevitable crisis back in time - giving us less time to prepare.
- So what can we do ?
1. Bring these topics up in class in front of our students. They are the ones that will be the most affected, we owe it to them to know what they are facing.
2. Create competitions, sponsor workshops and conferences, and do what we can to address these issues. There are answers to many of these questions.
3. Make friends with these new global partners. Have abroad programs, student exchanges, faculty exchanges, etc...
4. Change our curriculum and keep it current (I'm only going to pop this bag of worms open a little)
5. Globalize our curriculum and introduce current affairs. (try polling your students by a show of hands on any current affair - you will be surprised)
6. Introduce Information Fluency and ability to process and use information as a foundation of the curriculum (yes this can be done).
7. As engineers and technologists get involved in the other classes from other disciplines, the skills from these classes will actually be the students edge.
8. Incorporate business and specifically international business into our students curriculum.
I'm sure there are many other things we do - and we are not the first folks to recognize that we must react to make our students competitive in this new world.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift/
I do not often chime in, but this is a good occasion for me to throw in my two cents, some may agree with me, others may not - but hopefully I'll offer some good ideas with real actions that we, as a community, can do now.
- The question is not if America will lose its economic leadership, but more of a question of when. Most of us in the US view this as some potential terrible event - but in reality many nations that do not dominate offer a solid quality of life and standard of living. In the US there will still always be an educated and affluent portion of the population. Loss of our economic dominance will not affect these people as much as it will affect those at the lower ends of the economic ladder as the overall population will no longer be able to afford to sustain programs that help support them.
- In the talk of globalization, this presentation is very US centered. The very presentation carries an attitude that permeates the narrow minded view that most in the US has. What is really changing is the global standard of living. If the US standard of living must drop (for us 300 million) for the standard of living of the remaining billions to increase - is this a good or bad thing? We do see the effects of this daily - competition for gasoline has driven the price of gas up in our country (likely to $4 / gallon by summer's end). It may even force a percentage of American's to (gasp) purchase more gas efficient vehicles to maintain their travel habits or worse (gasp) change those habits. But again - is this a bad thing, and engineer could easily argue that higher gas prices now are a good thing, as they will force us to consider conservation measures, push us to national policy of better energy independence, and force technology to meet the need. And all this will happen!
over a period of time that will allow us to react - rather than push the inevitable crisis back in time - giving us less time to prepare.
- So what can we do ?
1. Bring these topics up in class in front of our students. They are the ones that will be the most affected, we owe it to them to know what they are facing.
2. Create competitions, sponsor workshops and conferences, and do what we can to address these issues. There are answers to many of these questions.
3. Make friends with these new global partners. Have abroad programs, student exchanges, faculty exchanges, etc...
4. Change our curriculum and keep it current (I'm only going to pop this bag of worms open a little)
5. Globalize our curriculum and introduce current affairs. (try polling your students by a show of hands on any current affair - you will be surprised)
6. Introduce Information Fluency and ability to process and use information as a foundation of the curriculum (yes this can be done).
7. As engineers and technologists get involved in the other classes from other disciplines, the skills from these classes will actually be the students edge.
8. Incorporate business and specifically international business into our students curriculum.
I'm sure there are many other things we do - and we are not the first folks to recognize that we must react to make our students competitive in this new world.
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