home

=Change: The Classroom to the World=

=
America is certainly a wealthy country, but is it too wealthy? Research is now beginning to reveal the high status lives American's lead compared to other countries, but will this high status living cause problems? In the novel [|////A Whole New Mind////] by [|Daniel Pink] he suggests that it will cause problems, but they are solvable problems. The issues he presents in his novel are Asia, Abundance, and Automation. Asia is reffering to the outsourcing that many, if not all the Fortune 500 companies do as well as some of the smaller companies in today's age. The companies no longer just outsource labor intensive industrial work, but also intellectual, white collar work. Pink explains that hospitals can send X-Rays across the globe to allow someone else to view them and send back the results. Tax corporations also can outsource their accounting to India and Japan, thereby saving money. Pink's automation is the idea of computers and technology that can think faster than humans and do what is considered unimaginable. The greatest brains in American society are now the second greatest with the new, constantly changing world of automation. And abundance is just as much. Abundance is the shear amount of products that sit on the shelves of every major store. Items that we don't need but can have because of competition from comparable items brings the prices down. Abundance is the reason that we have malls and wholesale stores such as Costco, Walmart, and Sam's Club. The three forces are allowing companies to exceed, but they are shutting down jobs across the nation. Even though this is clearly affecting the business world of Americans' lives; Asia, Abundance, and Automation will soon also affect school classrooms. Judging from Daniel Pink's, A Whole New Mind, Asia, Abundance, and Automation will shape how and what students will learn.======

=
The continent [|Asia] has become a major aspect of every person's life in the United States whether they realize it or not. Nearly every piece of clothing being worn in today's age was manufactured some where in Asia. The technology in cell phones, televisions, laptops and just about every other item in the United States was not manufactured in the United States, but in Asia. Some of the technology may have even been developed and created in Asia and other countries. When you break your leg, your doctor may not even look at your X-Ray. Instead it may be sent overseas for another doctor to look at it. Companies still need the brainiacs to do all the hardcore number crunching, but they no longer need greedy, and stuck up Americans to do it. They can now send the data over to India and get the results for only a fraction of the price; which in many of those countries, the income of the outsourcers are typically well above the average income of many of the citizens in that country. "The computer programming they do, while not the most sophisticated that multinational companies need, is the sort of work that until recently was done almost exclusively in the United States-and that provided comfortable white-collar salaries of upward of $70,000 a year. Now twenty-five-year-old Indians are doing it-just as well, if not better; just as fast, if not faster- for the wages of a Taco Bell counter Jockey" (Pink, 37). What will this change in the classroom? Now, instead of having math and science classes, schools will focus on creative classes like writing and other arts. These subjects focusing on one-way formulas to find the solution will be changed and adjusted to fit a changing America where a number-cruncher will not be needed. Instead they need a person to develop the programs that will replace mathematicians that are taking the jobs of everyday Americans. The new American school child will have to learn a completely new dynamic of learning only known to people who have thought outside the former technical path to success in the United States. The children will need to learn math and science at a different level adding a creative side to it. These children will have to think outside the box find new ways to impress and create new ideas that a supercomputer media type="youtube" key="BH8X8w8a4f4" height="385" width="480"cannot do and that can not be outsourced. In other words, Asia is punching creativity out of the overweight bodies of Americans. Now in order to adjust to these blows, the nation will have to prepare those who will be in charge in the future, not the present. That is why it is all up to what goes on in the classroom. Will the students of today continue to learn common math, science, and other common skills? Or will they focus on the liberal arts, and propel themselves to success in the future? The common math, science and basic left brain function will still be essential for the children to grow and improve. However for their success liberal arts and creativity will be necessary for their advancement; if they want to have a successful future in the United States. The Chief Executive Officer of a paper company in Wisconsin said, "We can compete and create great American jobs, but not without off shoring” (Prlog). These new jobs that will be created by this paper company will not be left brained based. Jobs like that are the ones that need and have to be shipped over seas. There is a formula to those jobs, one that a person in China, India or any other country that does a large amount of Outsourcing . These formulated based jobs are the same as the jobs done in the Industrial Age. Originally they were new and better, but then came the assembly line and the new and better became something that could be done anywhere in the world. The children of America could move with these jobs and work for practically nothing or they could change there entire thought process. There is no longer an opportunity for hesitation to make the change. The new United States without formula jobs could be one of the most prosperous societies in history but the children must understand the way of thinking. The teachers will have to teach at higher level, making learning more interesting but also adding in an element not focused on in the passed. They will have to incorporate design and creativity while keeping it fun. This will change the students learning and it will potentially change their future carreer path. If Americans want to succeed in the future, they will have to learn in school to be creative and think outside the box, or the job they choose will be shipped to Asia.======

=
Abundance has become a major factor in American's modern day society. According to [|Dictionary.com] abundance is “an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply”(Dictionary.com). For just a few examples of America’s abundance one needs to look no further than [|Mindfully.org]: "Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy. On average, one American consumes as much energy as: 2 Japanese, 6 Mexicans, 13 Chinese, 31 Indians, 128 Bangladeshis, 307 Tanzanians, 370 Ethiopians.” Also “Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.” And if that’s not bad enough “Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily [and] The average American generates 52 tons of garbage by age 75.” Not only are Americans energy and food wasters but “The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on 25 gallons” (Mindfully.org.). Because of abundance, which these previous facts have proven true, Pink claims that “…it’s no longer enough to create a product that’s reasonably priced and adequately functional. It must also be beautiful, unique, and meaningful…” (Pink, 33). One troubling fact that was left out earlier was that “There are more shopping malls than high schools.” This is concerning news for many parents. This leads to beliefs that America is more focused on shopping than education. Is this true? As of 2005 there were 15,500 public high schools in existence (Yahoo) whereas Africa has only 6,000 (South Africa). Thats less than half of that in the United States. Now with all of these high schools how does one choose which one to go to? Well, considerring Pink believes humans are moving into the Conceptual Age humans would choose a high school by beauty, style, and design. This is why Pink says "It must be beautiful, unique..." (Pink, 33). This little piece of information equates to thousands, maybe even millions or billions worth of dollars, being spent to make a school visually appealng; however, abundance brings even more change to schools similar to that of Asia. During modern day, or the Information Age as Pink calls it, schools focus a lot on the subjects of Math and Science. Both mainly left brain subjects, but with the Conceptual Age approaching the new "focus" subjects will become Language Arts and Performing Arts. Both mainly right brain subjects. One needs to look no further than [|Arapahoe High School] to see these changes occuring. At Arapahoe one must take 35 credits of Language Arts, and only 16 credits of Math and Science. That means that at Arapahoe in order to graduate a student must take more credits of Language Arts, a right brain subject, than both Math and Science combined, two left brain subjects. With more and more left brain jobs disappearing, these skills will be valuable for sudents in the future. Even though this may be the graduating requirments at Arapahoe, the administration knows that in order to get into a decent college one needs more Math and Science. This just further proves that Arapahoe High School is ahead of the curve and is preparing for the Conceptual Age while other schools are stuck in the Information Age. Now with the focused classes switched to Language Arts and Performing Arts schools must now teach new skills to be successful in a new world. Students must now learn more right brain based skills. To simply put it they need to learn " 'the six senses.' Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning." (PInk 61) These "six senses" are what Pink believes to be the keys to being successful in the future. And everyone wants to be successful right? So these senses will soon need to be taught in high schools to ensure the success of their students in the new world. Now heading into the Conceptual Age people are realizing the waste of materials which leads to the last change in schools due to abundance, conservation. With realization of the wasting, schools will now become more green, more eco friendly, more conservational. One example is to even look at a middle school, [|Powell Middle School]. Here they have installed multiple solar panels to not only cut taxes, but also create their own energy saving money, and the enviroment. Also schools now offer recycling all around America to dispose of recyclable goods such as paper and plastic. In the Conceptual Age schools will be more visually appealing, more focused on Language Arts, and more conservational. Now with technology progressing the final thing that must be taught in a classroom is how to work with the new rising "star," Automation.======

=
During the present time, technology has been introduced that could possibly have a large chance to take over the work people do. From the TED talks in class, to the introduction of new Robotic “Home Helpers”, people can see that they may be out of a job soon because technology is catching up with them.======

media type="youtube" key="eZ8MIAjG8HQ" height="195" width="279"
In many TV shows, for example, //The Office//, there is always a race for a new employee. "'In the old days,' says computer scientist Vernor Vinge, 'Anybody with even routine skills can get a job as a programmer'" (Pink, 44). The mass majority of the time, the employee is young; in their mid to late twenties. It’s easy to see that the new, hip, more efficient way of doing things will always overpower the old, grumpy, no-technology style of work. "Last century, machines proved they could replace human backs. this century, new technologies are proving they can replace human left brains" (Pink, 44). In an article online, there is a story of how a robot is taking over the job of a mother. It cooks, it cleans, it even serves the people. Not only does working come in to sudden death, but childhood as well. How is an adult who never learned how to clean or how to cook food going to be able to live? Well food could come from the microwave but isn’t that a machine? Everywhere, electronics are becoming a huge part of everyone’s life. They are bringing attetntion to people that with the advancement of something as automation, jobs are becoming easier for computers to handle than for humans. To create the technology, however, right minded thinkers have to find new ideas and functions that they could add to a piece of new technology. Right brained people have a big job for the future. They have a responsibility to the world to create new and improved machinery. They have that creative edge that will help them shape the future in their way. The left brainers will have to find a way to either adapt to the new ideas or they won't last long in the right brained world. On October 23, 2001, the very first [|ipod] came out.

=
It basically was a flashdrive with a primative screen that had 5 GBs of space. Nine years later, the same company came out with the ipad. The ipad is a 64 GB computer that has a touch-screen and is capable of gameing, downloading photos, surfing the internet and many more things. If a change like this happened over a short period of only nine years, then what will happen in the next tewnty? As stated in the above paragraph, technology is changing fast and the ipod is only a small portion of a larger uprising of technology. Not far off in the future, computers may be able to write their own software, clean people's houses, or even teach at schools! If left-brained people don't start to change, computers will eventoually take their job. All over, robots and new innovations are changing the way that people live in the world. Now, people can read a book with out even visiting a library. They can take videos and put them out where the world can see it in an afternoon. They can even virtually see images of other planets in 3D (google earth) that only 20 years ago was science fiction. With tecnology advancing at this break-neck pace, left-brainers will be left behind to do small low-paying jobs that computers can do 10,000 times faster while right-brainers become the next Bill Gates. "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation, will magnify the efficiency. the second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency," stated Bill Gates (Brainyquote). The only way to avoid these tragic conquences is to change their methods and maybe even thinking to more right-brained ways.======

Asia, Abundance, and Automation are some of the things that will shape not only society, but also education. It will shape the world int becomng more right brained. Schools will focus more on right brained activities such as art and language arts and less on left brain subjects like science and math. Students will be able to use this new knowledge to aquire right brained jobs in the future, jobs not capable of being outsourced or Automated. With abundance in America, classrooms will use more technology, but still become more energy efficient. Schools will incorperate more design into the layout of the school and classrooms, and into the curriculum. Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind shows how Asia, Abundance, and Automation will shape the future for how, and what students will learn.

Bibliography All About Robotic Surgery. //Surgical Robots//. 5 May 2010. < []>.

Amazon.com. //A Whole New Mind.// 3 May 2010. <[]>.

Arapahoe. //Arapahoe Graduation Requirements.// 7 May 2010. . 0Requirements.pdf>.

Brainyquote. //Automation Quotes//. 14 May 2010. .

Daniel H. Pink. //About Dan Pink.// 3 May 2010.<[]>.

Dictionary.com. //Abundance. 3// May 2010. <[]>.

How Stuff Works. //How X-rays work.// 13 May 2010. .

Mindfully.org. //Consumption by the United States.// 3 May 2010.<[]>.

//New Microsoft Computers//. YouTube, 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 5 May 2010. <[]>.

Pink, Daniel. //A Whole New Mind.// New York: Penguin Group, 2005.

Powell Middle School. //Home of the Pumas.// 9 May 2010. <[]>.

PRLog. //Outsourcing: Pros and Cons.// 6 May 2010. <[]>.

//SmartPal V Cleaning Robot//. YouTube, 28 Dec. 2009. Web. 5 May 2010. < []>.

South Africa.Info. //Education is South Africa.// 3 May 2010. <[]>.

Wikipedia. //Asia.// 12 May 2010. .

Wikipedia. //Liberal Arts.// 12 May 2010. .

Wikipedia. //Outsourcing.// 6 May 2010. <[]>.

WiseGEEK. //Outsourcing. 12// May 2010. .

Yahoo. //How many Schools are in America.// 5 May 2010. <[]>.

Youtube. //Super Computer- World's fastest Water Cooled computer.// 13 May 2010. .