Gutek Chap. 1

I thought the most interesting part of this chapter was "New Economic Centers of Power." I hadn't realized that the recent political issue of jobs in the U.S. being "shipped overseas" would have educational implications. The shift from production industries (iron, steel, cars, even clothing) to service and IT industries has caused a parallel shift in education. In the early 20th century, there were probably special classes and schools devoted to industrial education, such as woodworking and textile manufacturing. Now, those special classes and schools are devoted to business and IT. The same is occurring in South Korea and Japan, where education is probably no longer focused on agricultural aspects but specialized for industry and technology.

I also found it a coincidence that the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to make Americans more competitive against foreignors. The Act has stressed standardized testing and therefore most teachers have focused solely on reading, writing, and math, and left out important subjects such as art, social studies, and foreign language that contribute to having a "global perspective." Professional corporations, which the U.S. economy largely depends on, have strongly encouraged diversity in the last ten years because having employees with different sources of ideas and outlooks (being able to think "out of the box") gives them a potential competitive advantage. It is interesting that the No Child Left Behind Act has actually impeded upon this personal strength from developing in students by limiting their thinking to the basics. Also as Gutek mentioned, corporations are becoming multinational and therefore their employees need to know how to communicate across cultural lines. The only way to learn this effectively is by having an international education from the beginning.