Reflecting back on The World Is Flat, I think about so much that is going on in respect to technological globalization and how I was unaware of it. I really enjoyed reading the book because of all the information that I discovered. I am all for change and growth, but one of the developments as a result of the flattening I do question. This would be the fact that jobs are being taken from us here at home because labor is cheaper overseas does not sit well with me. I understand the reasoning behind it, but personally I do not agree with it. Friedman states in his book that even though the jobs are outsourced, those companies are using products made right here so that, in turn, supports our economy. I ask, "What happens when those countries begin to develop their own products so they don't have to purchase ours?" Just a thought. Automation and outsourcing has taken plenty of jobs away from the low-skilled workers. Due to this, in education we are being pushed to push all students to reach higher standards. All students are not the same. There are students that may never reach those standards simply because they do not possess the intellectual ability to perform. We need to teach our students to think and not just give back memorized facts. The world needs creative minds for new ideas.
The flat world has already affected us in the ways I mentioned. As an educational leader one must prepare their students to function successfully in this flat world. We need to teach them to think creatively. If they possess these skills, their job cannot be duplicated by a computer and therefore not outsourced. Sometimes as an educator I feel like the "child left behind", in that technology has hit us fast and hard but I missed out on it. This technology class has opened up my eyes to the opportunities available to us to make our jobs more convenient. Technology use by students is important but schools and parents need to teach their children basic skills. One will always have to read, write, and compute on a daily basis. I feel this has been pushed to the back burner partially because of the influx of technology. I agree with Friedman that parents need to push their children to be hard workers. Most students today simply want to just get by. We need to push them to be creative thinkers.
This book is definitely high on my list of books to recommend to others to read. I was a bit overwhelmed by what I have missed out on and this book really taught me plenty.
