US Competitiveness...

...was the subject of an article I read recently in the Denver Post. The op ed piece entitled "The Jetsons vs. the Flintstones", written by Thomas Friedman from the New York Times, continued to make the case of the need for a higher sense of urgency by educators everywhere (as well as the rest of society).

Friedman interviewed Paul Otellini, the chief executive of Intel, the microchip maker, as he was discussing American competitiveness. Intel is just completing their newest semiconductor factory in China and they were discussing why in China...

Friedman says; "These local incentives matter (tax breaks in other countries that make expansion there and not in the US inevitable), because smart, skilled labor is everywhere now. Intel can thrive today - not just survive - and never hire another American. Asked if his company was being held back by weak science and math education in America's K-12 schools, Otellini explained: "As a citizen, I hate it. As a global employer, I have the luxury of hiring the best engineers anywhere on earth. If I can't get them out of MIT, I'll get them out of Tsing Hua," Beijing's MIT."

Friedman continues; "It gets worse...study also measured what they call 'the rate of change in innovation capacity' over the last decade - in effect, how much countries were doing to make themselves more innovative for the future. The study relied on 16 different metrics of human capital - IT infrastructure, economic performance and so on. On this scale, the U.S. ranked dead last out of the same 40 nations...When you take a hard look at the things that make any country competitive...we are slipping."

You are probably asking yourself why does this matter to the students and staff of the Sibley-Ocheyedan CSD? You might even be saying; Supt Herzberg sounds like Chicken Little and needs to understand that the sky really isn't falling... Well, I believe that this does impact the work that we do with your children...as educators we must continue to look toward the horizon to see if what we are doing is enough to prepare our future leaders for their future, not our past. I know this is uncomfortable for many people as school is different than when you were a child...but what place in society isn't? Hasn't technology and innovation disrupted every other occupation or walk of life in our society?

We must move forward to make sure that your children are ready to meet the challenges of the world head on! I want what is best for your children and will do everything in my power to make this happen. Our staff is working hard at making some changes to the instruction that happens in their classrooms and we need your support to meet these new challenges.

Think about the article that I have mentioned above and let me know what you think of our efforts to really make a difference for our students!

Have a great day,

Supt Herzberg