photo credit: GeneC55

Robert X. Cringely writes about technology for PBS. He is a veteran of the industry, and he provides some great insight into the inner workings of the tech industry. His weekly column, ‘The Pulpit’, is a great read for anyone interested in tech news. His March 28, 2008 column was a departure from his usual fare. It is a great article about the present and future state of the American education system.

Let’s consider for a moment what many readers will find to be a politically incorrect position: because of cheap computers and the Internet, the ability to solve problems ad hoc has become more efficient than teaching kids about problems and issues that will never face them. As a result, the United States has let itself become less competitive by putting so much money into a product (a kid) making both its cost and its ability globally uncompetitive. So, instead of putting more effort into making globally competitive products, we put more effort into blaming those who are smarter at using technology that was mostly invented here.

If the idea is to give everyone a nice comfortable pension, if the same money invested each year in a typical kid’s education was instead invested in an IRA, it would give that kid a very comfortable living upon reaching age 65.

Well this is a terrible position to take, don’t you think? It treats our children like capital goods and denies them any ability to excel, dooming them to mediocrity.

Really?

You should check it out, it’s pretty thought-provoking.

Update: During my late night writing activity, I realized I didn’t provide a link to the article being discussed. Go read the article here: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2008/pulpit_20080328_004611.html

Carry on…