This was a very interesting article by Friedman. I agree with a lot of the points he made in the article. One thing I strongly agree with is that we need to let other countries fight their own battles (Friedman, 2010). It makes absolutely no since for the US to attempt to rid a country of terrorism if the the countries leaders don't put forth any effort. Don't get me wrong, I agree that those who took part in 9/11 and other terrorist attacks on the US should be pursued and punished, but the job is done, we need to get our troops out of there.
Friedman also made another good observation that I agree with. He said the war on terror would bankrupt us, and that is exactly what is happening. The amount of money we have spent on the war on terror has prohibited need funds for our education system. This is a huge part to blame for us falling behind in the global economy which is becoming saturated with jobs that focus on STEM.
What can we do? First of all we need to get our government to pump money into our education system that will allow us to focus on STEM related education. We need to train teachers, especially elementary teachers, in ways to incorporate STEM focused lessons. Students need to be exposed to STEM at a young age because it promotes both critical thinking and problem solving skills (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). I also feel that incentives need to offered to teachers who teach STEM related subjects, and also to those who pursue STEM related degrees in college, and to those who have STEM related jobs.
If the fact that we are rapidly falling behind in the competitiveness of the global economy is not motivation enough to get it together, then I don't know what is.
Hi Jamal,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment and thougts on the article that we read. I also think that you have some great ideas on how we can fund our education and STEM education. You are correct, we need to pull out of the war, and keep ourselves out of everyone else's business and worry about our own country. The war and foreign aid is bankrupting us, and even though I am not quite sure of a solution or what stopping foreign aid will do or what the ramifications will be, we need to figure out something fast. We need to stimulate our economy and our education system before it is to late.