The World is Flat

Thomas Friedman’s book about the convergence of technologies changing the nature of
the world has been revised three times since it was published early in 2005. The ‘flattening’ Friedman refers to is the leveling of the economic ‘playing field’ between the developed west and the growing powers of rapidly developing economies like India and China. ‘Flattening’ is characterized by faster communication worldwide, the development of alternative ways of sourcing and producing goods and services, and the shifting of expertise to a mobile and highly educated cadre of knowledge workers from the second world. During the past eight years, most of the effort in education has been focused on
the tool of literacy as if it were the reason that the United States was falling behind
economically and technically. Friedman points out that the lead the United States had in producing engineers during the post Sputnik years has evaporated and that we are actually not keeping up with the demand for highly trained STEM workers. The average age of practicing engineers in the US is over 50, while India is turning out tens of thousands of highly qualified engineers every year. No Child Left Behind has sucked the air out of any efforts to prioritize science in elementary schools, even though this is a critical period for students becoming excited about career paths. I recommend every STEM educator read The World is Flat (ed 3) and try to get the information in this book disseminated to administrators and colleagues ASAP.

Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005-7. ISBN 978-0-312-42507-4

The Climate Change 'Debate'

As an Earth Science teacher for many years before becoming involved in elementary science, I have always been interested in long term climate change. I have steered away from the term 'global warming' and have shuddered when the term 'greenhouse effect' was used to describe insolation trapping gases. I am a fan of James Lovelock and his 'Gaia' feedback mechanisms, which make the issue of climate change more complex but still understandable in a fundamental way. The political issue revolves around whether humans are in some way responsible for climate change, and therefore obligated to put it right. I don't care for that reasoning, because even if we do make a short term change, the global feedback mechanisms will correct those changes in non-human time scales. But, this begs the question of whether humankind should pillage fossil fuel resources, terraform for precious metals, and produce radioactive waste for our own short term excesses. In the US, it is clear that the consumption path is not a good economic choice, and beyond that, the impact on daily city life of carbon pollution may spoil the Olympics in China. It is rather self serving to suggest that climate change isn't an issue: us humans need to respect that we are 1. part of a greater bio/geochemical system 2. in need of the flexibility to change our lifestyles to accommodate cooling or warming 3. in need of greater understanding of climate feedback systems like el Nino/la Nina 4. becoming ignorant of the basic sciences necessary to deal with changing weather and climate. As a teacher of elementary students, I feel it is more important to give them the tools to understand weather and climate than to burden them with the politics of the issue. Climate variability has been a culture changing event for the Anasazi, North Africans, Romans, Vikings, Easter Islanders, and potentially many other groups. Climate change is a historical and present reality which needs our student's attention free from pay per view polemics and popular hype. The 'debate' is over how society should behave with regard to using resources: do we use them sparingly and in a respectful manner for the benefit of future generations, or do we justify their exploitation for immediate consumption with little regard for any future humans or other living things on Earth?

'No brainer' for me.

Teaching Climate Change

Now that the IPCC has cleared much of the smog from the climate change stage, moving it from debate to issue status, its time for US schools to begin the process of integrating weather and climate change into our curricula. The developmental window for this is upper elementary school, when students are beginning to become interested and aware of the greater world. California has already begun the process of developing materials for elementary teachers, and the UK has one of the best sites for teachers and kids on the topic of climate change (http://www.climatechoices.org.uk/index.htm). The teachable moment for this effort is as early as possible, allowing for later challenges and enhancements in middle and high school curricula. The goal of climate education is not to strike fear in the hearts of our students, but to give them knowledge and tools for understanding the tasks which lie ahead for them as citizens of the world. Learning about climate requires observation, data collection, math analysis, graphical interpretation, and geography to name a few related topics. These are not static skills, but tools which can be used in teaching and learning science throughout the K-12 experience. I call upon the educational leaders in our public and independent institutions to incorporate climate change and weather studies in their science curriculum frameworks.