kitchen table math, the sequel: Race Between Education and Technology

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Race Between Education and Technology

The book is out. These are major academics, fyi.

Excerpt here. (pdf file)


blurb:
Table of Contents

Part I: Economic Growth and Distribution
1. The Human Capital Century
2. Inequality across the Twentieth Century
3. Skill-biased Technological Change

Part II: Education for the Masses in Three Transformations
4. The Origins of the Virtues
5. Economic Foundations of the High School Movement
6. America's Graduation from High School
7. Mass Higher Education in the Twentieth Century

Part III. The Race
8. The Race between Education and Technology
9. How America Once Led and Can Win the Race for Tomorrow

related: public confidence in the schools
In the early 1970s, not only did most Americans believe that the public schools were functioning reasonably well, a sizable majority of adults thought that public education had actually improved since they were kids. Today, only a small minority of Americans share this optimistic view. Instead, the majority now believes that schools have gotten significantly worse. Fully half of all Americans are dissatisfied with America’s public education system, a deep concern shared by black and white parents alike.

The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke
by Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi


It looks to me as if public confidence in the schools declined at the same time Goldin and Katz find public education no longer keeping pace with developing technology -- and no longer serving to decrease inequality.


Steve Levitt summarizes The Race in 2 sentences
Jimmy graduates

The anemic response of skill investment to skill premium growth
The declining American high school graduation rate: Evidence, sources, and consequences
Pushy parents raise more successful kids

The Race Between Education and Technology book review
The Race Between Ed & Tech: excerpt & TOC & SAT scores & public loss of confidence in the schools
The Race Between Ed & Tech: the Great Compression
the Great Compression, part 2
ED in '08: America's schools
comments on Knowledge Schools
the future
the stick kids from mud island
educated workers and technology diffusion
declining value of college degree
Goldin, Katz and fans
best article thus far: Chronicle of Higher Education on The Race
Tyler Cowan on The Race (NY Times)
happiness inequality down...
an example of lagging technology diffusion in the U.S.

the Times reviews The Race, finally
IQ, college, and 2008 election
Bloomington High School & "path dependency"
the election debate that should have been

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Considering the "Race Between Education and Technology" brings me back to wondering about educational research and development.

Is it marketing, or is it "scientific" research?

It seems me that textbook companies have a strangle hold on the content that our children have an opportunity to learn.

I'm looking forward to the day when ideas like this

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/05/07/36patton.h27.html?tmp=1226035318

will gain public support.


Of course, the textbook companies have anticipated this as well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk

Does anyone else find this remotely disturbing?

Catherine Johnson said...

Haven't seen YouTube but from where I sit textbooks are starting to look pretty good.

My school is en route to complete "reform": instead of teaching the liberal arts disciplines, we'll explore the interdisciplines; instead of libraries filled with books, we'll have libraries filled with computers; and instead of textbooks we'll have Google.

Things can always be worse.

Cardinal rule.

(Not to argue with your point - you're right. I've finally realized I'm not playing offense; I'm lucky if I get to play defense. Remember that great South Park episode about elections?? The one where the choice was between the giant douche bag and the turd sandwich?")

So far, I strongly prefer a textbook - including a mediocre textbook - to Google.

Instructivist said...

I watched the YouTube video concerned linked.

Barf Alert!

It should come with a warning: Watch with barf bag at the ready.

I would summarize the message of the talking guru heads as: Create creative ignoramuses for as-yet unkown 21th century skills.