Did You Know?

I won't lie--I felt a little nervous after watching this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI

The video is called "Did You Know?" and it basically shows how other countries will surpass us in the upcoming years, in regards to technology, intelligence, labor, standard of living, etc. Friedman's book also makes me a bit frightened, but the statistics used in this video really creeped me out. Or maybe it was just the dramatic music that gave the video such a scary effect.

Statistics that creeped me out:

According to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, the top ten jobs that will be in demand in 2010 didn't exist in 2004.

For students starting a four-year technical or college degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world.

And, I think Friedman would freak out the most over this one:

If you took every single job in the United States today and shipped it to China, it still would have a labor surplus.

Clearly, education needs to kick itself up a few knotches in order to match these predictions. Our country now has great competition because of this flattening world. We are no longer a powerhouse, but we must meet these challenges we face.

To tackle this, it starts in the classroom. We have to prepare students for jobs that don't exist against people from other countries, not necessarily a student from Texas. Not only do we have increased competition, but with so much available and rapidly changing information, we need to keep re-educating ourselves in our field of study. Thus, these self-learning skills must be taught at a young age so we can sustain them over a lifetime.

Perhaps I feel a bit helpless from this video, but I hope the statistics are more dramatic than they appear.