One of the amazing things about a market-based economy is that it provides two different, essential things at once: goods and services we need and/or want, and the distribution of income and wealth to those participating in production so that they might purchase those goods and services. The former is about productivity of the economy, while the latter is about the ability of people to earn purchasing power and a living.
Over the years, there has been debate as to whether economic
recovery and growth and prosperity are driven by production of goods and
services (the supply side) or the purchasing of those goods and services by
those to whom income and wealth has been distributed (the demand side).
But there is another
reason to consider those two sides of the economy—a reason critical to the
future of our nation or any nation. While much of our economy can be thought of
as primarily income and wealth distributing (allowing people to earn a
living—demand side), it is in our best interest to consider a few key
industries in our economy as primarily goods and services producing (supply
side), when the supply of those goods and services is understood to be critical
to the future or stability of our nation.
Our future does not depend on the quality of the hamburgers
we eat, the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, and a wide range of other
consumable goods. Considering and developing those industries as primarily
playing an important income and wealth distribution role—providing jobs— (and
thereby contributing to demand for goods and services) can make sense.
But there are other key industries in which jobs should not
be the focus, because they are producing something that is essential to our
future—the supply side must be the focus without respect for the distribution
of wealth if we are to achieve optimal results in these critical industries.
Defense is already understood to be such an industry because
if we are not able to defend ourselves we may no longer exist as a nation.
Education must be thought of similarly. In fact, it is the
foundation for all other industries, and much more.
Education and our Democracy
It has long been recognized that a successful democracy is not possible without an educated population. As Thomas Jefferson put it,
I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.
Or, more succinctly,
“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their
own government.”
Even the late Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize winning free-market economist from the University of Chicago, not known for his support of government spending, supported education as an appropriate use of public funds, stating,
A stable and democratic society is impossible without widespread acceptance of some common set of values and without a minimum degree of literacy and knowledge on the part of most citizens. Education contributes to both.
Each of us gets one vote. It is in the interest of all that
the vast majority of voters are well educated and well informed so that they
are able to understand data and critically consider policy choices and
candidates.
Education and our Economy
Education is equally critical to the success of a market-driven economy for three reasons:
1. Knowledge drives productivity and global competitiveness, and therefore our standard of living,
2. Only widespread access to education will ensure that all of us are employable, resulting in the distribution of income and wealth throughout the population, and,
3. Better
educated consumers can make better informed choices, which, as discussed in
previous chapters, drive decisions about how to use resources in a
market-driven economy.
Research over time consistently shows that education is the
gateway to a wide array of economic benefits to individuals and society,
including
•
Lower poverty rates
•
Lower unemployment rates
•
Lower levels of public assistance needed
•
Higher tax payments
•
Better overall health (reducing health care
costs)
•
Higher rates of volunteerism (part of the
informal economy), and
•
Higher rates of educational attainment—levels of
education attained by one generation drive levels of education attained by
offspring, perpetuating all of the above.
And yet, we see overwhelming statistical and
anecdotal evidence that our educational system is failing our students and our
society. This is not to blame teachers, who often arrive at 6:30 AM and leave
around 3:30 PM, work in really challenging and sometimes dangerous
environments, and often take home stacks of papers to grade at night,
I believe there are three main issues that have put our
education system in jeopardy.
The first is related to teacher pay. I have heard Catholics
speak of those in religious orders focused on K-12 teaching (mostly nuns) as
having been the “living endowment” of the Catholic schools because, until about
fifty years ago, they generally provided their services at little cost to the
schools as part of their service to their orders, thereby making quality
education available at a very low cost. Likewise, K-12 teaching was and still
is often done by “secondary earners”, mostly women, who have prioritized
flexibility of schedules, and have therefore been willing to accept lower
salaries. These and other factors have resulted in the fact that teacher
salaries have been, and still are, lower than the salaries of those in other
professions with the same academic qualifications and experience. To the extent
that salaries signal priorities of a society and also provide incentives to
draw our best talent, low salaries are not consistent with high quality
education.
A second issue is that the percent of families with children
in which all parents are working has increased dramatically (from around 20% to
around 70%) over the past 70 years. This shift in time spent has changed the
childhood experience. Ask any long-time teacher, and they will tell you that
they spend much more time “parenting” than they once did, which draws time and
energy from teaching their subjects.
A third issue is that our
school funding model resources schools in a way that is the opposite of what
one would do if planning for success at a macro level: since most funding comes
from local taxes, wealthy communities, which can afford—and, understanding the
impact, are willing— to pay more per student, are better resourced than poor
communities. Though the latter get additional funding from state and federal
resources, it’s generally not enough, especially given that students in poor
communities may actually need more resources to achieve at the same level as
students from wealthier communities. So planning for national success would
suggest poor communities should spend more per student, but our funding model
means they are generally spending less.
Given the importance of education to our democracy and our
economy, I believe that we need to identify education as the strategically
critical industry it is and prioritize the success of students above all else.
We need to dedicate ourselves to improving education as if our lives depended
on it.
Yes and,
The issues above must be addressed.
But several life-changing developments in recent years can contribute to
delivering on a commitment to excellence in education. Those developments
include,
• Profoundly advanced understanding of how the brain works and how people learn: Brain scans, for instance, allow researchers to track brain activity during learning to pinpoint practices that promote expertise, and our understanding of micro-expressions can also be used to help understand how and if students learn. I believe these will be used to significantly improve education.
• Radically new technologies to empower learners and enable learning: Simulators, virtual laboratories, interactive case studies, and an endless array of digital resources and best practices are available to motivate learners and hep them do everything from learning and drilling basic skills to achieving deep and expert knowledge. Recent developments in generative AI significantly advance those possibilities, with Khan Academy and others building personalized AI tutors and other resources that truly can, as Khan Academy’s mission suggests, “provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.” Sal Khan’s book, Brave New Words gives a good sense of the possibilities.
•
Developing
understanding of the role of character and virtues in learning: Research is
teaching us that character traits such as self-control, perseverance, gratitude
and optimism may be as important as intellect in predicting success in school
and careers. Methods of measuring these traits are being developed, which is
helping researchers identify strategies for strengthening them—and student
success. Character Strengths and Virtues,
by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, as well as Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth,
are valuable reading on this.
I was happy to join Lee Elci on his radio show Tuesday morning to talk about the importance of education to our country and ways we might improve it. A copy of the recording of our conversation is athttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1pRDFdZpb77EeOoDgkpddd5Cd20fgEMNV/view?usp=drive_link
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