High-Tech Blinders
'New economy' doesn't mean we should streamline our thinking

Just when we think we really know, just when we’re certain we can predict the future, something comes along to surprise us. So it was with the recent Concorde disaster.

Developed in the mid-1970s, the super sleek jet was a marvel. Airlines were said to be delaying orders for new subsonic aircraft, believing Concorde technology would take over the industry.

What came to pass instead was consumer choice that focused not on speed but on comfort, something the Concorde lacked. The marvel faded in significance as a result, with the recent crash sealing its fate.

My point in addressing this is to offer a reminder: No matter how confident we are that we’ve developed the formula for success, none of us can really know what awaits us in the long term. At best, we can only take an educated guess and avoid paralysis by at least doing something. Looking critically at what we’re about these days, however, could lead to some minor, but significant, adjustments.

This brings to mind a currently favorite topic among educators, business owners and policy makers: workforce development. Train people to succeed in the new economy and our communities and state will prosper, the thinking goes.

I’m very much in favor of workforce development, of course. But my preference would be for terminology that focuses more on educating an individual than on the chilling concept of developing a worker as if it were a step-by-step construction process. As John Gardner pointed out in Self-Renewal: We are in danger of “giving our young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.”

Then again, I’d have a tidy sum accumulated if I only had a quarter for every time I’ve heard a beleaguered parent bemoan the fact that his child had no better sense than to get a liberal arts education – as opposed to learning a skill or trade that could have led to gainful employment.

Is it really that simple? Or are we oversimplifying what we think will be required for success in this new century – foregoing the classics and a love of learning for its own sake to instead be practical and career-oriented?

Much of this thinking undoubtedly results from Kentucky’s current lack of engineering and technology talent. No question, this is a problem for the state.

But maybe the answer is more complex than shifting our educational process to focus on producing high-tech graduates. Maybe there is room for all kinds of education, the kinds that result in a well-rounded, “thinking” citizenry.

The key attributes of people who succeed in the modern economy mirror those needed for successful community building: eclectic thinking, team orientation and an ability to thrive in the midst of uncertainty. A recent Business Week essay noted that the ideal course of study would be economics with liberal doses of psychology, foreign language and philosophy. Remember: This is a world where a typical 32-year-old will have changed jobs nine times – learning new skills at every stop along the way.

Having and being able to use technology skills will be important, of course, but those skills should be taught alongside more traditional courses of study. The two are not mutually exclusive. Successful schools in Kentucky have shown that early instruction in music and art improves students’ math and analytical skills. And it isn’t a coincidence that writing skills suffer when the reading of great literature declines.

Well-rounded individuals make better workers – and better civic leaders.

And, as with individuals, it is important that our communities and state recognize the value of crafting a future that incorporates “education” from multiple sources. Yes, we need to move quickly to catch up and keep up with other states in the education-driven new economy. But we also should be mindful of our reservoirs of strength – the richness of our culture, literature and music, the unique nature of our communities and our people.

The complexity of the times will not permit a simple solution to our problems. So, bring on the engineers, the scientists and the high-tech workers – and the training and educational tools required to produce them. We need it all. But we also need the well-rounded, educated citizens whose thinking will direct our steps as we work to build and sustain success for all Kentuckians and the communities they call home.

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