I happen to have researched the development of government support of Education in the United States. Here is a summary.
BTW, the historian in me is shouting to tell you about the times in the last 250 years when governments have recognized the need to support new forms of education. The first two countries to support universal free primary education (grades 1-8: reading, writing, and arithmetic) were North Germany (Prussia, 1768) and the United States (Massachusetts, 1798; Pennsylvania, 1834). This innovation widely recognized as assisting the rapid development of both countries from agricultural to industrial powers. Free public high school became available in the United States between 1870 and 1920, but it wasn’t until 1940 that most Americans were high school graduates. In the 1950s, the federal government began to give serious support to college education. I remember TV shock ads in the 50s that boomed the doom threat, “The closing college doors!” Well, the college doors did not close. The number of college students in the United States rose from 1.5 million in 1940 to 8.6 million in 1970.
So, it’s time for history to repeat itself. It’s time for government to recognize that it must support a new educational opportunity for Americans: Lifetime free and supported job retraining for every American citizen.
Trump has taken away funding for colleges and universities that disagree or say anything derogatory about him. Agree that educational opportunities must be available for lifetime education and job retraining. Maybe let there be free education at the state university level. I like Bernie Sanders' tenacious proposal for free education.
A more educated population would (hopefully) be able to recognize when an imposter comes along and uses thug tactics to mesmerize and bewitch an undiscerning, unthinking public. I know, that right now, a certain age group of people don't bother to read or hear from diverse news sources. They hear selectively, what they want to hear.
And, we'd be better prepared to do something about injustices, cheating and lying and unlawful presidential conduct that is happening right before our open eyes. For us, my husband and me, there can no longer be silence when someone says something so uninformed. Speak up, tactfully, when possible and always reasonably and quietly. And always peacefully. Be informed and understand what is going on. Participate and be actively involved in opposing injustice and inequity. Bring food and provisions to those who need help. Donate to direct young people toward education and training. Help when you see or know about suffering. DEI is not something we should shut our eyes before.
Mr. Bernstein makes an important point, not mentioned often enough, that education beyond K-12 is key to individual and national well being in a highly competitive world.
Coming from academia, i'm not convinced that everyone is suited for higher education. I point to the German system of vocational education and Fraunhofer Institutes as linkage between tech and commercialisation. What a valid question is the use of the existing 12 years of compulsory education and pedagogical outcomes. The US system is currently based on the Prussian model which was intended to churn out (obedient) soldiers and (compliant) workers. With computers, trying to memorise data is less useful that critical thinking or analytical skills. Whilst the US system has issues, addressing some basics will go a fair way to getting a strong foundation
1. sufficient nutrient ... early cognitive development is highly impacted by insufficient diet
2. parent engagment ... the attitude of family/culture is key to motivation and long-term attitude
3. secure / safe zone ... disruptive and distractive environments (no guns/gangs)
Funding is a separate issue ... property taxes persist pockets of poverty, charter schools have been jacked by private religious academies and teaching to curriculum is a short-term response to incentives. There's little point in making 16 years mandatory in-loco-parentis extended kindergarden if all you'rer doing is hiding unemployment.
In 1966 I was accepted for admission to the University of Pennsylvania. This was quite an accomplishment for the son of postal worker, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and the recipient of a VA disability for having been wounded on Okinawa. But the great public education that I received at Philadelphia's storied Central High School paved the way. My father, on looking at my acceptance letter, shook his head sadly and told me he could not afford to send me to Penn. But it was the beginning of the Great Society effort to send students of modest means to the best colleges and universities they could qualify for. In essence, Johnson said, "we can't afford not to send you to Penn." Alas, the financial aid programs that sent me there and then to Columbia University for graduate school were brought to a screeching halt in 1981 by the newly elected president, Ronald Reagan.
Minor nitpick: “…one of the most important determinants of AIs economic impact is how quickly it defuses through industry, jobs, and labor markets” obviously means “diffuses.” But for a little while, I was worried that somehow AI was going to “defuse” or somehow injure industry etc. …
I happen to have researched the development of government support of Education in the United States. Here is a summary.
BTW, the historian in me is shouting to tell you about the times in the last 250 years when governments have recognized the need to support new forms of education. The first two countries to support universal free primary education (grades 1-8: reading, writing, and arithmetic) were North Germany (Prussia, 1768) and the United States (Massachusetts, 1798; Pennsylvania, 1834). This innovation widely recognized as assisting the rapid development of both countries from agricultural to industrial powers. Free public high school became available in the United States between 1870 and 1920, but it wasn’t until 1940 that most Americans were high school graduates. In the 1950s, the federal government began to give serious support to college education. I remember TV shock ads in the 50s that boomed the doom threat, “The closing college doors!” Well, the college doors did not close. The number of college students in the United States rose from 1.5 million in 1940 to 8.6 million in 1970.
So, it’s time for history to repeat itself. It’s time for government to recognize that it must support a new educational opportunity for Americans: Lifetime free and supported job retraining for every American citizen.
Or more info see: https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/how-to-fight-trump-part-one
Trump has taken away funding for colleges and universities that disagree or say anything derogatory about him. Agree that educational opportunities must be available for lifetime education and job retraining. Maybe let there be free education at the state university level. I like Bernie Sanders' tenacious proposal for free education.
A more educated population would (hopefully) be able to recognize when an imposter comes along and uses thug tactics to mesmerize and bewitch an undiscerning, unthinking public. I know, that right now, a certain age group of people don't bother to read or hear from diverse news sources. They hear selectively, what they want to hear.
And, we'd be better prepared to do something about injustices, cheating and lying and unlawful presidential conduct that is happening right before our open eyes. For us, my husband and me, there can no longer be silence when someone says something so uninformed. Speak up, tactfully, when possible and always reasonably and quietly. And always peacefully. Be informed and understand what is going on. Participate and be actively involved in opposing injustice and inequity. Bring food and provisions to those who need help. Donate to direct young people toward education and training. Help when you see or know about suffering. DEI is not something we should shut our eyes before.
If Trump folds meaningfully, the Strong Man theorists argue he begins to fade.
I agree.
This is a man who will threaten to tear down the system as he gets cornered and will end up doing great damage before Congress grows a spine.
You don't mention that debt collection is a very lucrative opportunity for unscrupulous operators.
Mr. Bernstein makes an important point, not mentioned often enough, that education beyond K-12 is key to individual and national well being in a highly competitive world.
Yep. Productivity and population are the variables.
I should have been more explicit.
Given that population and productivity are the variables, deporting or terrifying millions and cutting education is beyond stupid.
It's an existential matter.
Coming from academia, i'm not convinced that everyone is suited for higher education. I point to the German system of vocational education and Fraunhofer Institutes as linkage between tech and commercialisation. What a valid question is the use of the existing 12 years of compulsory education and pedagogical outcomes. The US system is currently based on the Prussian model which was intended to churn out (obedient) soldiers and (compliant) workers. With computers, trying to memorise data is less useful that critical thinking or analytical skills. Whilst the US system has issues, addressing some basics will go a fair way to getting a strong foundation
1. sufficient nutrient ... early cognitive development is highly impacted by insufficient diet
2. parent engagment ... the attitude of family/culture is key to motivation and long-term attitude
3. secure / safe zone ... disruptive and distractive environments (no guns/gangs)
Funding is a separate issue ... property taxes persist pockets of poverty, charter schools have been jacked by private religious academies and teaching to curriculum is a short-term response to incentives. There's little point in making 16 years mandatory in-loco-parentis extended kindergarden if all you'rer doing is hiding unemployment.
In 1966 I was accepted for admission to the University of Pennsylvania. This was quite an accomplishment for the son of postal worker, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and the recipient of a VA disability for having been wounded on Okinawa. But the great public education that I received at Philadelphia's storied Central High School paved the way. My father, on looking at my acceptance letter, shook his head sadly and told me he could not afford to send me to Penn. But it was the beginning of the Great Society effort to send students of modest means to the best colleges and universities they could qualify for. In essence, Johnson said, "we can't afford not to send you to Penn." Alas, the financial aid programs that sent me there and then to Columbia University for graduate school were brought to a screeching halt in 1981 by the newly elected president, Ronald Reagan.
Minor nitpick: “…one of the most important determinants of AIs economic impact is how quickly it defuses through industry, jobs, and labor markets” obviously means “diffuses.” But for a little while, I was worried that somehow AI was going to “defuse” or somehow injure industry etc. …
Well, we pray that AI is defused before it kills us all.
Bunch of persnickety editors around here...
JK--thnx for the correction.
Well, it's called comparative advantage. You bring the econ, and we bring the spelling.
Given that we may be on the path back to a bartering economy (see US dollar trend), that sounds like a great arrangement.
In "how quickly it defuses through industry, jobs, and labor markets," "defuses" should be "diffuses."