I'm not very disciplined when it comes to journaling or things like that, but I think it's good to record ones thoughts, if only to sift through and clarify them. Here goes...
As a teacher, the only time I really get to do meaningful reading is during summer vacation. I use that time not only to recharge my physical self, but also to energize my brain. This summer I finally read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman after several friends and colleagues recommending it to me. Wow!!! Some people have told me that they found the book frightening or alarming because of how radically Friedman says the world will change. I actually found the book to be inspirational because one of the central themes is that we don't know exactly what developments will occur in the future, but we had better be ready to embrace them. I guess I'm a novelty junkie in that I love new ideas or things that seem to fly in the face of convention. I'm not usually the first person to adopt a new idea, but I enjoy combining ideas and finding different ways to apply or harness them.
Since I read the book in June, I feel like I have a whole new awareness of the world around me and I'm making more connections than before. This connectivity is one of the forces that Friedman says is "flattening" the world or reducing the distance and barriers between people and countries. I have been thinking about how my students use technology in their lives and how I might use what they know to help them connect to the world more. I have spent time with colleagues developing curriculum and sharing resources that take us to other parts of the world without ever leaving home. I have debated and wrangled over immigration and outsourcing with my husband and other family members, whereas previous discussions focused on lost jobs at the textile mills and the accompanying hardship. So many of these themes have come to a confluence as I have been watching the Olympic Games and thinking about the number of athletes who were born in one country, but have naturalized in another. I am amazed at the planning and logistics to carry out the events, even so far as to hold equestrian events several hundred miles away in Hong Kong because of quarantine issues for the horses. Based on Friedman's highlighting of unique business practices and contributions of companies like Lenovo (a sponsor of the games), UPS, WalMart, and Dell Computers, I am curious about the roles that these companies played in the planning, organization, and execution of the games in Beijing. Undoubtedly the organizers adapted their traditional perspectives to include principles that have been developed and perfected by these companies. It also makes me wonder if I will absorb these ideas so thoroughly that in 5 years I will conduct my classroom with efficiency principles from UPS, supply chain principles from WalMart, and customization principles from Dell?!?! It's hard to imagine now, but the answer is probably "Yes"
I guess my whole point here is that I see the world in a whole new light since reading this book and I see connections that I had never even considered before. And yet, I wonder how fast this personal epiphany will go? Will I coast along on these ideas for a while until a new stimulus next summer? Will I continue to feel liberated by this new perspective or will it become a burden that further distracts me? Time will only tell. The irony here is that a whole new field of thought about innovations of the future were opened up by "old technology"-- a book. For the time being, I can say with confidence that my world is still flattening and I'm intrigued by it.
