Keynote Speaker - Daniel Pink

Speech writer for Al Gore 1995-1997

Philosophy of political/effective speakers has three key elements: brevity, levity and repetition!

Education and the Economy

He is not an educator, he is a business writer. Purpose of ed is not to delivery workers to businesses. It is to allow student to highest human potential. But, students will be working. There is a misalignment W/ business and education. We need to prepare students for their future, not our past (quote from someone else).

Graduated from Yale law, was in lower percent of class....why law school? The middle class dream of getting a solid hold in the middle class.

The science of left-brain and right-brain has grown, lots of misconceptions. Our brains are complex, but elegant. Used to be the logical, step-by-step thinking, like SAT were the most important. Today they are still 100% necessary, but not sufficient. Now, artists, empathy are now the abilities that define our students future. This is not a recipe for a better America. This is an argument.

Why is this happening? Effect: skills tilting. Asia, Automation, Abundance (we've covered this one!). Offshoring is under-hyped in the long run. Like new technologies, short run is slow but long run has a huge effect. India had an advantage, a billion people. Even is 15% are talented and ambitious 150 million people. THis is larger than the Japanese population. In the US, we have 143 million working. But that's not the end of the story.

Next year, the world's largest speaking country will be India. And communication with India is FREE! What this means is that routine is a death sentence. Any routine (script, formula, step w/ right answer) races to the lowest bidder.

Automation. Software can now replace brain work, not the right side but the left side. Example: go to a lawyer for no-fault divorce. Cost 2 grand. But it is uncontested, so forms need to be filled out...no contest! Forms are routine..offshore! Now divorce software/companies cost $249.

Abundance. Right now we are certainly in a down time but things will turn up. Lots of materialism. Self storage is larger than the motion picture business.

Students need to look and answer these questions: Can someone overseas do it cheaper?Can a computer do it faster? Is what you're delivering in demand in an age of abundance?

Here is what he sees: Novelty, Nuance, Customization. Then, when he looks at education: Routines, Right answers, Standardization.

6 abilities matter most: design, story, symphony, empathy not logic, play not just seriousness, meaning not just accumulation.

Priliminary issues, how to move the education system: Experiment with new metrics (what gets measured gets done) we must measure right brain things. Show limits of left brain. The Rainbow project is an alternative SAT funded by College Board. This a better predictor of college grades. Race/color blind test. JSPE measures med student's empathy. Next get real about STEM. Right answers are free now. Rule based discipline, not real. we need reasoning esthetically to diagnose.

What does Google look for to hire: See big picture! What does creativity mean? Problem solving(ed) problem identification(business). Problems often a a few right answers.

Tear down those walls. We still have walls between subjects. We want our students to be "multi"..... Listen to what STEM tells us? Looking for engineers, passion, life long learning skills, understand, innovate, communications skills.

Infuse arts eduction throughout the curriculum. Not ornamental but fundamental.

Promote and defend autonomy. The more we give teachers and students autonomy it is good.

Teachers push the boulder up the mountain day by day...thank you to teachers!!