In all my years as an educator, I have never heard an American student express the thought, “I can’t wait until I’m in the job market so I can beat the Chinese!” Yet U.S. schools, in their push for reform and performance, invoke competition and dominance on a regular basis. The current prevailing theory says the world is ‘flat’—that students from around the world enter the work world with equal skills. So, with the field now level, American students need to work harder to outsmart the other players—and win the race for the jobs of the future.
I believe this competitive stick is ineffective, outmoded, even self-defeating as a means for motivating young people to learn. For one thing, international competition is the opposite of what appeals to today’s youth. Studies show that this is the most intimate and connected generation of young people in history—and those connections reach beyond geographic borders. A global youth culture has emerged of individuals who share tastes in music, fashion, and lifestyle—and who also think alike. The research also shows that youth in cities as diverse as New York, Seoul, and Caracas have more in common with each other than they do with peers in the their own countryside. This trend puts us squarely on the path to greater collaborative and synergistic efforts that could improve the quality of life on a global level.
