Daniel Pink interviewed Tom Friedman for The School Administrator about education in the Flat World of global competition, information, etc. Friedman contends in The World is Flat (2nd ed.) that 10 forces make it easier for people around the world to compete with those who had triumphed in the 20th century. In the interview, Friedman highlights his thoughts about how this flattening affects schooling and education. Here are interview excerpts:

Friedman: You know, Dan, I’ve been saying to people: “I used to be a free trader. I’m not anymore. Now, I’m a radical free trader.”

Pink: Why?

Friedman: Because if we live in a flat world where whatever can be done will be done, guess who’s going to win? People who get the signals first, who do it before it’s done to them ...

Friedman: I’ve added something I got from my friend Ramalinga Raju from Satyam, the Indian company. ... The greatest economic competition going forward is going to be between you and your own imagination. Your ability to act on your imagination is going to be so decisive in driving your future and the standard of living in your country. So the school, the state, the country that empowers, nurtures, enables imagination among its students and citizens, that’s who’s going to be the winner.

Pink: What’s your take on how that is going in the U.S. schools compared with education systems in other countries?

Friedman: What’s happening, I believe in the world, is a global convergence. China’s trying to get more innovative. And we’re trying to get more rigorous. But I’d rather have our problem than theirs because I think this right-brain stuff is very culture-bound and often hard to teach...

Pink: Sifters, sorters, connectors, “yes but-ers.” That’s a nice way to describe a teacher’s role today. Now let me ask you a question that’s tinged a little bit with politics ... (NCLB) ...

Friedman: So again, you don’t want to go to either extreme here. You can’t be a really good connector if you don’t know algorithms and calculus. But you can’t be a connector if you only know algorithms and calculus. So it’s really striking a balance. And the question is, in the last decade, have we gotten out of balance? ... We’re not going to get better educators and better schools without better parents. ... So I’m a real big believer that you should do what you love and follow your nose. ... My only stricture was do it well. ... Maybe the most important piece of advice is: Know what you believe and stick with it. Don’t let people knock you off your game, ... Today, the president’s got to be our chief education officer. (Bolds added.)

Thanks, Pink, for the interview. It's a good summary of Friedman's writings and many interviews on TV, etc. He condenses some of educators' best thinking over the centuries into memorable, catchy phrases.

And, thanks, J Poletti, for the reminder to find the interview.

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