The CEA Blog » Blog Archive » Leo Casey: A Nation At Risk - The Diigo Meta page

• 07 May 08
  

  Doug Noon

  The relationship between education and the economy is far more complex and far more mediated than claimed by A Nation At Risk.

  ANAR economy education

  • A Nation At Risk is more important as an historical signpost than it is as a document of analysis. It is a marker of a very real transition in the American economy and in American education – just not the one it describes. Before 1975, the United States had a thriving industrial economy, and was among the world leaders in basic industries such as steel, auto and manufacturing; after 1975, the global economy undermined American industrial preeminence, and our economic strength shifted to the emerging knowledge economy. By 1983, the first signs of these changes were evident, although not necessarily well understood.
  • This transformation in the American economy dramatically changed the demands placed on American education. Two generations ago, a young person could drop out of high school, and find a stable unionized job in the factories of basic industry or on the docks. Once the bastion of the American middle class that took shape after World War II, those jobs are now largely gone.

Would you like to comment?

Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.