The Fischbowl

I watched this movie three times. I thought it was very thought provoking and certainly opened my eyes to some facts that I simply had never thought about. For example, I have always view the United States as the richest, having the largest military, as being the center of the world's business and finance, with the strongest education system and having the highest standard of living. Yet, Mr. Fisch points out that in 1990 it was not the U.S. but rather Great Britain. He also points out that in 2006 1.3 million students graduated from college here in the United States, while 3.1 million graduated in India and 3.3 million graduated in China! These were just a few facts that made me stop and think. I agree with Mr. Fisch that it is not a competition for who is the fastest or who has more, but rather an easy way to point out that our world is getting smaller and smaller day by day. We need to stop and ask ourselves as well as others: What exactly is it that our children/students need to be successful in the 21st century?

I agree with Mr. Fisch that we are in deed living in exponential times. Technology has improved and has certainly made this giant world feel so much smaller. Living in times like these we must ensure that our children and their children will have the abilities to be a success in this new world that we live in. The Fischbowl Blog in ppt is a wonderful link to share. Mr. Karl Fisch has also created ShiftHappens , a website that anyone can join to continue the conversations provoked by the "Did you know?" powerpoint. I highly recommend sharing this information with others and begin discussing what exactly can we do that we are not already doing to prepare our students for out future.