Articles Tagged with financial crisis

66_picsThe Superintendent’s panel at EdNet this week featured a discussion about education reform that was like a cold bucket of water to the face.

The Supers were teaching us about inertia, the tendency of objects to maintain their current state. As Newton himself put it:

The vis insita, or innate force of matter is a power of resisting, by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavors to preserve in its present state, whether it be of rest, or of moving uniformly forward in a straight line.

The panelists were discussing what will change in the next 5-10 years in education. They were looking globally at the overall system (teacher evaluation, bell schedule, technology, instructional materials, funding flows, etc.). In this context the Superintendent of one of the largest districts in the country (LACOE), in a state (CA) that is experiencing a state of extreme financial distress, stated that she didn’t think anything significant would change until we had a “major crisis.”

This short video chronicles the rise of credit default swaps and the subsequent impact on the financial industry better than anything else I’ve seen.

Through financial engineering – not value added – the Wizards of Wall Street were able to create a financial black hole that ultimately – well watch the video. You’ll see.

What does this have to to with education? Our industry is going to suffer along with everyone else as we work our way out of this one.