Competition vs. Collaboration – A warning for us all

I heard this interview of Diane Ravitch on NPR in the car the other day about why she went from being an advocate in the Bush administration of No Child Left Behind to being a strong critic. Her logic:

“There should not be an education marketplace, there should not be competition,” Ravitch says. “Schools operate fundamentally — or should operate — like families. The fundamental principle by which education proceeds is collaboration. Teachers are supposed to share what works; schools are supposed to get together and talk about what’s [been successful] for them. They’re not supposed to hide their trade secrets and have a survival of the fittest competition with the school down the block.”

This is a great reminder for us about strategic thinking in so many spheres. The power of knowledge in the intangible capital economy Read more

Can We Re-invent Food Production?

I heard Michael Pollan awhile back on NPR* and have not been able to get it out of my mind.

He explained that the roots of the current U.S. agricultural system go back to the Nixon presidency. Nixon was worried about inflation of food prices and asked an agricultural economist how to keep them under control. According to Pollan, the answers created today’s reliance on corn and soy which are produced (and subsidized by the U.S. government) in mass quantities to ensure low cost. They are used for feed and for processed foods of all kinds. They are also the key ingredient in the processed foods that have come to dominate the U.S. diet and fuel our obesity epidemic. Read more