#enthompson

Zhao holds a doctorate in educational psychology and is an associate dean for Global Education at the University of Oregon. The title of Zhao’s speech was “Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.” Zhao was the final speaker in the E. N. Thompson Forum’s “U.S. and Them” lecture series at the Lied Center.

Creativity, instead of standardized test scores, should be the educational focus, according to Zhao. He said that when countries emphasize test scores, they create employees, not entrepreneurs. Employees follow orders, while entrepreneurs innovate. According to Zhao, the high level of unemployment among college graduates demonstrates the need for innovative individuals.

The world “has a major paradox to deal with,” Zhao said. “That is a global talent shortage.”

Zhao discussed said that the benefits of the U.S. education system are the varied curriculum systems and more forgiving curriculum, which can help students to develop at their own pace. However, American politicians envy China’s math, reading and science test scores.

These test scores were produced by an education that Zhao compared to a sausage maker. After a rigorous and homogenous program, the Chinese students produce high-test scores, but lack curiosity and confidence, according to Zhao. Therefore, China is left with many employees but a lack of entrepreneurs. China needs the next Steve Jobs.

“By even random distribution, China should have four times the number of baby Steve Jobs born,” Zhao said. “What happened to the baby Steve Jobs?”

In contrast, the U.S.’s more open and forgiving system creates sausages with a few bacons like Henry Ford, according to Zhao.

 “With traditional sausage-making education,” Zhao said, “we lose entrepreneur people in two ways. We get rid of nontraditional people and damage their confidence.”

According to Zhao, this historical sausage-maker type of education is a national bet, which is only a prediction of which skills and talents society will find useful. The old gamble has failed, according to Zhao, and the U.S. government’s initiatives like the Common Core aren’t helping.

“The one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on is how to destroy public education,” Zhao said.

The need for education reform is seen in the vanishing middle class, according to Zhao. Although the middle class is the bedrock of American society, the number of traditional manufacturing jobs is steadily decreasing. This portion of society must adapt.

“The new middle class will have to be the creative class,” Zhao said.

Companies are actively searching for qualified people to fill creative positions, and the rate of creative jobs is rising while other sectors are falling, according to Zhao.

Kelli Bruns, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher stationed in North Platte, said that college students “shouldn’t get sucked into” the public mindset that test scores and grades are the most important predictors of success.

Nancy Urbanec, an extension associate assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, agreed with Zhao about the importance of creativity.

 “I use creativity to put a twist on new information to get the public interested,” Urbanec said. According to her, students don’t have the opportunity to explore interests until college, and often find creativity intimidating.

Zhao recommended that the government give curriculum decisions back to school districts and teachers, and more schools should focus on students’ interests. When students are internally motivated, they are more likely to be independent, creative and successful.