RUNNING ON EMPTY!

Is Your Tank Half Empty or Half Full?

Harry Campbell

By NICOLE BELSON GOLUBOFF, DANIEL GROSS, ALLISON ARIEFF, MICHAEL PATERNITI, ROBERT GOODMAN, ROBERT B. REICH, TOM VANDERBILT, ANNELIESE ROHRER, JAMIE LINCOLN KITMAN and KAREN KARBO

Published: June 29, 2008

High gas prices have had some obvious immediate effects on Americans: Hummer sales are down, commuting by public transit is up, airlines are charging for nonessentials, like baggage. But if $4 gas (or higher) is here to stay, we can expect our lives to change in other ways, too. The Op-Ed page asked 10 writers to reflect on the consequences — unexpected, unnoticed, unrealized, good, bad or indifferent — of really expensive fuel.

Pajama Life

By Nicole Belson Goluboff

Fuel for Inequality

By Robert B. Reich

What the Green Bubble Will Leave Behind

By Daniel Gross

Ghosts of the Cul de Sac

By Allison Arieff

Goodbye to the Great American Road Trip

By Michael Paterniti

Tax Brakes

By Robert Goodman

Be the Prius

By Tom Vanderbilt

Psychoanalysis by the Gallon

By Anneliese Rohrer

The Light Stuff

By Jamie Lincoln Kitman

Hair-Raiser

By Karen Karbo

COMING SOON! GREEN, the NEXT RED, WHITE and BLUE!

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June 29, 2008

Op-Ed Columnist

Anxious in America

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Just a few months ago, the consensus view was that Barack Obama would need to choose a hard-core national-security type as his vice presidential running mate to compensate for his lack of foreign policy experience and that John McCain would need a running mate who was young and sprightly to compensate for his age. Come August, though, I predict both men will be looking for a financial wizard as their running mates to help them steer America out of what could become a serious economic tailspin.

I do not believe nation-building in Iraq is going to be the issue come November — whether things get better there or worse. If they get better, we’ll ignore Iraq more; if they get worse, the next president will be under pressure to get out quicker. I think nation-building in America is going to be the issue.

It’s the state of America now that is the most gripping source of anxiety for Americans, not Al Qaeda or Iraq. Anyone who thinks they are going to win this election playing the Iraq or the terrorism card — one way or another — is, in my view, seriously deluded. Things have changed.

Up to now, the economic crisis we’ve been in has been largely a credit crisis in the capital markets, while consumer spending has kept reasonably steady, as have manufacturing and exports. But with banks still reluctant to lend even to healthy businesses, fuel and food prices soaring and home prices declining, this is starting to affect consumers, shrinking their wallets and crimping spending. Unemployment is already creeping up and manufacturing creeping down.

The straws in the wind are hard to ignore: If you visit any car dealership in America today you will see row after row of unsold S.U.V.’s. And if you own a gas guzzler already, good luck. On Thursday, The Palm Beach Post ran an article on your S.U.V. options: “Continue to spend upward of $100 for a fill-up. Sell or trade in the vehicle for a fraction of the original cost. Or hold out and park the truck in the driveway for occasional use in hopes the market will turn around.” Just be glad you don’t own a bus. Montgomery County, Md., where I live, just announced that more children were going to have to walk to school next year to save money on bus fuel.

On top of it all, our bank crisis is not over. Two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs analysts said that U.S. banks may need another $65 billion to cover more write-downs of bad mortgage-related instruments and potential new losses if consumer loans start to buckle. Since President Bush came to office, our national savings have gone from 6 percent of gross domestic product to 1 percent, and consumer debt has climbed from $8 trillion to $14 trillion.

My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working.

I continue to be appalled at the gap between what is clearly going to be the next great global industry — renewable energy and clean power — and the inability of Congress and the administration to put in place the bold policies we need to ensure that America leads that industry.

“America and its political leaders, after two decades of failing to come together to solve big problems, seem to have lost faith in their ability to do so,” Wall Street Journal columnist Gerald Seib noted last week. “A political system that expects failure doesn’t try very hard to produce anything else.”

We used to try harder and do better. After Sputnik, we came together as a nation and responded with a technology, infrastructure and education surge, notes Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. After the 1973 oil crisis, we came together and made dramatic improvements in energy efficiency. After Social Security became imperiled in the early 1980s, we came together and fixed it for that moment. “But today,” added Hormats, “the political system seems incapable of producing a critical mass to support any kind of serious long-term reform.”

If the old saying — that “as General Motors goes, so goes America” — is true, then folks, we’re in a lot of trouble. General Motors’s stock-market value now stands at just $6.47 billion, compared with Toyota’s $162.6 billion. On top of it, G.M. shares sank to a 34-year low last week.

That’s us. We’re at a 34-year low. And digging out of this hole is what the next election has to be about and is going to be about — even if it is interrupted by a terrorist attack or an outbreak of war or peace in Iraq. We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters.

21st Century "WIND to WHEELS" (Mariah Power)

Posted: Sunday, 29 June 2008 12:42PM

Michigan Tech, MSU Tapped for Center of Energy Excellence

Michigan Technological University and Michigan State University will partner with Mascoma Corp. in Michigan’s first Center of Energy Excellence, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced at a press conference in Lansing Friday morning. The Center will be eligible for a $15 million grant from Michigan’s 21st Century Jobs Fund.

Michigan Tech, Michigan State and Mascoma will work with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and J.M. Longyear -- a Marquette-based company that owns more than 65,000 acres of forest land in the Upper Peninsula -- to develop the state’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant. The plant will be located in Chippewa County, south of Sault Ste. Marie.
Cellulosic ethanol offers a clean-burning and economical alternative to petroleum-based fuel and ethanol made from corn.

"We have been exploring the frontiers of this field for some time through our Wood to Wheels research, and we look forward to working with Michigan State to support the development of Michigan's biofuels industry," said David D. Reed, vice president for research at Mcihigan Tech.

Michigan Tech will contribute its knowledge of sustainable forestry management practices and access to its automotive engineering labs for analysis of the biofuels produced. Michigan State will provide expertise in pretreatment technology for cellulosic ethanol production and assistance with renewable energy crops that can be used by the biorefinery.

The universities will each receive an estimated $1 million to analyze issues related to the availability and cost of supplying the wood fiber and other plant materials to produce cellulosic ethanol.

Michigan is in a race with a firm in Georgia to open the first commercial-scale plant for producing cellulosic ethanol. The Massachusetts-based Mascoma Corporation announced its decision to locate in Michigan last July.

Mascoma chose Michigan because of its vast, sustainable forests and other non-food agricultural materials, as well as the research expertise available at Michigan Tech and Michigan State.
For more information on Michigan Tech’s Wood to Wheels research and collaborative biofuels initiatives with Michigan State and Mascoma, see www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/news/media_relations/584/, www.sfi.mtu.edu/w2w/index.html and http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/news/media_relations/632/.

© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.

THE PORTAL

There is a new paradigm afoot. It may be viewed as East meets East as people used to look to the old east for "enlightenment" from such philosophies as the Tao, which posited the eternal quest for One's center. America is East of China and now stands to "enlighten" the world as to how that can effectively be accomplished. Succinctly thru the establishment of a truly participative Democracy. Now that doesn't happen just because it is stated on paper. It has to come thru a society so empowered by a sense of self, that can only come from individuals creatively empowered to know what they don't know and to be actively engaged in creating communities of practice to solve life's questions as to our survival.
Consider "The Portal". The Portal can be viewed from a multitude of points of light as you will discover. The one we are focused on is thru the South pier lighthouse web cam which is accessed thru NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory's Muskeegon (Michigan's)Field Station's website. Focusing on the Lighthouse you will see a 55 foot lighthouse that was placed there in 1903. Now look back about halfway to the light... There you see it?
The Vertical Axis Wind turbine that is surrounded by Young Students and Seasoned Scientists. Yes they are collaborating to find out what it is they don't know about these vast inland fresh water seas. Not stopping there they are part of a larger vision that starts deep inside in each participant's soul. A light has been kindled there because they have each been empowered to join the creative hunt to solve the mysteries of life. those mysteries of course involve all aspects of life, including and beyond the" Great Lakes" These are the people that are partaking in this great experiment of Participative Democracy because they are on the hunt for truth and justice for life. This is the ideals that people believe America was founded on. But I digress...
This other point of light we spoke of... Turn on your Video conferencing screen and intermingle with the young Scientists that are conducting meteorological experiments inside the Lighthouse just beyond the Wind Machine. Posit your questions, don't be shy about it for they will have questions for you about wherever in the world you live. Together you are having a dialogue about life and this world we live in. Most assuredly you will both conclude your mutual "discoveries", having come away with a changed and enlightened understanding of what is is you didn't know and now what new answers you will seek to quell the creative energies, which of course cannot be quelled. The Genie is out of the bottle now because you've entered this new world of self discovery, life will never be the same. There is a new smile to your face. One that comes from a sense of self that cannot be denied.

LEARNFACTURING

The mere prospect of being able to be immersed in the realization that we know what we don't know, brings one to the first day of the rest of their hopefully long and curious journey into what it is we need to know.

That of course encompasses all there is to learn. We have the opportunity before us to do just that in some very succinct and powerful ways. Besides the obvious philosophical implications that have been both written and spoken of by great peoples thru the ages from Plato to Socrates and all the spiritual leaders.

This is no longer a Great Books discussion course to be relegated to the coffeehouse and churches. We have embarked upon a journey as rich, wide and deep as all life is and can be.

The journey to discover how to do the dance with all life by investigating how to course correct our society thru creating "empowerment zones" of learning where students young and old can sign onto the dimension of understanding what the resources around them really have to offer in terms of understanding how to not only navigate life’s shoals, but to excel in creating value in all they do.

We believe that each individual so empowered to work with these newfound resources of awareness can add tremendous value towards solving our worldly problems that have been created because of a lack of appreciation for this life we have been allowed to take part in.

In so doing each person has the opportunity to explore, fly if you will into a spiritual journey that will forever bring them into the dance of life. By agreeing to this new vision one can shed the cloak and mantle of negativity and despair this earthly world finds itself in.

People will not relegate their lives to a war of depleting resources because they will be empowered to find new resources all around them. To ask the questions of life that will spark the journey of answers and more questions, that will multiply and divide, making way for new life and understandings.

This is the Natural and spiritual world that creation has provided for all of life. No longer will people have to blow themselves and others up to level the playing (killing) fields. Although it is not important what this process is called, there is a new term coined Learnfacturing.

We propose that new agreements be made to further the atmosphere of cooperation that has been understood by a few enlightened individuals along the way. This is where people can be immersed into learning how to ask the questions and strive for the answers in a new model of societal cooperation that involves learning, growing and manufacturing the found answers in an organic process that emulates life.

This learning thru understanding the Natural world in which we live can bring into view the course corrections needed from the journey of the trajectory that the current model of the synthetic world we have created is on.

This journey that has created the divisive and self destructive atmosphere where people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, the world of the ego that bears little resemblance to life's truths and therefore places no real value in life. And to accelerate this understanding in a linear fashion in ways that will bring the understandings into practices which will allow America and the world the opportunity to repair the damage done to this wonderful and beautiful world we call Earth.

We invite you to step outside yourself , it is truly a leap of faith, explore what is you were always afraid to learn. With these new visions of the world, your journey will change in wonderful and unimagined ways that you only thought existed in books and movies for "other" people.

We invite you to be born again into the world of your potential. It's not over until it's over. We look forward to meeting you on this journey.

Happy Solstice to you all!

Jim Bates

NSF ITEST GRANT Advisory Board Meeting

Digital Convergence Goes LIVE!

SOMETHING'S in the WIND! (First Mover Status Improves?)

Posted: Tuesday, 17 June 2008 2:37PM

High Tech Jobs Among 3,900 Announced By MEDC

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and other state officials Tuesday announced that the Michigan Economic Development Corp. will help nine companies grow across the state, creating and retaining 3,900 jobs and resulting in a $179 million investment in the state.

In addition, the MEDC and Michigan State Housing Development Authority are backing two redevelopment projects in Detroit and Muskegon.

The tech projects announced included the following:

Azentek LLC – Organized in 2006, the designer and developer of in-vehicle infotainment and computing systems in Genesee County's Grand Blanc Township will invest $3 million to consolidate current operations and expand to a leased light industrial facility in Grand Blanc, creating 198 new jobs, including 78 directly by the company. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $1.5 million over 10 years to win the project over a competing site in China. Grand Blanc Township is considering a six-year abatement valued at $36,065 to support the project.
Orchid Unique Orthopedic Solutions – This manufacturer of surgical cutting accessories, instruments and implants will invest $3.5 million to consolidate operations and expand its plant in Saginaw County's Bridgeport Township, creating 142 jobs, including 60 directly by the company. Orchid Orthopedic Solutions, founded in 2005, has 632 employees statewide, including 320 in Bridgeport. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $763,000 over seven years to win the project over competing sites in Tennessee and California. Bridgeport Township is considering a 12-year abatement worth $183,258 to support the project.

Priceline.com Inc. -- Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved a state tax credit valued at $3.9 million over seven years to encourage the online travel company to launch a new office under consideration in Wyoming. In addition, the MEDC has offered up to $200,000 in job training assistance through the Economic Development Job Training program. To support the project, the city of Wyoming has approved a seven-year abatement worth $1.1 million. The project, pending company approval, is expected to generate $7.7 million in new capital investment and create 610 new jobs, including 424 directly by the company.
Other projects announced included:

Brembo North America – The braking systems supplier will invest $47 million to consolidate its corporate and technical groups from Northville, Farmington Hills and Costa Mesa, Calif. at a new headquarters to be built in Novi instead of competing sites in North Carolina and Mexico. The subsidiary of Bergamo, Italy-based Brembo S.p.A. will also expand capacity at its manufacturing facility in Homer in Calhoun County. The combined project is expected to retain and create 1,049 jobs, including 325 directly by the company. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved state tax credits valued at $3.5 million over 10 years to convince the company to expand in Michigan rather than competing sites in North Carolina and Mexico. In addition, The MEDC will provide job-training assistance of up to $500,000 through the Economic Development Job Training program. To support the project, the city of Novi is considering a reduction/reimbursement of permitting fees and an expedited approval process. Albion Township has approved a 12-year abatement estimated at $1.8 million.

Mahle Engine Components USA Inc. – The member of the Germany-based Mahle GmbH group of businesses will invest $18.2 million in a 30,000-square-foot expansion of its piston ring manufacturing plant in St. Johns. The expansion is expected to create 534 new Michigan jobs, including up to 150 directly by the company. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved a state taxcredit valued at $2.2 million over 12 years to win the company’s expansion. In addition, the MEDC will make available up to $100,000 in job training funds through the Economic Development Job Training program. The MEDC will also consider providing support for infrastructure improvements. The city of St. Johns has approved three abatements worth $26.1 million to support the project.
Mahle Industries Inc. – The subsidiary of Mahle GmbH, a leading global manufacturer of components for the automotive and heavy duty engine industry, will invest $27.6 million in an initial 45,000-square-foot expansion in Farmington Hills. The investment will occur in two phases. The project is expected to create 324 new jobs, including 155 directly by the company. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $2.5 million over seven years to win the expansion over a competing site in Tennessee. The city of Farmington Hills has approved a 12-year abatement worth $1.2 million to support the project.

Production Engineering Inc. – The manufacturer of precision machined components for wheel end, steering and drive train applications for specialty truck and construction equipment axles, will invest over $11 million to relocate to a 440,000-square-foot former Goodyear warehouse in Jackson. The company will revamp the building, including new electrical service enhancements, compressed air systems, lighting, water system, overhead cranes, offices and manufacturing support facilities. The project will create and retain 436 jobs, including 122 new jobs at the company and 112 retained. The MEDC estimates the project will generate an additional 202 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $3.4 million over 10 years to win the project over a competing site in Indiana. To support the project, the city of Jackson has proposed a 20-year abatement and Renaissance Zone designation for a combined value of over $3.4 million.

Rayconnect Inc. – The wholly-owned subsidiary of A. Raymond Inc. will invest $19.6 million in a new plastics injection molding and assembly plant and headquarters in Rochester Hills. The company designs, develops, manufactures and sells fluid handling products for the automotive, commercial and construction equipment markets. The project will retain 360 Michigan jobs, including 148 at the company. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $2.5 million over seven years to win the company’s expansion over a competing site in South Carolina. In addition, the MEDC will provide up to $120,000 in job training assistance through the Economic Development Job Training program. The city of Rochester Hills will consider a 12-year abatement worth $$862,000 to support the project.

Venchurs Inc. – The supply chain management and third party packaging and logistical services provider to the automotive and construction-agriculture industries, will invest $21 million to expand its operations in Adrian. Through the assistance of an $8 million incentive package, the project is expected to create up to 152 new jobs, including 50 directly by the company by the end of 2010 . Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a state tax credit valued at $986,000 over seven years which allowed the company to choose Michigan over a competing site in Indiana. The city of Adrian is considering a 12-year abatement worth $3 million to support the project. In addition, South Central Michigan Works! will work with the company to identify available job training resources.

Mariah Wind Power- (TBD)

Also the following municipal projects were announced:

City of Detroit – Developer Grand River and Six Mile LLC will use $631,600 in local and school capture and private investment of $5.5 million to redevelop the former Detroit Police 8th precinct station across from Redford High School. Two structures will be built on the site comprising 23,800 square feet of retail and commercial space. The project will lead to creation of 60 full-time jobs.

City of Muskegon - State and local tax capture valued at $1.3 million will support environmental clean up and redevelopment of 19 acres on the east and west sides of Henry Street in Muskegon by Betten Automotive Group to make way for rehab or creation of nearly 113,000 square feet of commercial space. An existing building on a nine-acre site on the east side will be renovated and expanded from 30,000 square feet to 68,000 square feet. On the remaining acreage on the west side, construction of two new auto dealership stores will replace the current used car sales office. The project will feature sustainable development elements including LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, improved storm water management and pedestrian-friendly streetscape. The $15 million project is expected to create 36 new jobs.

More at www.themedc.org.

© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.

Emerging Technology Could Drive Interest in STEM Careers! Who knew?

21st Century Learners
By Cathleen Richardson

What do we really know about today’s youth? As educators, do we truly understand how they think, learn, communicate, and socialize? As if you didn’t know by now, they don’t perform any of the aforementioned skills in any manner like the youth of years past. Our students live in a digital world, altered by ever-changing technology. The youth of today can instant message on their laptop, talk on a cell phone, play a video game wirelessly with a friend down the street and chew bubble gum - all at the same time.

These "Screenagers" are undeniably different. They are authors of blogs, designers of web sites, and developers of ring tones. They have created an entire language of their own using abbreviated terms such as LOL (laugh out loud), BRB (be right back), POS (parent over the shoulder), MIRL (meet in real life) and BTDT (been there, done that). The bottom line is that these students learn and comprehend in a way that is foreign to many of us, and, as a result, they often feel disconnected from traditional teachers and schools of yesteryear.

Digital students are goal-oriented and able to pursue multiple outcomes at the same time. This generation of 21st Century learners can absorb a great deal of information at super-charged speed whether it is transmitted via a cell phone, television, the Internet, or MP3 player.

Digital students are masters of varying types of technology. These students are always connected with their peers and the world through technology. The digital generation has unknowingly incorporated 21st Century skills into their day-to-day lives by becoming innovators, creative designers, critical thinkers, collaborators, and complex problem-solvers.

While these students are having fun, they are also learning.

At a recent conference, Terry Jones, founder and former CEO of Travelocity.com told the audience a fascinating story. His son, a digital native, co-created a now popular computer game called “Day of Defeat” with four students from the United States, five from Europe and one from Canada. Interestingly, they never met! They collaborated and created this game solely via email and chat interactions.

Digital students are determined, focused on success and creators of their own destiny. This knowledge forces us to pause, ponder and then pose a series of additional questions. According to Speak Up, an online research project, which annually surveys K-12 students, teachers, parents, and school administrators, these are some key educational questions educators should be focusing on:

• What are the benefits of emerging technologies such as mobile devices, gaming in education, online learning and open education resources?
  
• What would happen if emerging technology were used to get students interested in STEM careers?
  
• What are the barriers/challenges to using technology?
  

The reality is that many schools aren’t ready or willing to address these questions. The traditional educational view of drill and practice and test taking is a difficult concept to abandon or reconsider for many educators. This is where the disconnect begins. Alan November, a recognized leader in the field of educational technology, lists on his website comments from workshop attendees on the future of education.

One workshop participant stated, “Hope can overcome fear when barriers are torn down, by allowing students to engage in a forum they are comfortable they take ownership of their learning and the teachers will be willing to change from the role of information giver to facilitator.”

Now that we know more about the digital generation, is it possible as educators that we need to rethink who we are? We must re-evaluate the practice of teaching and learning and equip our students with the necessary tools to help them advance in this digital age. Acknowledging who these students are and meeting them on their current playing field will bridge the digital gap and connect us all to the 21st Century.

John Dewey, a well-known educational reformer, says it best, “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”

Next, we’ll delve more into the minds of this digital generation and explore what experts say about this extraordinary group of learners.

Disrupting Class! (Finally Publishes)

Interview: http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/mp3files/christensen.mp3

A crash course in the business of learning-from the bestselling author of The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution…

“A brilliant teacher, Christensen brings clarity to a muddled and chaotic world of education.”
-Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great

According to recent studies in neuroscience, the way we learn doesn't always match up with the way we are taught. If we hope to stay competitive-academically, economically, and technologically-we need to rethink our understanding of intelligence, reevaluate our educational system, and reinvigorate our commitment to learning. In other words, we need “disruptive innovation.”

Now, in his long-awaited new book, Clayton M. Christensen and coauthors Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson take one of the most important issues of our time-education-and apply Christensen's now-famous theories of “disruptive” change using a wide range of real-life examples. Whether you're a school administrator, government official, business leader, parent, teacher, or entrepreneur, you'll discover surprising new ideas, outside-the-box strategies, and straight-A success stories.

You'll learn how

Customized learning will help many more students succeed in school
Student-centric classrooms will increase the demand for new technology
Computers must be disruptively deployed to every student
Disruptive innovation can circumvent roadblocks that have prevented other attempts at school reform
We can compete in the global classroom-and get ahead in the global market

Filled with fascinating case studies, scientific findings, and unprecedented insights on how innovation must be managed, Disrupting Class will open your eyes to new possibilities, unlock hidden potential, and get you to think differently. Professor Christensen and his coauthors provide a bold new lesson in innovation that will help you make the grade for years to come.

The future is now. Class is in session.


Biographical note


Clayton M. Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is author or coauthor of five books including the New York Times bestsellers The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution.

Michael B. Hornis a cofounder and Executive Director of Innosight Institute. He holds an AB from Yale and an MBA from Harvard.

Curtis W. Johnson is a writer and consultant who has served as a college president, head of a public policy research organization, and chief of staff to governor Arne Carlson of Minnesota. Johnson and his colleagues were among the early proponents of what has become the chartered school movement.


Back cover copy


WARNING: THIS BOOK WILL CHALLENGE
EVERYTHING YOU EVER LEARNED-ABOUT LEARNING

“After a barrage of business books that purport to 'fix' American education, at last a book that speaks thoughtfully and imaginatively about what genuinely individualized education canbe like and how to bring it about.”-Howard Gardner, author of Five Minds for the Future

“A decade ago, Clayton Christensen wrote a masterpiece, The Innovator's Dilemma, that transformed the way business looks at innovation. Now, he and two collaborators, Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson, have come up with another, focusing his groundbreaking theories of disruptive innovation on education."-David Gergen, US Presidential Advisor

“Clayton Christensen's insights just might shake many of us in education out of our complacency and into a long needed disruptive discourse about really fixing our schools. This will be a welcome change after decades in which powerful calls to action have resulted in only marginal improvements for our nation's school children.”-Vicki Phillips, director of Education, Gates Foundation

“Full of strategies that are both bold and doable, this brilliant and seminal book shows how we can utilize technology to customize learning. I recommend it most enthusiastically.”-Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester (NY) Teachers Association, and vice president of the American Federation of Teachers

"Finally we have a book from the business community that gets it. Disrupting Class from Clayton Christensen and colleagues points out that motivation is central to learning and that if schools and learning are to be transformed as they must be, motivation must be at the center of the work. They also point out how technology should be used to personalize learning and what the future might look like for schools. A must read for anyone thinking and worrying about where education should be headed."-Paul Houston, Executive Director, American Association of School Administrators

“Powerful, proven strategies for moving education from stagnation to evolution.”-Christopher Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“Clayton Christensen and colleagues describe how disruptive technologies will personalize and, as a result, revolutionize learning. Every education leader should read this book, set aside their next staff meeting to discuss it, and figure out how they can be part of the improvement wave to come.”-Tom Vander Ark, President, X PRIZE Foundation

“In Disrupting Class, Christensen, Horn and Johnson argue that the next round of innovation in school reform will involve learning software. While schools have resisted integrating technology for instruction, today's students are embracing technology in their everyday lives. This book offers promise to education reformers.”-Kathleen McCartney, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education

URC Emerges! Alignment to Purpose!

IN OUR OPINION

Top schools can boost state with research power

June 2, 2008

Ever heard of the URC?

Didn't think so, but certainly everyone in Michigan and much of the world beyond has heard of the state's three largest universities, Michigan State, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

Well, the URC is all three, working together in the University Research Corridor, creating through cooperation one of the big keys to Michigan's economic future. The universities have always mattered, but their combined effort can matter far more -- generating ideas that can become marketable products, drawing millions of research dollars, and attracting talent with the kind of limitless vision that Michigan so desperately needs.

This is not to minimize the substantial contributions the state's other universities make to their communities and the economy. All the institutions are turning out the workforce that can change Michigan's financial and cultural complexion.

But the Big Three combined are a powerhouse to be regarded on par with the industrial mainstays that built Michigan.

Their leaders spent last week stressing the collective value of the URC and its even greater potential for the Michigan business and political leaders who were gathered on Mackinac Island for the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual policy conference. Together, the schools make a strong case, as evidenced by a report released Thursday detailing their contributions in just one key area, alternative energy.

The URC -- which has some work to do to establish itself in the public mind as a consortium on par with, say, the university-based Research Triangle Park that has transformed North Carolina's economy and image -- garnered almost $80 million in research grants for alternative energy projects in 2007. The report prepared for the URC by Anderson Economic Group said that more than half the grants the schools received were focused on fuels, propulsion or power, all integral to the future of the automotive industry.

These ranged from biomass conversion at MSU, to a U-M project to develop a solar film that can be applied like spray paint, to WSU efforts to combine wind, solar and fuel-cell technology into new power-generation systems.

"We think we are an asset that can be leveraged more," said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. That's not just a plea for more money in an era of declining state support. It's a call for inclusion in all of Michigan's economic development strategies. Indeed, with these institutions around, why would the state consider investing in, seeding or offering incentives for any idea without bouncing it off the URC to see what role the schools can play?

The university presidents are trying to topple the ivory towers of academia and get their good, smart people on the front lines of Michigan's economic battle. They have the intellectual resources. They have a commitment that can be a model for the rest of Michigan to eschew turf battles in favor of working together for the common good.

To whatever extent the political will can be mustered and the financial resources marshaled, this is an effort that the state as a whole must optimize and encourage.

Farmers Market Goes Green (Pontiac Farmers Market?)

Posted: Sunday, 01 June 2008 2:28PM

Ann Arbor Farmers Market Going Solar

A major solar energy installation is set to begin at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market, marking the City of Ann Arbor’s most substantial solar initiative to date.

Phase I renovations will include the installation of new roof materials and 156 solar panels on the market’s northerly shed structure, capable of powering the entire facility -- the equivalent of five homes. The 10 kW solar photovoltaic system will generate about $1,500 worth of electricity per year and bring the city closer to its goal of 20 percent renewable energy for the Ann Arbor community by 2015. Funded by a donation from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, the Solar Project should be operational as early as July.

The U.S. Department of Energy will join Mayor John Hieftje and other city officials at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 2 at the Farmers’ Market, 315 Detroit St., to kick-off the solar initiative. Also in recognition of Ann Arbor’s efforts in going solar, DOE’s Steven Palmeri will present city officials with an official Solar America City sign as well as highlight the city’s efforts in helping lead the U.S. in advancing solar power technologies. Ann Arbor is one of 25 cities in the nation to be named by DOE a Solar America City.

DOE will also make a formal presentation to City Council at the evening’s Council meeting, 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor City Hall City Council Chambers.

The City of Ann Arbor is receiving $200,000 in federal funds and an additional $200,000 in technical support from DOE to implement a $632,000 community-wide program to promote renewable, solar energy in the city. DOE will provide hands-on assistance from technical experts to help integrate solar technologies into city energy planning, zoning and facilities; to streamline city-level regulations and practices that affect solar adoption by residents and local businesses; and promote solar technology among residents and local businesses through outreach, curriculum development and incentive programs.

For additional details on the city’s numerous solar and other energy-related initiatives, visit the city’s Energy Office Web site at www.a2gov.org/energy. For information on DOE’s Solar America Cities program, visit www.solaramericacities.org.

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21st Century Education and Renewable Energy Initiatives

Posted: Friday, 30 May 2008 11:11AM

Gov Asks For Small High Schools, Renewable Power Standard

Gov. Jennifer Granholm offered business a share of the savings in a plan to reduce the number of state prison inmates in her speech Friday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference.

And she proposed a "21st Century School Fund" to create 100 small, academically challenging high schools across the state.

Granholm began by reviewing Michigan's economic challenge -- the loss of 330,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000 as part of a national flight of manufacturing jobs overseas, and Big Three market share falling from 70 percent in 1990 to 45 percent today.

But she also pointed to dozens of big investments in the state in recent years by companies in her targeted areas of alternative energy, the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and homeland security. And she touted her continuing overseas investment missions, especially alternative energy efforts in Sweden.

Granholm said she was asking the Legislature and the crowd at Mackinac to back three initiatives -- the 21sts Century School Fund, a mandate that 10 percent of the state's power must come from renewable sources by 2015, and the prison reform plan.

Granholm said the small high school plan is part of an overall effort to "attack, declare war, on the dropout problem." She said Michigan "must replace those large, impersonal high schools that fail with small, challenging high schools that work." She also backed more "middle colleges," five-year high schools that graduate their students with an associate's degree or other usable career credential. She said the 21st Century Schools Fund would require no new taxes, only a redirection of existing revenue.

More broadly, Granholm said of education, the state needs to flip education on its head to meet the needs of employers. "We don't want people to get degrees in French or political science," she said. "Those are my degrees, so I can say that. We want people to get degrees in areas we need," such as health care.

Granholm also asked -- as she did last year -- for the renewable energy standard, which has been tied up in the Legislature over complaints that it remonopolizes the state's electric market, and doesn't go far enough to mandate renewable energy.

However, Granholm said the lack of the standard means Michigan is losing out on massive investments that are occurring elsewhere in renewable energy.

Granholm also touted her record as a cost-cutter, pointing out that she's cut more out of state budgets than any Michigan governor in history, that Michigan is now 46th in state employees per capita, and that the state is leading the nation in putting state business online.

But she said one area of state government is skyrocketing in staff and costs: corrections. She said Michigan's corrections staff has grown from 5 percent of state employment to more than 20 percent, and that Michigan incarcerates its citizens at a rate far higher than its neighbors -- with no appreciable effect on crime rates.

Granholm, a former prosecutor, said that "I will not allow violent criminals to be released into society, period." But she said there are ways to trim the prison population by selectively releasing low-risk inmates. And she proposed sharing any savings on a one-third basis between law enforcement, higher education and a reduction in the Michigan Business Tax surcharge.

In opening her speech, Granholm joked about her recent surgery for bowel obstruction, saying she pleaded with the doctor not to use the word "bowel" in public comments, and that state Republicans were in no way responsible for the "obstruction." And, she said, the last thing she remembered before the anesthesia took her under was her surgeon saying, "You know, I'm a Republican..."

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