In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas L. Friedman states: “On such a flat earth, the most important attribute you can have is creative imagination—the ability to be the first on your block to figure out how all these enabling tools can be put together in new and exciting ways to create products, communities, opportunities, and profits. That has always been America’s strength, because America was, and for now still is, the world’s greatest dream machine.”
How is the U.S. going to maintain its status as “the world’s greatest dream machine” in the increasingly competitive global economy? If creative imagination is indeed the most important attribute in a globalized world, then what can educators do to help U.S. students tap into their creative imagination? These are important questions that should be part of our national conversation.