The Bubble of Silicon Valley

[Music]

what is the first thing you think about

when you hear the phrase silicon valley

our agriculture right all the oranges

and grapes and almonds that we grow here

of course not it’s technology

here we pretty much live in the backyard

of apple headquarters

and several huge companies are also

located here

from apple to google to tesla

nowhere else in the country is the

community so heavily impacted

by technology it’s how our state has the

fifth

highest economy in the world isn’t that

mind-boggling and this technology which

has the capabilities

to connect people over thousands of

miles

has put us inside somewhat of a bubble

we are distanced from the regions around

us as our communities are vastly

different

the rise of technology present in

silicon valley has been able to benefit

its residents

greatly by increasing our economic

growth as well as improving

our education systems but has also

pushed people out of our cities due to

high housing costs

as well as introduced a harmful

competitive spirit

in our schools but to truly understand

what is going on

we must start at the beginning with the

birth

of the internet

in 1969 leonard kleinrock a professor at

ucla

along with the student charlie klein

devised a way to send a transmission

from their computer to one at stanford’s

research center

thus launching the start of the internet

they revolutionized the meaning of

technology

as they were able to send information

over long distances

in a short amount of time suddenly

huge corporations from all across the

nation started popping up

in the silicon valley and a mere seven

years later

apple had been founded right here in

cupertino

california as these corporations started

moving into the region

they brought in large sums of money into

the state in order to fund their

projects

as well as the construction of their

buildings and this money

is vital to the development of silicon

valley

almost immediately entrepreneurs

business owners

ceos from all across the nation

started moving to the region in order to

benefit off of the technological boom

of silicon valley thanks to these

companies

our colleges got immense funding for

their research

and their projects this money allowed

our professors

access to resources that we never would

have been able to afford

and these resources allowed our students

to enhance

their learning capabilities but

it doesn’t stop there even our public

schools

benefit of being located right next to

these huge corporations

for example lawson middle school pretty

much

borders apple headquarters and is now

known as an

apple distinguished school this title is

given to schools that are centers for

academic excellence

and leadership as well as use apple

products

in order to inspire student creativity

and critical thinking

now although using ipads in school is a

very controversial topic

these devices have been able to enhance

the learning of the majority

of the students in the school according

to state test scores

about 891 percent of students are

proficient

in math and about 87 percent are

proficient in reading

now no matter what your opinions are on

the devices themselves

these statistics are astronomical and

are way

above the national average

it is clear that these devices have been

able to enhance the learning

of our students by providing resources

that we

never would have been able to afford but

technology

is also able to change the environment

in which our students

must learn if you ask

any student in silicon valley what they

are most concerned about

they’re probably going to say something

school related whether it be getting

a a in an ap class getting the 1600 on

the sat

or being able to juggle two sports a

seven class course load

and a ct classes after school

crazy right can you imagine taking so

many activities

and still being expected to sleep eight

hours every night

no wonder our students are so sleep

deprived

we joke about this as if it’s normal

as if every 16 year old has to deal

with this kind of stress but at the core

of it

we see the real problem competition

now don’t get me wrong competition is

not all that bad

it can help you reach your potential and

go above and beyond

it can push you out of your boundaries

to try new things

but we also have to realize when things

go too far

and cross a line an immense amount of

competition can lead to students

feeling unbalanced in their lives they

feel pressured to succeed in academic

competitions

as well as gain more knowledge thus

pushing away

any other hobbies or interests they may

have

they put everything on hold in order to

focus on their academic pursuit

thus fostering an unhealthy obsession

with

perfection take cupertino

high school for example they have about

12 tech based clubs and over 20

stem clubs each club has about

five to ten officer positions which is

reasonable

but they also have over 30 students

applying for these office positions

that’s over 400 students

applying because they think that these

positions

will help them get ahead of the crowd

we’ll compete with one another for

officer positions

for internships summer programs

who can volunteer at the most events who

can join the most clubs

who can take the most ap classes

essentially

who can do the most without breaking

now you may ask us why exactly are we so

competitive

why is the nature of silicon valley

pushing our students

to extreme lengths in order to prove

themselves

maybe it’s because our colleges has such

small acceptance rates

and you want to be that one person in

your high school that gets in

or maybe we need to compete in order to

stay here because

our housing costs are so high in the

area

or maybe it’s because everyone around us

is just

as competitive

silicon valley is known to be talent

rich

from people coming from across the

nation in order to get jobs

at the companies located here and

entrepreneurs moving to begin

their startups due to the circle of

wealth we have gained from these

companies appearing in the silicon

valley

we’ve also gained their driven mentality

it is in our nature to be competitive

but sometimes we forget that the people

around us aren’t always

our opponents they aren’t always someone

to compete with

and compare ourselves to

and this lack of knowledge coupled with

our competitive spirit

can backfire on us without us even

knowing

this type of competition can lead to

several disorders

from a severe fear of failure to panic

attacks

to anxiety disorders and even depression

with these side effects we question

whether or not this rise of technology

present

in silicon valley was ever truly

beneficial

so how do we solve this problem where

technology is able to benefit us

by increasing our economic growth and

improving our education systems

but also harm us by introducing a

harmful competitive spirit

in our schools we have to realize that

it is not the technology

nor these corporations that are the

problem here

but rather it is with our education

systems themselves

we want to correlate the tech industry

and its effects

on our education systems without

realizing that it is our education

systems

that provide for our students and their

opportunities

the tech industry has such a big impact

on silicon valley

because it is the one that is providing

and educating our students

thus impacting it the most

technology is not the main reason for

the success or the drawbacks

of silicon valley but rather a visceral

display of the power of a well-funded

education the issue here

is that the only reason why our public

system

public schools are so well funded is

because

of these tech corporations which isn’t

the way

it should be we need to ignite the

passion for education within ourselves

and our government

as it is the moral responsibility of the

government

to provide our students with the

education

they deserve with the opportunities

they deserve and with the life

that they deserve

thank you

you