For the past few weeks, there has been an undercurrent in the comment section that we are entering a period of transition in the economy and society. The economy is moving in a new direction. Professions that were long considered secured and respected may not exist much longer. This anxiety is playing out in many ways. Parents are more worried than ever that their children won't have the requisite skills to find work. They question the education that they're getting in high schools and colleges. Also, adults are struggling to redefine their professional lives.

I was struck by a statistic in a recent article about colleges and the humanities. It said that the University of Phoenix, the online college, has the largest enrollment of any American university: over 400,000 undergrads and 78,000 grad student. The author concluded with deep pessimism about the employment prospects of newly minted PhDs. I suspect the move to online education and the decline of traditional liberal arts colleges has larger implications. 

Tim Burke writes about that a new style of parenting is arising out of our insecurities.