Thursday, 16 December 2010
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Should the US Education System Learn from Asia?
I just read on the CNN website about the results of a global education survey that shows "U.S. high school students come in a dispiriting 26th out of 65 places worldwide in combined scores for math, science and reading tests.
"The OECD's Program for International Assessment (PISA) suggests that while America lags, Asia soars: Out of the top 10, eight are in the Asia-Pacific region -- led by Shanghai and Hong Kong in China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
"The rise of education in Asia is no accident. It reflects deliberate policies and long-term investments that recognize the centrality of quality education to a nation's economic growth."
After living in Singapore and witnessing their growth and progress first hand I was especially taken by the former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s quote in the article, "A nation's wealth in the 21st century will depend on the capacity of its people to learn." I think we should follow their lead.
I have listed a few of their key “best practices” from the CNN article that we here in the US are still only debating but should certainly adopt:
- Rigorous standards and coherent curricula. I also saw this first hand in Japan, Asian nations establish high academic standards and a demanding school curriculum that clearly defines the content to be taught and is sequenced to build on a student's abilities step by step. High-quality teachers and principals.
- Teachers are routinely recruited from among the top high-school graduates and, unlike in the U.S., principals generally do not apply to become school leaders as much as they are selected and prepared to do so. There are comprehensive systems for selecting, training, compensating and developing teachers and principals -- delivering tremendous skill right to the classroom.
- Emphasis on math and science. Math and science training begins early in primary school and rigorous courses such as biology, chemistry and physics, as well as algebra and geometry are part of a core curriculum for secondary school. Specialist teachers are often employed in elementary schools unlike "generalists" usually found in U.S. schools.
- Time and Effort. With longer school years and sometimes longer school days, Asian students often have the equivalent of several more years of schooling by the time they finish high school than the typical American student. Asian students are also expected to work hard in school, reflecting a societal belief that developing one's skills and knowledge reflects effort more than innate ability.
I believe the time has come for America to learn from Asia and the world. The US's ability to compete and lead in a global economy may well depend on it. What do you think?
Will our children be adequately equipped to compete in the global economy when they graduate? Do you think that the American Education System has become too complacent?
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- From: Gentemann@xanga
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Comments (62)
Yes, absolutely.
Of course. Maybe American kids will learn how to respect elders like the Asian kids.
I'm Asian :) and I study in the Philippines. I have to admit even if I'm studying in an Asian school, our curriculum is too much advanced which somehow sucks cause despite the advanced lessons kids have for their level, the teachers teaching the subjects aren't competent to teach.
If you wanna know which Asian country has the best curriculum? It's Singapore
Learn from the Japanese!
We should learn from them, but definitely NOT adapt their practices.
I'm not sure how it is now, but I have friends who did all their schooling in China and Korea. Students had 12-hour school days, not including anything extra curricular. Standards and stakes were so high that the pressure becomes too much for many, causing an abundance of students to commit suicide for less than stellar grades.
I think we can learn from them. Then again, American media (which kinda rules our lives) focuses on people becoming famous for the sake of being on TV rather than awarding those who are highly educated. I mean, look at Snooki, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Gucci Mane. Kids just want to be famous rather than smart! If we changed that mentality in America, we could be so much more.
I agree that the US education system needs a major work-over, but I tutored four junior high students from South Korea and their school system sounded like a nightmare on wheels to me. They went to school all day long, SIX days a week, went home long enough to eat dinner, and had to go back for night school. If you wanted to do extra curriculars, it was either before school or during dinner. One of my students told me how many of his friends had attempted suicide after they scored poorly on an important test. AND THIS IS JUST THE JUNIOR HIGH! Education is LIFE in Asia.
That's fine for some people, but I want my kids to be a little more rounded than that. I want them to be able to play in the park or the snow, or go swimming after school on hot days. I want them to have free time to read for fun, not have the life sucked out of them at the age of 12.
Saying that, those Korean kids thought American schools were a joke. If it weren't for their poor English skills (which is why their parents sent them to America in the first place), they could have been juniors or seniors in high school because of their advanced math and science skills, not stuck in 7th and 8th grade.
I'm not sure Americans, in general, have the work ethic to compete. We can't cram any more hours into our kids' days than they already have, without some extracurriculars suffering...not that I think it would be a bad idea. With feeble family life, maybe American kids would benefit from "school-homing". I think they could use more life-skills than calculus, especially kids at a high risk of dropping out. We just have a different need right now than Asia does, I think.
That said, I would appreciate a more standardized curriculum, designed to be age-appropriate and well-sequenced.
all I am going to say is I am thankful we are homeschooling.
I think we could learn a few things from them, absolutely. However I don't think we should completely structure ourselves the same. I think they push their kids too hard at too young an age over there.
Haha! Also thankful to be homeschooling!
In fairness you need to look at studies that compare America's top students agains other countries' top students. You'll find America fairs much better. We are a much larger, far more multicultural society with a history of both immigration and allowing everyone the same opportunities, very much UNlike most Asian countries. We also test everyone and do not track students, unlike most other countries. Don't get me wrong we have massive problems in our educational system(s) but adopting the ways of another country that is utterly unlike our own will not be a panacea leading to a more educated populace. One thing we should adopt though is the way they INDIVIDUALLY value education. Parents in Asian countries are willing to sacrifice a lot for their children's education. In America we sell our kids out to the lowest bidder and absolve ourselves from any further responsibility. The sad part is that most of us can't even see it.
good point....@Gorrific@xanga -
That's true many kids in Korea and Japan are facing intense pressure at home regarding their studies...but after listening to students speaking and reading some of their work since I returned home I certainly think some pressure is needed to keep our workforce competitive.@ELIZerson@xanga -
Have you tried the K12 program? It is very good.@bubbelcat -
@ELIZerson@xanga - I agree with that.
I've heard that some Asian cultures put emphasis on studying for tests and finals and such...so their test scores are really high. But there is a lack of comprehension. More or less some subjects are only taught to be memorized but then the child ends up not understanding. But...you really can't just memorize math, so it's only in some subjects. I could be completely wrong though.
At the risk of sounding anal and biased...
Society is always placing all the blame on anything but the students (e.g., poor funding, inadequate teachers, boring text materials, etc). It builds up a lack of discipline among American students, who have become raised to follow the path or least resistance (e.g., cramming at the last minute, insisting on taking take-home-tests). Honestly, I can't count the number of times my college peers will complain about "the ridiculous workload" we get in our General Pathology class, often placing blame on the instructors rather than acknowledging their own shortcomings.
Needless to say, a lot of kids who studied stateside are coming to college unprepared.
I guess it's hard for me to understand. My father was in the Navy, and so I went to school overseas. The perception of "studying well" that I learned while in Japan really does differ from what my stateside peers believe is "good studying."
I read an article in my junior year of high school about how society refuses to blame students for their failures, and how the school system spoils the students by granting them lenient privileges (such as switching classes to avoid the more difficult teachers). Here's the link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-03-07-forum-students_x.htm
I certainly believe that, if we adopt some of the practices you have listed, American students will build the work-ethics to compete with foreign students. There are many intelligent kids out there who, with the right mindset, can achieve more than they expect.
I do think they are weak in creative thinking...I interviewed nearly 500 new grads every year for ten years in Japan and think their ability to think outside the box is limited due to the structure of their education system@ohheybbyitscorixx@xanga -
You have a good point the Sisters of Loretto and Jesuit priests who taugh me just had a chalboard and a paddle and we did learn the basic!!!!@nyxiam@xanga -
This is a hot topic for me as I am seeing graduates looking for work who are ill prepared to tackle the "real" work force...not to mention their poor work ethic!
I started out good at math and bad at language, and they forced me to pursue language. I became much better in it than math or science. I don't believe in innate ability so much as work. In the US, we use school as a measure beyond its worth and its opposite as well. I think that they need to screen students efforts younger and push them in a direction and stay that way. Other countries are much better at that.
The US system pretty much teaches us worthless opinion that is not only useless but also against our state.
@Gentemann@xanga - I've heard great things about k12 but never used it. We follow a classical model of education, emphasis on Latin, memorization, dictation, copywork, etc. in the early years and then critical thinking and writing in the later years.
The difference between our education system and an Asian one (or even British) is they are training their students to be a worker bee. They are educating them to be a good employee. Interestingly our foundation of public education is for the same reasons but never lost the spirit of American entrepreneurship and the idea that EVERYONE can succeed. We have yet to balance that with the idea that not everyone is really capable or cut out for higher education but it's ok to err on the side of overvaluing people I think. If you look at America's most successful business leaders (people who actually MAKE something not just speculators like Warren Buffet) Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. they would have never succeeded or achieved the heights of progress they did under an Asian educational system. That is why you see so few mega-entrepreneurs from those cultures.
Lastly as an aside I met with a very well to do Pakistani family recently seeking a tutor for their high B/A son. He is in 10th grade and taking Honors classes, very bright, sweet kid. Most parents would be thrilled but they wanted A+ and nothing less than a 4.0 because their son was capable of it. (and he is) BUT, what was really interesting was that mom told me most of his education had been under the British system and that he was having a hard time adjusting to the American system. Why? Because under the British system (according to her) they only have to really study right before exams whereas in America her son was expected to study and be on his toes all the time not just for examinations. He couldn't get used to studying every day. I think that too may explain why American kids tend not to work as hard on tests or care as much about them as their Asian counterparts which will also skew the results.
americans are not going to learn. we are not humble enough as a society and a country. we always want to be the top/leader of the world, and when that doesn't happen, such as in this case, things are hidden....
americans will not admit that other people have better system in place than us.....sad, but i don't see anything changing anytime soon. obama is saying the right thing and wanting to do the right thing with education, but we'll see where that takes us....
Because we all want our little first graders committing suicide...
You lived in Singapore? So have I.
I remember one time trying to help my friend in math (it was on triangle I believe), and when I didn't know how to do it, I told her to copy the answer from the back of the book (that's what I did, but once it came to exams, I would actually learn what the theory is behind for math). She said, "No, I can't do that. The teachers will know." Something like what I did in high school would be frowned upon. However, I feel like the education in Singapore is much stronger than in America.
So yes, the US education system should learn from Asia.