In the article “What’s Our Sputnik?” Thomas Friedman
discussed the determination of the United States to be globally competitive
after Russia launched the Sputnik satellite.
According to Friedman, the US has lost that determination and needs
another Sputnik-like event to spark that determination and commitment to
science education reform again. Unfortunately,
I think Friedman is right!
The education system has created a level of anxiety and
competitiveness among teachers. State
standardized scores are being used to determine a teacher’s worth. Teachers are feeling the pressure to do better than the next teacher, when in reality, we should be working together to do what is best for all students. It feels like the pressure for education reform is solely the teacher’s responsibility. Unfortunately, teachers can only work with
what is given to us.
There are schools in other countries that are out performing
the US, so why are we not learning how to be successful from them? Countries, like Finland, South Korea, and
Singapore, are ranking at or near the top in reading, math, and science. Finland’s model focuses on all students
having equal access to equal education.
This is in direct contrast to the US where parents have so much
authority when it comes to their child’s education. If they have the money, they can buy the best
education. What about families who are
not able to “buy” a good education?
These children are still left behind!
Our country will never admit we are still failing our
children unless there is another Sputnik-like event to get our attention. I think we have become complacent and believe
that the NCLB plan is working. It may be
working, but not for ALL students, which means it is terribly flawed and needs
to be changed. I am not sure what our
Sputnik is, but I hope it happens soon because our students are not gaining
much ground in becoming globally competitive.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteYou made so many great points. Especially about how teacher now feel the need to compete with each other rather than helping each other out. It is a shame that teaching has turned into an isolated competitive profession.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteHave you found anything on what other countries are doing that makes them more successful? This article talks about the U.S. having fewer 4 year olds in pre-school, spending more hours a year teaching, teachers making less money, and using standardized test scores as part of teacher evaluations unlike most of the other countries in the report. Am I alone in feeling hopeless that the U.S. may ever be at the top?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/oecd-education-at-a-glanc_n_1874190.html
Here is a very interesting graphic to show how US students compare to other countries
ReplyDeletehttp://edudemic.com/2012/02/schools-compare/
Here is an article to consider:
http://hechingerreport.org/content/why-are-other-countries-doing-better-in-science-than-the-u-s_5056/