The US could learn a lesson or two about high school education from the Indians and the Chinese. Some sort of a free market for schools would be a nice start.
2 Million Minutes
The US could learn a lesson or two about high school education from the Indians and the Chinese. Some sort of a free market for schools would be a nice start.
2 Million Minutes
2 comments:
Hey Tim,
Very thought provoking documentary. As you know I spend the first 10 years of my life getting educated in Hong Kong. When I immigrated to the US I was 2 years ahead in math and science and skipped a grade. It is hard to dispute that Asian schools are much more rigorous and demanding on its students.
Yet I am not a fan of that method of teaching because it focuses students on finding the right answers instead of asking the right questions. The teacher is the authority and there is little encouragement for open debate, creative thinking, and public speaking. These are all critical skills for the information revolution but unfortunately our own schools are moving in the wrong direction. Instead of embracing technology to teach our children how to better utilize facebook and youtube, our educators push rote memorization and standardized testing like the Asian model. As a result you have adults like us learning from our kids about blogging, texting and social networking because these will be the communication tools of the future.
The Asian educational model is best fitted for the industrial revolution because it successfully mass-produces semi-skilled workers. We need a new model for the information revolution for creative and passionate thinkers. I have given this some thought in a blog I just created if you are interested: http://shakingthebush.blogspot.com
Thanks for the brain food so that I don't lose it all before long..
Mike
Best comment I have gotten on this documentary. Tim
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