All these questions and yet we are still searching. Our children's futures are at stake. The scary part it whether we are prepared for it or not, it is inevitable. Better practices as teachers, technology, rigorous curriculums, should all be a part of our educational processes. But as in the did you know video we had to view; the US didn't spend half as much money on the educational system as they should have. Is money the issue? Maybe, maybe not. What are countries such as Japan, Finland, and India doing differently? The Japanese math class video was nothing special.
Oh my God I love it!!! I love how you put all of the different countries and had significant data on all of them. I also liked the background song too, it definitely plays in with the whole message!
Thanks! It took forever, but I found a ton of information on various educational systems, and it seems like we have all these continuous reforms but no results, almost like running really hard in place. I am starting to think that because we have such a diverse society we lack homogeneity when it comes to values and ideas about education.
We also fail to provide quality education for all. Go to Ridgewood High and then make a stop at Berringer. Is nationalizing the educational systems something that should be discussed?
Wow Alla! Your video looks so professional:-) It really helps teachers put things in perspective- You may be teaching at a top high school in NJ or all of your students are passing the state tests, but there is still a big achievement gap to close compared to the rest of the world.
Awesome video! I feel that many of the keys to our students' futures begin at home. Parents need to instill the importance of education in their children and get them motivated to succeed. Once they get to school, teachers need to stop accepting mediocrity and need to raise the bar by raising their expectations for student performance. This can be done by creating a more rigorous curriculum so we can compete with the nations mentioned in your video!
Great job. It really is frightening. I have said before that I think my generation has produced a generation of "feel good" students. Everyone is suppose to have high self esteem even if they have no reason to. Everyone has to win a trophy at the Little League dinner so no one feels badly. What is wrong with competition. When did paying attention to the gifted student become some form of elitism?
I agree with Andrea, these are questions that no one has an answer to! However, I do know that firing teachers to save money will not educationally benfit our schools. How is cutting back on teachers and educational benefit. Do not fire, hire and make educationally sound buildings and classrooms within our learning communities.
I absolutely your video and choice of music. It is really scary to know that all these countries are doing such a better job at educating their youth than we are. What do you think is the problem? State testing, Teachers, Students, parents etc.....
I agree that we baby our youth instead of preparing them for real life challenges ahead. A student should learn that sometimes you lose and that with hard work comes success.
I really don't think there is one answer. I think that a team of the best teachers across the nation should make the decisions, not businessmen or politicians.
First, your video was well done. I like your use of statistics. As I mentioned, one of the teachers from my district spent some time in Japan this Fall. She wrote (in regards to math)
"Today I attended a very interesting workshop on math education in Japan. It was fascinating to see how the US and Japan are both alike and different. In the US each state decides what students will learn in schools and writes their own math curriculum. In Japan the entire country uses the same math curriculum. This means that every student in the same grade learns the same topics no matter which prefecture (state) they live in.
All textbooks, including math textbooks, must be approved by the government before they can be used in school. The Board of Education has several approved choices to pick from. Japanese math textbooks are quite different from our math textbooks. I am told that they usually do not have connections to science, social studies, or literature. They are VERY thin. Some Japanese educators wonder if American or British style textbooks, which tend to be much larger, would be better for Japanese students.
Furthermore, I was surprised to learn that students at the elementary level have math class for only three periods a week, which the country plans to increase after 2011. Did you think that our students would spend more time in math class than students in Japan?
Another interesting topic we discussed was the importance of enjoying math. Before the year 2004, the word “enjoyment” was not used when talking about math in Japanese curriculum (teaching). Now it is becoming a part of their math language. Do you think that it is important for students to enjoy math?"
Great job on your video. I think the facts and figures are not a shock for us (in our class) to see. But those numbers are still upsetting and scary for us as Americans.
I love this video (now that I finally got it to play on my computer)! It reminds me of The Japanese Educational Challenge, a book I read in college which made quite an impact on me (the fact that I even recall the title is evidence of that).
I'm not sure what the answer is, but I like your point about homogeneity of educational values.
I also think that the American teenager is pushed to do too many things and none of them well (often through their parents' prompting). They are running to sports, plays, debates, etc. while the Japanese are in school until 5-6 pm and for 60 more days a year.
This is not to knock extra-curricular activities - they are VERY important. But what if we were teaching these through the core subjects?
14 comments:
All these questions and yet we are still searching. Our children's futures are at stake. The scary part it whether we are prepared for it or not, it is inevitable. Better practices as teachers, technology, rigorous curriculums, should all be a part of our educational processes. But as in the did you know video we had to view; the US didn't spend half as much money on the educational system as they should have. Is money the issue? Maybe, maybe not. What are countries such as Japan, Finland, and India doing differently? The Japanese math class video was nothing special.
Nice Job Alla!
The facts are one thing, but the integration of your choice of music, pictures, and words sends your message home!
Oh my God I love it!!! I love how you put all of the different countries and had significant data on all of them. I also liked the background song too, it definitely plays in with the whole message!
Thanks! It took forever, but I found a ton of information on various educational systems, and it seems like we have all these continuous reforms but no results, almost like running really hard in place. I am starting to think that because we have such a diverse society we lack homogeneity when it comes to values and ideas about education.
We also fail to provide quality education for all. Go to Ridgewood High and then make a stop at Berringer. Is nationalizing the educational systems something that should be discussed?
Wow Alla! Your video looks so professional:-) It really helps teachers put things in perspective- You may be teaching at a top high school in NJ or all of your students are passing the state tests, but there is still a big achievement gap to close compared to the rest of the world.
Awesome video! I feel that many of the keys to our students' futures begin at home. Parents need to instill the importance of education in their children and get them motivated to succeed. Once they get to school, teachers need to stop accepting mediocrity and need to raise the bar by raising their expectations for student performance. This can be done by creating a more rigorous curriculum so we can compete with the nations mentioned in your video!
Great job. It really is frightening. I have said before that I think my generation has produced a generation of "feel good" students. Everyone is suppose to have high self esteem even if they have no reason to. Everyone has to win a trophy at the Little League dinner so no one feels badly. What is wrong with competition. When did paying attention to the gifted student become some form of elitism?
I agree with Andrea, these are questions that no one has an answer to! However, I do know that firing teachers to save money will not educationally benfit our schools. How is cutting back on teachers and educational benefit. Do not fire, hire and make educationally sound buildings and classrooms within our learning communities.
I absolutely your video and choice of music. It is really scary to know that all these countries are doing such a better job at educating their youth than we are. What do you think is the problem? State testing, Teachers, Students, parents etc.....
I agree that we baby our youth instead of preparing them for real life challenges ahead. A student should learn that sometimes you lose and that with hard work comes success.
I really don't think there is one answer. I think that a team of the best teachers across the nation should make the decisions, not businessmen or politicians.
First, your video was well done. I like your use of statistics. As I mentioned, one of the teachers from my district spent some time in Japan this Fall. She wrote (in regards to math)
"Today I attended a very interesting workshop on math education in Japan. It was fascinating to see how the US and Japan are both alike and different. In the US each state decides what students will learn in schools and writes their own math curriculum. In Japan the entire country uses the same math curriculum. This means that every student in the same grade learns the same topics no matter which prefecture (state) they live in.
All textbooks, including math textbooks, must be approved by the government before they can be used in school. The Board of Education has several approved choices to pick from. Japanese math textbooks are quite different from our math textbooks. I am told that they usually do not have connections to science, social studies, or literature. They are VERY thin. Some Japanese educators wonder if American or British style textbooks, which tend to be much larger, would be better for Japanese students.
Furthermore, I was surprised to learn that students at the elementary level have math class for only three periods a week, which the country plans to increase after 2011. Did you think that our students would spend more time in math class than students in Japan?
Another interesting topic we discussed was the importance of enjoying math. Before the year 2004, the word “enjoyment” was not used when talking about math in Japanese curriculum (teaching). Now it is becoming a part of their math language. Do you think that it is important for students to enjoy math?"
Excellent job.. Great research done here. I never would have thought Finland was the best education around
Great job on your video. I think the facts and figures are not a shock for us (in our class) to see. But those numbers are still upsetting and scary for us as Americans.
I love this video (now that I finally got it to play on my computer)! It reminds me of The Japanese Educational Challenge, a book I read in college which made quite an impact on me (the fact that I even recall the title is evidence of that).
I'm not sure what the answer is, but I like your point about homogeneity of educational values.
I also think that the American teenager is pushed to do too many things and none of them well (often through their parents' prompting). They are running to sports, plays, debates, etc. while the Japanese are in school until 5-6 pm and for 60 more days a year.
This is not to knock extra-curricular activities - they are VERY important. But what if we were teaching these through the core subjects?
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