As an American teenager I cannot remember a time where I wasn't
stressing over a test or a piece of homework that was due. As I was
researching the American school system it surprised me to find out that
the United States wasn't higher up on the PISA (Programme for
International Student Assessment). The United States ranks at 14th in reading and 25th in maths; which
is good but there is still room for improvement (Sheppard 2010). Looking
at other countries and how they run their school systems leaves me thinking about our own and how to help it. The first thing I found was that the Netherlands has the happiest children in the world. These kids have little to no homework until they are older than 10 (Acosta 2013). They focus on learning and the importance of playing. Many would say that the less focus on work would lead to bad test scores, but the Netherlands ranked 7th in reading and 6th in maths on the PISA showing that its okay for kids to just be kids. Secondly I found out that capping the class sizes at 25 can lead to a more one on one experience for the students that is beneficial for the children and the teachers. Having less kids in one room will lead to a more family experience to the learning and will let teachers help any misunderstandings without kids being overlooked. In other countries such as Singapore, Finland, or South Korea they pay teachers more than the average American starting at a salary of $39,000 (Jacques 2013). Having higher salaries would ensure that more people pursue their passion for teaching whereas going for other better paying jobs so they can survive this economy. Johnny Chatin said, "In both Korea and Finland though, eduaction is held in high regards and teachers are treated with great respect (equal to how we revere doctors or lawyers in the west.)" which is an interesting statement because aren't teachers as important as doctors and lawyers? They are teaching the next generation of doctors, lawyers, scientists, artists, builders, pilots, etc. America has a good education system, but we can make it great.
http://www.findingdutchland.com/five-impressions-of-the-dutch-educational-system/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html
http://www.mbctimes.com/english/20-best-education-systems-world
I agree with your statement about teachers being underpaid. They have a huge role in the next generation. I also really liked the suggestion of a classroom cap of 25. I know from experience in a smaller class I feel more comfortable and I can get all of my questions answered. And if I'm uncomfortable or don't get my questions answered it's less likely I'll succeed in that class.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools should cap the class size at 25. With the classes being smaller it allows the students and teachers to get to know each other. I believe that if teachers in America were treated with more respect that our education systems would be better. They are the ones who teach the future generations.
ReplyDeleteAlso,93 percent of students in Finland graduate from high school which is 17.5 percent higher than the US. I really think that the US needs to step away from common core and standardized testing. I believe that if teachers had more freedom a less restrictions with what they teach to their students I feel like we would learn a lot more and the teachers would be happier, benefiting everyone.
ReplyDeletei feel that the teachers of america are highly under payed compared to other lines of work, they are the ones who help your child learn to be able to have a successful and since we have a not so good pay rate for teacher some tend to not want to do their job as much as other teachers do in other countries because they don't think their time is being valued just as much as he next person
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should have changes in our school like teachers getting paid more because they are teach the students how to be more reasonable as you get older , also I believe having classes where their are more then 28 students can be overwhelming for the teacher to try and get to everyone that needs the help.
ReplyDelete