I'll check the stats and get back to you. Not that I'm suspicious but I've lived and attended schools in several of the countries on that list and my memories do not match the numbers.
I would also like to know why, if US teachers work so hard, scores drop for every additional year a child spends in public school when measured against international competition.
I lifted the stats from another website, so I can't vouch for their integrity.
However, American workers work harder than in virtually all other industrialized countries. This trend has been growing as companies downsize, speed up production, and squeeze as much productivity out of their workers as they can for as a little money. With the unions as weak as they are, the bosses have had a free reign to do this. With jobs as scarce as they are, workers have been accepting it.
With respect to teachers specifically, test scores are actually increasing. However, the achievement gap persists, low graduation rates continue, too many students continue to graduate without decent reading and math skills. But this is not the fault of teachers. It is the unnatural consequence of growing poverty and the multitude of physiological, psychological, cognitive effects poverty can have on children.
Most of the countries that are typically held out as having exemplary education systems also have considerably less childhood poverty than the U.S.
I'll check the stats and get back to you. Not that I'm suspicious but I've lived and attended schools in several of the countries on that list and my memories do not match the numbers.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to know why, if US teachers work so hard, scores drop for every additional year a child spends in public school when measured against international competition.
I lifted the stats from another website, so I can't vouch for their integrity.
ReplyDeleteHowever, American workers work harder than in virtually all other industrialized countries. This trend has been growing as companies downsize, speed up production, and squeeze as much productivity out of their workers as they can for as a little money. With the unions as weak as they are, the bosses have had a free reign to do this. With jobs as scarce as they are, workers have been accepting it.
With respect to teachers specifically, test scores are actually increasing. However, the achievement gap persists, low graduation rates continue, too many students continue to graduate without decent reading and math skills. But this is not the fault of teachers. It is the unnatural consequence of growing poverty and the multitude of physiological, psychological, cognitive effects poverty can have on children.
Most of the countries that are typically held out as having exemplary education systems also have considerably less childhood poverty than the U.S.
check the stats from here. education spending as percentage of GDP. depressing:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/opinion/blow-americas-exploding-pipe-dream.html?src=me&ref=general
charlotte
Thanks for the link, Anon. The data is not at all surprising to me, and shouldn't be to all those supporting the Occupy movement.
ReplyDelete