The U.S. must start learning from Asia

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/12/07/school.results.us.asia.desai/index.html?iref=allsearch

 This article confirms what we discussed in class on Thursday. It discusses the PISA results and that Asia is among the top eight in those results and that America could learn a thing or two from Asia.

 "Asian nations have high academic standards and a demanding school curriculum that clearly defines the content to be taught and is sequenced to build on a student's abilities step by step. Teachers are expected to teach the full curriculum to all students, and schools have substantial responsibility and autonomy to design a program of instruction that meets students' needs."

"High-quality teachers and principals. Teachers are routinely recruited from among the top high-school graduates and, unlike in the U.S., principals generally do not apply to become school leaders as much as they are selected and prepared to do so. There are comprehensive systems for selecting, training, compensating and developing teachers and principals -- delivering tremendous skill right to the classroom." 
 I found this to be interesting.  Principals in the United States are usually former teachers where in Asia they are applying to be principals and do not go from teacher to principal.  There is training for developing teachers and principals as well and this may be lacking in the United States.

 Another thing the article pointed out is that there is an emphasis on science and math in primary school. Subjects such as biology, chemistry and algebra are among the subjects that are taught.  In America these topics are taught in middle school and high school.

School years are longer than the United States and sometimes the school days are longer - school days in America end at around 2:30pm or 3:00pm and we have summer vacation from  June - beginning of September. Perhaps a longer school year and longer school day could be beneficial for education here in the United States.

As the title of the article says, "The U.S. must start learning from Asia." I do feel we could learn quite a bit from Asia and incorporate some of their educational standards into our educational system.  It may benefit us and perhaps our spot in the PISA may rise.