» 2010 » JanuarySeoul National University (SNU), South Korea’s top-ranked university, is the 47th best university in the world according to the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009. It only accepts incoming freshmen who score in the top 2.5 percent of those who take the National University Entrance Examination. The College of Education at SNU has trained roughly 20,000 [...] Among South Korean universities, five are ranked in the world’s top 300 universities: Seoul National University (47), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) (69), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) (134), Yonsei University (151), and Korea University (211). Three of these universities are located in Seoul. Opinion polls show that South Koreans view teachers as high-status professionals who make greater contributions to society than any other professionals. South Korea does two things to raise the status of teaching as a profession. First, it makes entry to teacher training very selective. Teachers are recruited from the top 5 percent of each cohort graduate [...] Barack Obama plans to increase the education budget by six percent. Why? It won’t make a difference. Contrary to popular opinion, increased education spending does not lead to improved student outcomes. This holds true for the U.S. as well as for other nations. In the U.S., public spending per student increased by 73 percent—after allowing for inflation—between [...] A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that in the U.S. wives are better educated than their husbands in nearly a third of marriages and make more money than their husbands in 22 percent of marriages, up from 4 percent in 1970. In other words, increasing numbers of men are marrying smarter, wealthier [...] In his most recent column, Thomas L. Friedman argues that innovation and entrepreneurship need to be reinvigorated in America. He states: “Without inventing more new products and services that make people more productive, healthier or entertained—that we can sell around the world—we’ll never be able to afford the health care our people need, let alone pay [...] Over the past decade, the number of U.S. schools offering classes in Chinese has increased from roughly 300 to 1,600 according to a government-financed survey. As China continues to rise as an economic rival, more and more parents and educators believe that learning Chinese can provide opportunities. Also over the past decade, thousands of U.S. schools have [...] On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to visit a private school. The ISF Academy is located within the Island South district of Hong Kong Island. It offers a unique language program wherein students attain fluency in both English and standard Chinese by the end of grade 12. As an American educational [...] In Five Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner describes five kinds of minds—or cognitive abilities—that he believes are critical to success in the 21st century: disciplined, synthesizing, creating, respectful, and ethical. Garner argues that anyone can cultivate these ways of thinking with time and effort. Parents and educators should help the next generation cultivate the thinking skills required for [...] In A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel H. Pink describes the four major historical ages: agricultural age (farmers), industrial age (factory workers), information age (knowledge workers), and conceptual age (creators and empathizers). Pink suggests that while left-brainers ruled the first three ages, right-brainers will rule the upcoming conceptual age. I tend [...] As the U.S. becomes increasingly socialistic under President Obama, it’s very likely that the most creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative Americans will move overseas to work for rising countries like China and India. The choice between redistribution of wealth and economic opportunity is an easy one for hard-working, bright people. At the same time, fewer people will immigrate [...] In yesterday’s post, I wrote about Thomas L. Friedman’s conclusion that creative imagination is the most important attribute in a globalized world. The problem is that not every U.S. worker will develop their creative imagination. Some people are better suited to blue-collar or lower-level white-collar jobs. With many of these jobs moving to China and India, [...] In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas L. Friedman states: “On such a flat earth, the most important attribute you can have is creative imagination—the ability to be the first on your block to figure out how all these enabling tools can be put together in new and exciting [...] While researching education systems in Asia, I had the opportunity to visit schools and universities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. What I observed was a shortage of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it comes [...] As U.S. factory jobs and back-office jobs continue to move to China and India, Americans need to focus on developing the primary skills they have left to offer the global marketplace: creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation. For centuries, the U.S. has been the world’s leader in these skills, which are more important now than ever before. China and [...] In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas L. Friedman suggested that children and adolescents can best prepare for an increasing competitive world by developing four skill sets: self-learning, passion and curiosity, interpersonal skills, and creative thinking. One of these skill sets—interpersonal skills—is not being fully developed by many of today’s [...] Singapore Math differs from the way math has been traditionally taught in the U.S. in several ways. Instead of teaching students how to apply formulas, Singapore Math teaches students different ways to solve problems. Rather than using paper and pencil, problems are often solved mentally. Rote memorization is replaced with understanding the “why” behind each [...] The math textbooks and workbooks used in Singapore have produced the best results in the world. Titled “Primary Mathematics”—but often referred to as “Singapore Math”—the book series is based on the national math curriculum of Singapore. The focus of Singapore Math is on depth, rather than breadth; a few important concepts are covered in great depth [...] Singapore students are among the best in the world at math according to the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). First administered in 1995, the TIMMS has assessed the science and math performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students from several countries every four years. In 1995, 1999, and 2003, Singapore students in [...] Bill Costello rides the Central-Mid-Levels escalators in Hong Kong. |
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