U.S. versus highest-achieving nations in education

[tabatha]

By Linda Darling-Hammond
The first ever International Summit on Teaching, convened last week in New York City, showed perhaps more clearly than ever that the United States has been pursuing an approach to teaching almost diametrically opposed to that pursued by the highest-achieving nations.

In a statement rarely heard these days in the United States, the Finnish Minister of Education launched the first session of last week’s with the words: “We are very proud of our teachers.” Her statement was so appreciative of teachers’ knowledge, skills, and commitment that one of the U.S. participants later confessed that he thought she was the teacher union president, who, it turned out, was sitting beside her agreeing with her account of their jointly-constructed profession.

..........

The contrasts to the American attitude toward teachers and teaching could not have been more stark. Officials from countries like Finland and Singapore described how they have built a high-performing teaching profession by enabling all of their teachers to enter high-quality preparation programs, generally at the masters’ degree level, where they receive a salary while they prepare. There they learn research-based teaching strategies and train with experts in model schools attached to their universities. They enter a well-paid profession – in Singapore earning as much as beginning doctors -- where they are supported by mentor teachers and have 15 or more hours a week to work and learn together – engaging in shared planning, action research, lesson study, and observations in each other’s classrooms. And they work in schools that are equitably funded and well-resourced with the latest technology and materials.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/darling-hammond-us-vs-highest-achieving-nations-in-education/2011/03/22/ABkNeaCB_blog.html

(This is a re-post, because I don't know if everyone saw it - it is important for Teachers.)

[givemebackmycountry]

1. aw... now who the eff would unrec this?

I hope your proud of yourself.

And now this...

Race to the top my ass, we're sprinting to the bottom, and we are on a high speed rail there too...

[Newest Reality]

2. Seems to all fit well in the overall gameplan:

The deliberate dumbing down of america is a chronological history of the past 100+ years of education reform. Each chapter takes a period of history and recounts the significant events, including important geopolitical and societal contextual information. Citations from government plans, policy documents, and key writings by leading reformers record the rise of the modern education reform movement. Americans of all ages will welcome this riveting expose of what really happened to what was once the finest education system in the world.

Click on, The Book, to read it:

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/

[tabatha]

4. There was another book some decades ago

"The Dumbing down of America" - I don't know by whom. I don't know if I read it, it was quite a while ago.

[NJCher]

5. link doesn't work

Cher

[Newest Reality]

6. I clicked it from my comment and

it works for me.

Anybody else having problems with the link?

[MoralSyncretism]

7. Works fine for me /nt

[msongs]

3. completely opposite of the Duncan/Obama race to the corporate cash cow....errr top nt