I love Google News. I can set it to fill my startup page with articles on topics I’m interested in, like education! Despite cultural differences, articles from all over the world reinforce daily one consistent truth: no matter what continent, no matter what country, education is considered the catalyst for change. Today, even I was floored! This time, two articles on the same day from opposite sides of the globe highlighted a basic difference in attitude toward effective education. These submissions are of differing scope and purpose of course, so draw your own conclusions, but I was struck speechless (an unheard of event for me!) by the difference in perspective - long term vs short term- reflected in the pieces.
In one article I hear a long term, national commitment with a specific goal proposed -"a knowledge investment plan... to create over 500 million trained people by 2022" and, in the second, a general “oh no, we’re really in trouble now” "math and science proficiency... remains unacceptably low...these skills are going to continue to be in high demand.”approach. As teachers, we see these articles in U.S. headlines every day. We know we have great kids and dedicated teachers and administrators. We need a specific “’sticky” goal to rally and guide us out of the current problem. I long for a “man on the moon by the end of this decade” kind of goal. ( To be “sticky, “ a goal has to be easy to visualize and easy to communicate - NCLB just doesn’t do it for me.)
I don’t know about you, but I have chills reading such a firm commitment to long term educational growth from a country we have to compete with in the global market. Teachers, know that what you do is essential! Lots of food for thought.
Not sure how long the links will be useful, but check the articles out.
Low Education Scores Could Slow U.S. Growth
Let Education Be Our Revolution
