Discussion on Education

Tony: I would like to introduce the two experts that will be taking part in our discussion today about the United States education system. Laurel Horn is a high school English teacher that has been teaching for 13 years, and Carolyn Edwards is a professor at University of Nebraska at Lincoln who has researched different education systems in Europe as well as teaching here. Let me start by asking your opinion on what the big debate of "teaching to the test" here in the U.S.

LH: This is a touchy subject to many teachers that I work with and talk to in other school systems. The last thing a teacher wants to do is to sit in front of a class and only teach their students what will be on a test at the end of the year. The problem comes in when pressure is being put on us from higher standing individuals that are threatening our jobs if our students don't perform well, or the government saying they won't give us funding if we don't meet their standards. Also, we don't want to sit here and let a student be marked as underachieving just because we didn't go over a subject in class. This in my opinion is the biggest failing of our school systems now, but until the government begins to take a step back and change their policies it seems to be something we have to deal with.

CE: I do agree with Laurel about this being the biggest failing of our school systems now, but I don't find the fault completely with the government. I believe it is the duty of the teacher themselves to find out how to integrate the curriculum on the test with real world applications. Many of the top school systems in Europe aren't worried about the normal curriculum of the history of their nation or which artist painted what painting. They are focused on teaching their students how to become a productive member of society. These European schools focus on group-based exercises to introduce the subject, while encouraging engagement with other students, which breaks the mold of lecturing in the classroom. If we are able to find this balance here then we will be able to compete academically with even the Asian countries which are leaving us in the dust as of now.

Working Hypothesis

I have experienced the education system here in the U.S. first hand, and I have seen just how ineffective it can be. Our system has been primarily built on a "teach to the test" foundation that has left very little room for students to truly interact in the classroom. I believe that the innovative techniques that are being developed in education systems outside of the United States are enhancing the student learning environment and should be adopted here at home as well. The most obvious differences in these European approaches and ours is the curriculum they teach, the role of the teacher, and the advent of assessment.

Annotated Bibliography - Education System Comparison

Brettell, Leif. "School policy in Sweden -- a school case: a Complex Instruction introductory workshop." Intercultural Education. 11. (2000): 15-20.

Brettell wrote this journal in order to illustrate the strength of the unique organization of the Gruvrisskolan school in Falun, Sweden. He talks about the unique "teacher team organization" that puts more demand on the principal and creates a more coherent group that is always learning from each other. He also uses this as a basis to his development of a workshop that would help other schools begin organizing their school in this manner. Brettell is a very reliable source, because other schools are using this workshop in order to reorganize their school system. This article is useful to me, because as I begin to talk about the comparisons of the United States' schooling system and Sweden's, I will be able to give a solution to reorganizing our education system here as well.


Edwards, Carolyn Pope. "Three Approaches from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia ." Early Childhood Research and Practice 4.1 (2002). 4 Nov 2010 < http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/edwards.html >.

Ewards' online journal outlines three progressive approaches to education in Europe. The article focuses on three main areas of the education system: curriculum, role of teachers, and ways of assessment. Carolyn is a professor of psychology, family, and consumer sciences at University of Nebraska in Lincoln. She started studying the early childhood education in Italy while she was a visiting professor at another university. This is a very reliable source that is very objective and is primarily an over view of the views of the three progressive programs. I will use this article in my argument in order to show the different roles teachers should take in the class room, and other kinds of curriculum that should be taught instead of just mind-numbing information.

Research Proposal

Questioning the American Education System

There has long been debate about the best way in order to teach students effectively. There has always been a question about how effective it is to teach to a test and if the information will even be remembered after the student has finished learning. I was raised in a school system where the teacher stood in the front of the class and taught for 50 minutes everyday. The non-stop lecturing did not leave much chance for grasping concepts and discussing them in class. I even found that when I had questions about the information, I would just google it.

As I read the letter to the editor from Paul Vincelli (http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/25/1493956/benefits-to-learning-within-a.html) about the benefits to learning inside a classroom, I was immediately in agreement with some of what he had to say about human interaction assisting the learning process, but in disagreement with his idea that all students are best taught in the classroom atmosphere that is present in the U.S. system of education.

My interest was further peaked during a trip to New York where I met two foreign gentlemen that mentioned the different types of education styles that are present where they are from. One of the two actually started school in Australia at 3 years old and was done with schooling at the age of 16. The school system determined he was not efficient enough in Math to study Computer Science, so he was forced to move to the U.K. in order to pursue the field. He is now one of the most accomplished Web Developers in the world.

My goal in this paper will be to compare and contrast different education systems around the world. I will be pursuing the organization, teaching methods, and values of the schools themselves.

Methods

I am going to be utilizing the EBSCO database that is available to me via Alden Library in order to begin researching these different education systems. I have already found two sources that I have found very help:

• Efficiency in Swedish Public Education
• Three Approaches from Europe
• http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/teaching-to-the-test.gs?content=400&page=3
• http://www.teach.gov/teaching-experience/who-teaches
• http://www.fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm
• http://www.designshare.com/Research/Tarr/Aesthetic_Codes_3.htm

These articles have been very helpful in helping to give me a starting point on which direction I should head in my paper. It is very interesting to read about the three different approaches in education that are found in Europe that are very different from our own. After this initial search I will be searching for books over the American Education system in particular in order to have a good understanding of the type of education system I come from as well.

The main questions that are driving my inquiry on this subject are:

• Are they nationally or locally organized?
• What are the Teacher's Roles?
• What are their approach to education?
• Pros and Cons of each system

Timeline

11/2 - Research Proposal Due

11/2 - 11/4 Begin Researching Topic using Alden Online Databases

11/4 - Working Hypothesis Due and Annotated Bibliography Due

11/4 - 11/8 Continue Researching and Begin Rough Draft

11/9 - Rough Draft of Final Paper Due

11/9- 11/11 Revise Paper

11/11 - Final Draft Due

Significance

I hope to be able to better understand different education systems around the world so that I may give a recommendation to how the United States should reform their current system for the betterment of the education which our students receive. Other countries are out performing us in many areas such as trade and production. These countries are also the ones that are out-performing us academically. Reforming our education system could help us to compete with these academic super powers and keep us at the top of the list when it comes to business and trade.