Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization by Yong Zhao (©2009, ASCD: Alexandria, VA) tells the story of how China seems to want an education that America seems eager to throw away. This is one that respects individual talents, supports divergent thinking, tolerates deviation, and encourages creativity. At the same time, the US government is pushing for the kind of education that China is moving away from. This is one that features standardization of curricula and an emphasis on preparing students for standardized tests. He wonders why Americans who hold individual rights in high regard would let the government dictate what children should learn, when they should learn it, and how they are evaluated.
Tags: education in China, Yong Zhao
As a teacher and parent continually being bombarded with the benefits of high stakes testing, this is a book I long to read. Thank you. I marvel at the foreign students that flood into our rural schools here and am always warmed by the notion that what they seem to looking for is balance… I continue to search for this in ePub format. Thanks for the review.
…Ellyn
[...] Click here for Yong Zhao’s 10 minute video. Click here for my summary of Yong’s Book. [...]