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Date Posted: 12:34:34 01/14/08 Mon
Author: SS
Subject: UNST421PRECIS1

Noah Eaton January 12, 2008


"How to Build a Student for the 21st Century"


Summary: Claudia Wallis and Sonja Steptoe is critical of how the public education system in the United States has become victimized by a sort of one-size-fits-all, instant-oatmeal math-and-science testing system, rooted largely on mistrust of public education and pressure points. They argue that, due to this, American students are not getting the skills they need to compete in the global economy, such as solving abstract problems, improving social skills, boosting EQ and understanding various languages, and that, essentially, the American public school system is outdated and failing to compete with even developing nations. Thus, several schools which have taken on a global economic model are examined, as well as a look into how modern technology is helping shape American education in allowing students to more easily discern information and study their views more effectively without hesitancy.

Key quote: “Many analysts believe that to achieve the right balance between such core knowledge and what educators call "portable skills"--critical thinking, making connections between ideas and knowing how to keep on learning--the U.S. curriculum needs to become more like that of Singapore, Belgium and Sweden, whose students outperform American students on math and science tests. Classes in these countries dwell on key concepts that are taught in depth and in careful sequence, as opposed to a succession of forgettable details so often served in U.S. classrooms.”

Why I chose this quote: Previously it never quite occurred to me that our textbooks are indeed thicker and denser than that of most other countries, and yet there’s a narrow focus toward how our youth today are educated here. The “portable skills” terminology is a crucial one, I believe, that isn’t being reinforced as it should be in the public arena, and rather what I’ve been hearing, on the political stage for instance, is candidates like Bill Richardson believing a minimum wage for teachers is the best way to start motivating the public education system again, while candidates like Mike Huckabee are suggesting getting art and music classes back in public schools would be the ideal solution, saying “we focus on the left brain too much, but not enough on the right”. Such suggestions are just too narrow in scope, and I believe we urgently must think broader than that.

Personal response to the material: Generally I’m in agreement that the No Child Left Behind Act, in particular, has homogenized public education and is depriving our children of the critical thinking and teamwork skills they need to compete on the global stage, and those skills MUST be encouraged. However, in terms of the technological argument, there also is a great risk there that wasn’t addressed in the article that too much a focus on technology impairs social development and shys kids away from groups.

Questions I want to explore: “What might be a model school to help elevate this idea?”

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