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E-mail Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2009 > January > 31 > Entry
Maybe we don’t want to model India and China
I’ve been meaning to point you to last week’s column by Jay Mathews of the Washington Post. Last year Mathews got a lot of grief for dismissing a hot documentary that made an unflattering comparison of American schools with those in India and China.
Mathews now cites a new book that back his view, calling the education systems in those countries “a sham.” Check it out. While there may be some very good schools in those countries where the most elite students are highly focused on achievement, the vast majority of schools in China and India are substandard, especially those for the poor. We also have some dreadful schools for poor children in the U.S., but on the whole the American system is of decent to very good quality.
This is one reason why I am suspicious of some international comparisons that show the U.S. scoring poorly against other nations. I wonder if the comparisons are apples-to-apples.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Dave
February 5, 2009 9:07 PM | Link to this
Mary, you are quite right in your complaints about how top students are not educated. My high school principal told me that a top student will usually succeed in spite of what the school does or does not do. But the marginal students need all the help they can get just to get through. So he directed his limited resources to focus on the marginal students. That is a very common attitude, and in general terms, he was right. But a lot of very bright students drop through the cracks. They get beaten down by the constant crap and other stresses in their lives. They drop out to survive.
By Mary
February 5, 2009 6:38 PM | Link to this
You might be right Dave, maybe I need to read it again. But what about our top students who do not score as well? Do they also count in our education system? Jay Matthews generally appears to not understand our top students and their educational needs and experiences.
By Dave
February 4, 2009 6:29 PM | Link to this
Mary, I’m confused by your post. Jay’s blog points out points out that some other (many?) countries are careful to only have their top students counted in the comparisons with ALL our students. That’s apples vs. oranges. Jay Matthews may not “get it”, but he has a valid point.
By Mary
February 2, 2009 10:28 PM | Link to this
I would agree Jay Matthews is somewhat of an ignoramus on education issues. I am not sure what the point of the current article is. A few weeks ago he had one about sorting in the classroom, and you should have read all the comments (81?) to the Washington Post trying to set him straight. I am not sure he gets it. Do not forget to compare the top students in India and China to the USA as well, and the international tests that compare the countries. I think Jay Matthews particularly resents high ability students.