In chapter six of The Flat World and Education, the author focuses on three countries that have radically transformed the way in which they approach education in general. "Steady Work: How Countries Build Strong Teaching and Learning Systems" chronicles the ways in which Finland, Korea, and Singapore have gone from under-performing systems to those leading the way for the rest of the world, seemingly swapping places with the U.S., which went from being an educational leader in the '70s to among the worst ranking systems today. Although most of Darling-Hammond's book so far focuses on all of the failings of the U.S. system, I did find a glimmer of hope when reading about Singapore's reduction of "rote learning" of content. The nation's prime minister emphasized, "We have got to teach less to our students so that they will learn more" (185). For me, this line immediately conjured up references to Common Core, where depth over breadth is the focus. In my teaching, I'm making a concerted effort to practice close readings and multiple readings of texts, asking students to engage with the texts by making predictions, creating visual representations, asking questions, clarifying, and summarizing what they read.
One of the key components I saw repeated time and time again in the reading was the importance of schools dedicating time and money to improve teachers. Darling-Hammond points out that, "A far greater percentage of U.S. teachers' work time is spent teaching than in most countries--about 80%, as compared to 60% on average for secondary teachers in the 31 OECD countries.
One of the key components I saw repeated time and time again in the reading was the importance of schools dedicating time and money to improve teachers. Darling-Hammond points out that, "A far greater percentage of U.S. teachers' work time is spent teaching than in most countries--about 80%, as compared to 60% on average for secondary teachers in the 31 OECD countries.