Tutoring Experience

This semester we have studied the diversity of educational systems in the world as well as the similarities that transcend national borders. Working with students of many different cultural backgrounds and tutoring them on their academic subjects has not only been a challenge but a tool in understanding the themes in this course. On one of the first days of class, Dr. Armento came to teach us about ways of connecting with students from different countries with different educational backgrounds. She gave us strategies and informed us of the challenges we would face in working with these kids. After working with these multicultural students at Fernbank Elementary School, I have found these tools helpful and necessary in tutoring. To teach, you must first understand that your student may have outside circumstances or be accustomed to a different style of learning than you are prepared to use. As an educator, you must alter your approach to cater to the needs of the student. For example, I was having trouble with one Hispanic student who could not distinguish the different classification between animals and people; for example, she thought that tigers were just another gender like male or female. I tried explaining to her the difference, but she did not understand. It was not until I used pictures and the grouping method (Demonstrated by Dr. Armento) that she understood the concept. In this course we have learned that it important to observe other educational systems and learning to better our own. If we adjust our own ways to implement some techniques used by other countries, it may be easier to educate our own students while also helping students from other areas of the world succeed.

Benefits of Human Rights Education in Schools

As discussed by the two articles in the reading, a curriculum that includes the study of human rights creates a better functioning society. A society educated in human rights leads to a citizenry that is better equipped in a democratic society. I think the Gaudell and Fernekes article makes an interesting point about this in its mention of counter-socialization. This learning process of counter-socialization encourages social criticism in students and enables them to question the dominant ways of their society. Any principles learned as a child now come under scrutiny as young adults and are assessed in their true worth. Students are now developed with a life-long social consciousness in which they become independent and critical thinkers. Under any circumstance, the ability to think both independently and critically is vital to functioning in a democratic society. As the article mentions, this process of counter-socialization is essential to the development of active citizens dedicated to democratic practice. And this process is only enhanced by a human rights education.
Here in America, the depth of our human rights education is restricted to learning about the Constitution or the Civil Rights Era. My own school system can attest to this. Aside from the Holocaust, few teachings included any mention of international events or cultures. The few lessons that did, left no mention of any injustices the communities may have faced. After these readings, we now know that a curriculum with a human rights based approach can only enhance the learning experience of students. They not only become more aware of their own rights, but more respectful and defensive of the rights of the international community.

International Human Rights, Society, and the Schools

Living in the United States where each individual has human rights makes it hard to imagine other places in the world where people do not have basic human rights.  One out of four adults is said to be unable to read and write and that statistic is supposed to increase in coming years.  I have never been to a place where many people are illiterate, so it is hard for me to imagine them.  Although, tutoring students at the International Community School has shown me how it is possible for one in four adults to be illiterate.  For many of the students there, English is not there first language.  If those children were never given the opportunity to attend ICS, then they might never learn English.

The U.S. has always been concerned with human rights around the world.  The U.S. has signed multiple charters, declarations, and covenants to help ensure that people around the world have human rights.  Although other countries might view it as arrogance, it is important for the U.S. to make sure people around the world have human rights as long as they have the resources to help.

International Human Rights

The last point in the Bulletin (# 15. Why is Informed World Opinion Regarding Human Rights Important?) is shorter than many of the other statements, but I think that it has an extremely important message that shouldn't be overlooked. The reason that the human rights code exists in an official, written form is because of prior violations of human rights. Human rights are not granted, they are innate; no person or government has the right to violate them, even without a written code. Yet the code was necessary and violations of human rights still occur regularly. People need to be informed of human rights, even when they seem so basic that most would take them for granted. This point referenced education as the key to ensuring these rights; if every child is informed of his or her basic rights, regardless of citizenship, there will be a baseline of knowledge. However, this process is not a quick and easy solution to the problem; there is still mass illiteracy and lack of access to education that would prevent a child from learning anything, even what he or she deserves, merely because he or she is a human being. I think that the goal is admirable, but, after reading this article, I'm not quite sure how feasible (or, if feasible, how quickly) it will to implement.

Global Human Rights

I could not agree more with the foundations of this article.  It was especially interesting to read about this case study on a New Jersey high school since I also attended high school in New Jersey, and our curriculum far from covered global human rights issues.  If we learned about human rights issues, it was brief and mostly included national issues, not global.  The only topic we did cover in depth was the Holocaust.  We barely learned about global issues in general and only briefly touched upon anything related to other countries outside of the United States unless topics related to U.S. history (like WWI and II).  My high school curriculum could have been greatly expanded to include not only global human rights issues but also information on global culture and history in general.  It was not until I came to Emory that I really became exposed to global issues - and trying to look at these issues through and non-U.S. perspective.

International Human Rights, Society, and the Schools

According to Margaret Stimmann Branson and Judith Torney-Purta, it is vital that students learn about human rights and rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. While some believe that students are not learning about rights in the American context in sufficient depth, I feel that human rights should be taught to students depending on maturity level. For academic purposes, the history surrounding the human rights of our country should be taught at a certain age or grade level, but if students are not prepared to handle these ideals and to put them into proper perspective, they can misinterpret them. For example, they may understand free speech as the ability to say whatever they want whenever they want which could lead to repercussions. Also, depending on the environment in which they live, the right to bear arms could prove fatal to others in their community if misunderstood. Students should understand the concepts behind human rights and the United States Constitution, but they should be regulated and introduced to the students more in depth as soon as they are fully ready to interpret them.

Teaching Global Human Rights

This article highlights the importance of increasing awareness about human rights and how to preserve them, and classrooms around the world are the best place to do this. We take human rights for granted here in the USA, but these ideals are not as well established in some places around the world. As the article states, we can use teacher and student-led discussions to communicate with people the goals of human rights awareness, such as the fact that rights violations can be state-sponsored, that human rights are open to interpretation, and that efforts to curb violations have been succesful in the past. Case studies, international law and politics studies, and historical context are all ways students can become more aware about human rights, and I think this awareness is crucial because it fosters respect for human life for generations to come.

Teaching about Global Hman Rights

The required course, Comparative World Studies, is offered at the Regional High School. It is modeled after the ideas of Willard Kniep who came up with five core conceptual themes and four “essential elements of study.” It is stated that the five conceptual themes are “interdependence, change, culture, scarcity and conflict. The four essential elements were the study of systems, the study of human values, the study of persistent issues and problems, and the study of global history.” It is in the persistent issues and problems that the student will get an understanding of human rights. They learn about collective vs. individual rights and security vs. liberty. The set up of this discussion is very interesting and smart. They start by peaking the student’s interest with a dramatization, and continue by explaining the evolution of human rights.
It is important for students to understand all of their rights. I have recently taken a Business Law class, in which, part of the class was devoted to human rights. We learned about different types of torts against rights such as false imprisonment and false light. I feel that it is important for all students to have a thorough understanding of their rights, because it will help you for the rest of your life.

Importance of Human Rights Education

I found the arguments (in the Branson-Purta article) insisting on the importance of teaching human rights very interesting, particularly the third point made stating that human rights represents a field of knowledge which serves as an organizing framework. A lot of the times, students and adults think that it is the developed countries' duty to help eradicate poverty, provide aid, etc... to the third world. What people fail to realize is that the right to freedom from poverty, illness, hunger, etc... is what should be driving this reaction to developing countries. I think learning about human rights expands and enriches individuals to become more aware of their own rights and those of others in more broad contexts. America has been criticized as being a country that is self-oriented and ignorant, but by teaching human rights, we will be able to combat these accusations to help increase awareness of global human rights. This will help close the social, wealth, and health disparities that are so prevalent in our world today and help increase the status of third world countries. 

Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortensen’s story in Three Cups of Tea was truly inspirational. I impressed how someone who was a “nobody” and saw himself as a failure for not being able to climb K2 was still able to make such a difference. Although he himself was a bit intense, it took someone with his kind of passion to be able to do what he did. This was another tale of how one person can really make an impact. I liked how special attention was paid to improving education for girls, which he recognized as being particularly important. I was also floored by his determination despite all the dangers and obstacles he faced in this endeavor. Not only was Mortenson’s success story captivating, but (unlike Christina) I loved how the book itself was written and the glimpse the reader got into what the people and country of Afghanistan are really like. Most interesting to me were his descriptions of the students, people of the village,  Muslims, Taliban, etc. Personally when I think of Afghanistan and Pakistan I immediately associate them with Taliban, violence, terrorists etc. This book shed a new light on and emphasized the importance of education in these areas of the world. 

Three Cups of Tea

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have always heard of people donating money to help students in other countries but I have never heard of anything like Greg Mortenson’s story. I think that it takes a really dedicated person to put so much time and effort into a project like Mortenson took on. I can not imagine staying away from my family as long as he did for people he barely knew. It is really amazing how much he has done for all of the people he has met over the years and I think it really makes a difference in their lives. I also think he is slightly crazy, but in a good way, because he always kept his cool when talking to dangerous people like the Taliban and the people who held him hostage. I honestly do not believe I would have known what to do if I was ever put into the situations that he was put through. I think that if there were more people in the world like him we would be more accepting of different cultures and there would be fewer wars.

Three Cups of Tea

The first thing I have to say about this novel is wow this guy gets lost a lot. However this turned out to be a good thing. The story is very compelling and really touches the heart.  I admire Mr. Mortenson for going back to Korphe and keeping his promise.  He went through a lot to keep his promise and I feel that in the end it was more than worth it.  I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulties that the people building the school had to go through to accomplish their task of building a school.

My only problem with this book is that it seems to focus an awful lot on the scenery.  I understand that this is to give the reader an idea as to what these people have lived through, but it was not what I was expecting.  What I was expecting was something a bit more like a journal that described what Mr. Mortenson had gone through, not a travel brochure.

The experience reminds me very loosely of a mission trip I went on to Mexico.  We were sent there to build houses for the people living there.  When we arrived I was shocked, how could anyone live there? But as time went on and we got to know the people, and we build their houses, I realized that even though these people lived in squalor they were very bright and worked hard for what they had.  In the end it felt really good to know that we were making a difference in their lives by building these houses for them.

Three Cups of Tea

When I first read the introduction of Mortenson by the author, I was very curious about learning about someone who can be "one of the most underqualified" and yet still overachieving. The author describes him as someone amazing who has done great things in his life, but it was humbling to see that the book begins with Mortenson's failure and how this failure allowed him to become the person he is today. In chapter 1, the author describes how Mortenson is able to "wear down a congressmen...reluctant philanthropist...[and even] an Afghan warlord." I was surprised by his abilities to speak and convince other people. I thought that chapter 2 was very interesting because it describes Mortenson's story of survival and it also begins the imagery of tea that recurs throughout the book. Because Mortenson felt indebted to these people who lived in poverty, he began to help them by giving away his belongings and promising to build them a school. When I read that these childrens' desire to learn reminded him of his little sister Christa, I realized that Mortenson found a goal, something he truly wanted to achieve no matter what hardships or obstacles may come his way. When Khan tells Mortenson at the end of the book, "Every rock, every bolder... We must turn these stones into schools" Mortenson was able to see the rest of his life and what he must do in his future. This was such a powerful imagery for me because I don't know what it is like to have a true purpose in life and a true passion for something that I believe in. I admire Mortenson for being able to find his purpose, his goal, and his means of achieving both. I hope that someday I will be able to find mine and achieve them as well.

EFA ch 1,2&5

In EFA global monitoring report, many goals are listed to help young children to educate. Among many goals listed, there is a emphasis on reducing poverty through economic growth, improving child health and reducing mortality, and encouraging democracy and citizenship. In order to maintain and meet these goals by 2015, early childhood should be viewed and educated carefully by government and school system. Because child malnutrition is serious problem in still developing countries, children should be cared in terms of food, home location, and the environment. The report also listed the gaps and inequalities between income differences, rural-urban inequalities, and language-based inequalities. Achieving these goals will be difficult and seems to be impossible for all of developing countries because there are thousands of children who are in need of proper nutrition, education, care, and monetary support. However, I believe that some of goals will be achieved by 2015 if parents of children in childhood frequently provide information on appropriate, correct world conception, general manners and attitudes, and democratic ideas. Then, children will be gaining proper behaviors when interacting with teachers and peers in advance and further develop fast to fit into the social community, which would help to learn.

EFA report: Ch. 1, 2, 5

While the EFA report was a good awakening to realize that the Dakar Framework for Action targets and Millennium Development Goals were not going to be met by 2015, I am critical of its intentions. As with anything, it does not help much to point out imperfections if you're not going to back it up with solutions. The report does an excellent job of giving us tons and tons of negative statistics that shocked us while reading (such as the fact that 776 million adults in the world are still illiterate). Every once in a while it would also emphasize that there has been some positive growth (such as telling us that the global adult literacy rate increased from 76% to 84% over the past 15 years). However, given that its Recommendations section is only a couple pages (Chapter 5), I don't understand how the policymakers of developing countries are supposed to know what to do to fix the situation. Instead of simply giving us statistics of countries/areas that have experienced a positive change due to these initiatives, the EFA report should have specifically stated what it was that these countries did in order to achieve success. For example, in Chapter 5 one of the recommendations is, "Increase national education spending, especially in developing countries that chronically underinvest in education." To me this was quite obvious, but I asked myself, if developing countries don't have the money to increase spending on education, THEN what can they do? The EFA report should have come up with more tangible solutions that can actually be implemented based on past successful experiences.

I thought that one of the most important goals mentioned in this report was in order to increase quality of education, motivation of teachers must be increased. This was interesting to me because in my interview with a Nigerian student in the beginning of the semester, he talked a lot about how often class was cancelled because teachers didn't show up to school. He also said many times when teachers did not know about a subject they would make up things based on their own beliefs. It sounded like his education was negatively impacted simply because the teachers didn't care enough (most likely because their pay was low or nonexistent).

EFA Report

The EFA 2009 report discusses the many problems facing developing countries in the realm of education. Inadequate early childhood care, financial problems, adult illiteracy, and gender disparities are the main topics of discussion. Inequality based on income, gender, location, ethnicity, language, and disability only further enhance the disadvantages too many children must overcome. Though some progress has been made on these issues, it is coming at much too slow a pace.
We know the benefits of education are that it can allow students to gain higher wages, increase their productivity, reduce child mortality, and provide a sense of empowerment for female students. But these benefits cannot be taken advantage of until governments enact effective policy reform.
This issue of education in developing countries is actually a topic I am studying right now in an Economic Development class. Cultural traditions and family labor needs will often keep girls out of school and thus hinder their ability to reap the benefits mentioned earlier. These families view the opportunity cost of sending their daughters to school far too detrimental to their household’s financial well-being. One such way to encourage and boost female school enrollment is to compensate for these opportunity costs by way of scholarships and stipends. We’ve learned about a Female Secondary School Stipend Program in Bangladesh that saw girls’ enrollment rise to double the national average. There was a similar success story in Mexico called the Progresa Program, it gave poor families cash awards to cover the opportunity cost of sending their daughters to school and has since become a model for similar programs across Latin America.

While the EFA goals are important in education, meeting these goals is vital in modifying and developing systems and institutions. As the article states, early childhood care in education is important, but what I find interesting is that they include early childhood education and care for all children. It is important to include the vulnerable and disadvantaged in any educational policy because students come from all different backgrounds and situations which impact their performance in school. Studies have shown that students with a stable household ultimately perform better than students from broken, conflicted homes. Overall, students from higher class backgrounds tend to perform at a higher level than those students whose families cannot afford the extra resources such as tutoring for their kids. These parents often lack a higher education themselves, so their child’s only resource is the classroom. While there is a gap in economic status, I feel as though the key to an improved educational system is eliminating the gap between the students’ performances in school. Through strategies such as these, the EFA can better reach their goal of providing equal and beneficial education for all.

EFA Chap. 1, 2, 5

One of the goals of EFA is to have universal primary education by 2015.  One of the first obstacles in the way of achieving universal primary education is to fix child mortality.  Although the rate is improving in many nations, there are about 10 million children who die before age 5 each year.  Many of the deaths are caused by child malnutrition that stems from poverty.  Even if children do not die from malnutrition, it still affects a child's mental capacity.

When I was growing up, child malnutrition was never on my mind or a pressing matter in my everyday life.  I did not realize that there were 10 million children around the world just like me who died because they were malnourished from poverty.  I believe that there should be more attention brought to this topic.  People should be shocked by these statistics and should not accept this as just another issue that people have to deal with.

EFA

The EMA Global Monitoring Report discusses the major discrepancy between OECD countries and sub-Saharan Africa.  They say that “by the age of 7, almost all children in OECD countries are in primary school, compared with 40% for sub-Saharan Africa.”  There is also a major discrepancy between post secondary educations.  But these are not the only disparities.  Within countries there are major disparities between the wealthy and poor. Across the board, we see a smaller percentage of poor children attending school than wealthier ones.  They say that poor children in Africa and Asia “are less than half as likely to reach grade 9 as those from the richest 20%.  These are truly staggering numbers that need to be corrected.

We have seen this type of disparity in many countries.  In China, for example, children in rural areas are far less likely to go to school than children from urban areas.  It is not a coincidence that they are usually poorer than children in urban areas.  In decentralized countries, poor areas have bigger issues than wealthy areas with education students.  These trends show that finance is an extremely important part of education. We need to put more of our government expenditures into education to try and reverse these trends. 

EFA Report 2009- Ben Jones

The EFA report for 2009 makes it clear that while progress toward reducing economic and thus educational inequality is being made, we are still not on track to reach the Dakar goals by 2015. One goal that is not on track to be achieved is universal primary education. 75 million primary school age kids are still not in school, although 28 million more are enrolled than in 1999. Economic inequality is paramount in this issue, since the poorest echelon of society has the highest percentage of children not in school, and the lowest amount of funding for schools. The poorest 20% of people in sub-saharan africa and south and west asia sees fewer than 40% of chilren reach grade 9. Another problem is adult literacy- about 776 million adults are still illiterate, and the goal is to reduce this number by 50% by 2015. This is an important goal because it not only allows greater oppurtunity for these adults, but because it will lead to greater child literacy as the parents pass their knowledge down and encourage their children to learn to read as well. The fact is there are huge amounts of underpriviledged people in the world, and the key to helping them achieve a better life is to extend economic and educational oppurtunity to them, and while it is important to have goals, we need to work harder in order to stay on pace to achieve these neccesary improvments for the world.

EFA Report

One idea briefly described in the EFA Report that stood out to me was the fact that among different linguistic groups, there are significant differences in school attendance and completion.  The report suggested that mother-tongue language instruction may improve school attendance, which is a positive effect of including this type of instruction in schools we have not previously discussed in class.  I do believe that if mother-tongue language is taught in schools and used to promote education to parents, school attendance would increase.  However, schools need to consider and include other languages as well if they desire to cultivate national identity and/or the ability to use certain language for future occupations, for example.  Schools in multilingual regions also need to consider heterogeneity in schooling and how that affects their educational policies and curriculum.

Sharkey : Contradictions in girls’ education

The idea of resilience really stood out to me in Sharkey’s article. It was great to see that despite their bad circumstances, the girls were able to make the best of their situation and establish strong support networks with their friends at school. Being able to be around other girls their own age was very empowering to them and something they would not have had access to if they were deprived of schooling. Sharkey says of the schools, “it is here that the girls’ coping strategies through their collective sustaining narratives are most strongly constructed. By constructing bonds of solidarity and covert resistance, this space, although tightly bound both spatially and temporally, just may contain seeds for social change beneficial to girls.” On the playground the girls are able to talk and share ideas, giving them the opportunity to have more of a voice than they ever have. Having friends to rely on and discuss issues with is something we in the United States take for granted. If these girls were not attending school they would have only their families to turn to and would most likely not know any girls their own age. Although violence and general structure of the schools need to be reformed, it’s refreshing to see the positive aspects of girls’ education in Sierra Leone today.

Also, my project is going to be on mother tongue education in South Africa and Tanzania 

Brookfields School

After reading Sharkey’s research on girl’s education I was appalled to find out how much violence girls in Sierra Leone suffer. As a child I never feared for my life while walking down the street. I was also never told that I did not deserve to be educated. Learning that this is a fear for girls in a different country really upsets me. What shocked me the most is that the Brookfields School says that they care for their female students but then they belittle them and beat them when they do not act according to how the teacher sees fit. It confuses me that this problem exists within this school, and I do not understand why parents have not done anything to correct this. It is positive that these girls are resilient due to their peer groups but how long will they be resilient if they keep living through this daily abuse.

Girls' Education

To me this article was very shocking and truly eye-opening to the real issues at hand regarding girls' education. Statistics such as girls making up 1/3 of the 48000 child soldiers in the war just jumped at me because I would never have imagined even one female child serving as a soldier in a war. I was glad to read that girls were provided with education as a means of support and resilience. However, another fact that really surprised me was that when these female students attend school, their routes to and from school are very unsafe. According to the article, it was a "dangerous and fearful daily experience for girls." I couldn't really identify with this fear because at Emory, even when I am walking late at night, there are other people around who are around campus. However, through reading about the personal thoughts and comments made by the students, I caught a glimpse of what they must go through every day when walking to school. I was very touched by the commitment, passion, and the willingness of the girls to overcome all of their fears to gain their education. I hope to apply these same feelings to my life as well.

Issues Paper

I will be studying girls education and women in the work force. I will be looking at Argentina and Italy.

This article was eye opening.  Growing up in the US in a fairly well off family I have never been afraid of rape or violence on the scale that these girls deal with on a daily basis.  I greatly admire and respect these girls for going to school even though they have been through these horrible experiences.  If I were in their shoes I do not think I would be that strong.

The one thing that really surprised me occurred on the seventh page.  Up until this point the author is emphasizing how the education was being used to create resilience in these girls to help them accept and move past what had happened to them.  Granted most of the article up until now seems to deal more with the theory that this type of schooling will be beneficial to girls.  The surprising part was when the author mentions how these schools do not stop or lessen the violence against these girls but actually seem to perpetuate it. I had to reread this paragraph several times before it really made sense especially after all the ideological language of the first few pages.  Then the article goes on to say that girls do not have rights.  This is truly saddening and depressing.

 

Girls at the Brookfields School

I found this week's Sharkey article on girls' education in Sierra Leone especially interesting, particularly the section about normalized violence and the mistreatment of girls at the Brookfields School. I can't understand why the principal and teachers fostered a school environment where violence, humiliation, and berating of students was normal. These actions are counter-productive to what the school's mission sets out to do. While the principal gets angry at parents who may be mean to the girls, she acknowledged the physical and verbal violence of teachers towards students, she doesn't even believe in the rights of girls, and she condoned teachers not showing up on a regular basis. I don't understand why the principal would be able to say these things much less believe them. If the institutions that are educating girls' in Sierra Leone don't even really believe in promoting their status, then who do they have on their side? Girls will continue to be taken advantage of and not be able to socially move up after being abused and targeted for much of their lives. I can't even imagine what it must be like for those girls to constantly live in fear and have to remember all the abuse and atrocities they've seen. Knowing that this happens to girls in Sierra Leone and in other countries I'm sure makes me value my own education and how I've been granted the right to it with no problems at all. I admire the girls who actively take a stand against their system in hopes of a better life. 

The United States, United Kingdom, and Japan all boast literacy rates of 99%.  I want to explore and compare the weaknesses in each country's education system.   I will perform this task by analyzing the teaching and learning in rural areas.

Issues Paper

My first and second choice for topics are:

1) Morality in schools in Nigeria and India.

2) Methods of math education in Germany, Japan, and the US.

Topics for Issues paper

1) Fertility & Education - Nigeria/India

2) Racial discrepancies in access to quality education - Brazil/France/US

issues paper

Brain Drain (India, China)

Preservation of Language in a Globalizing World (France, Finland/Brazil?)

issues paper

1) The importance/trend of English subject (South Korea and Japan)

2) Brain drain (South Korea and Japan)

issues paper

The two topics I'm interested in writing about are the differences in gender and the role it plays in society( the glass elevator effect in Nigeria) and the AIDS epidemic is third world countries.

Issues Paper

Multiculturalism in schools (Italy, Brazil)

Mother-tongue (Nigeria, India)

Issues Paper Topics

1) ESL education, how English is taught in other countries (China and Japan)
2) Higher Education, college and graduate school (China and Japan)

Issues Paper

1) regionalism & language learning (Spain & Italy)

2) educational responses to immigration (Spain & Italy)

Issues Paper

I would really like to somehow work with the treatment of the African Americans in Argentina. I'm not sure how to link this or what exactly the topic would be. I would really appericate any guidance. My other topics include Indegienous education with the US, Japan, and China. Or brain drain in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Politics in schools

I found the focus on politics and government fascinating.  When I think back on my high school social studies classes I don’t really remember much discussion on politics.  It was more like a history class than social studies.  We learned about policies and different types of government, but we never discussed current issues that were important on a political or governmental level.  Honestly I have never been interested in politics neither in school nor out.  The closest that my school came to a political intrigue, or at least school political intrigue, was when the vice president of the student council convinced the entire school not to cheer at a pep rally. Needless to say he was kicked off of student council, but a lot of people put up a fight to get him back on the council.  In the end he was forced off, but he ran again next year and won the position of student council president

I liked how different the school systems were with regards to politics, and how these differences were a reflection of what type of government the subjects had. I would have liked to talk to the students that were involved in the study and ask them if they were consciously aware of how politics affected their school and curriculum or if they, like me, had no real idea that politics played such a large part in their education.

Italy

I was very surprised to learn about their assessment system to get to the next year of secondary school.  The teacher makes detailed comments on the progress of the student as well as their maturity level.  I feel that this is a very personal thing that allows teachers to truly relate to their students.  Once the personal report card is made, the teacher presents it to the class council.  A group of teachers then further assess the student and send a report home to parents.  The final report says whether or not the student will go on to the next grade the following year.

I feel that this system is very unique and time consuming.  It is unlike our system in the U.S. where the grading is not very personal, especially in secondary school.  Also, their seems to be a strong communication between teachers and parents.  It seems like parents are more involved in their students education in Italy.

Italy

Before I read an article about Italy, I expected that the educational system and schooling would be similar to that of the United States because I assumed that many systems were borrowed from European countries. However, I noticed that rather than being similar to the American educational system, Italian educational system is similar to Korean education. First of all, the schooling season starts in September and ends in June. Then, they get summer vacation and winter vacation. The number of days and weeks of schooling is also similar to Korean education. Now, in the United States, there are many Italian students as the number of immigrants increases. In the article, it explains that the enrollment has increased. “the percentage of foreigners enrolled in the upper secondary school has exceeded the share of those who are enrolled in the infant school: out of all foreign students, they represent now respectively 19.4% and 19.2%.” The tendency of the increasing number of immigrants reflects the influx of them. This might create the big gap between the immigrants and typical American students.

Italy

When I first started reading about Italy, I thought that their education system was similar to that of the United States. The time period that the children are in school reminds me of how the Chicago Public Schools work, they start in September and end in mid or late June. I also thought it was interesting that they not only had child-centered school but also teacher-centered schools. The reason this caught my attention was because when I think of Italy, I think of Maria Montessori who created the child-centered schools that exist here in the United States. Something else that surprised me was the fact that the head teacher (direttore didattico) is responsible for when students do not come to school. In America, it is completely the responsibility of the parent or guardian to make sure that the student is in school. I wonder if this policy changes the amount of times children miss school or does it have no effect at all.

Immigration and Italian Education

What strikes me about the Migration Citizenship article is the mass amount of recent immigration and how the immigrants have integrated into society, through education and other means. The article mentions that now there are over 8 times the amount of immigrants/immigrant children in Italian schools, as compared to 1995/1996. Europeans, in particular the Italians, are seen to have a low birthrate (9.4% of births in 2003 were to foreign families but they compose 7% of the population); combining the influx of immigration and the decrease in Italian children, the percentage of immigrant children in Italian school is significantly increasing. Although the Italians seem to be doing well in this process, there are still significant educational difference between migrant children and native Italians; for example, the widening gap of decreasing success of immigrant children as they progress through school. This is a problem that the Italians are aware of, because of their consistent checks on education and in particular immigrant education, and would hopefully address in the future.

Italy

I found it interesting that the Italian educational system places a high importance on the arts throughout a child's educational career.  Although the United States educational system does offer art programs in schools, many are limited due to lack of resources, teachers, and social support.  Many people in the U.S. do not believe that the arts are an important part of education and do not highly value careers in the arts.  Italy, on the other hand, has many opportunities in higher education in the arts that are considered a "non-university" education.  Perhaps Italy places a higher importance on the arts due to its vast artistic history, which can be seen in museums, cathedrals, and city architecture.  I believe that the arts should be included in U.S. schools because they often give students a place to develop their skills and enjoy academic programs.  Especially if students feel that they do not succeed in other academic areas, art and music classes may offer them a place to flourish academically.

Britain Seeks Its Essence, and Finds Punch Lines

This article was very interesting because I previously thought that I knew a lot about Britain, but it turned out that Britain had a lot of internal issues regarding having a decentralized government and a lack of nationalism/national unity due to differences in region, ethnicity, and religion. The author talks about how people in Britain feel that there is no such thing to be "British." This idea was very interesting to me because people who are not British know what a "British accent" is and what British people are like. Unlike being "American" where the U.S. is made up of a melting pot or a salad bowl, British people do not have an actual identity yet.
By implementing new policies and plans for British citizenship, bill of rights and duties, and a constitution, I think that the government can advance and create a new identity for British.
I think that this article applies to me personally because as a Korean American, I often question my identity as both a Korean and an American. However, I have come to realize that I can be both because I formed my own identity just as the British plan to form their own identities.

Italy - Teaching

In the article, I found that the process of becoming a teacher in Italy, unlike many other countries we have studied, is intensive, and qualifications are not helpful but required. Teachers and educational staff in Italy have shifted from a government responsibility to, the responsibility to the individual schools. They are highly trained at different levels of practice depending on their desired level of teaching. They are also required to attend four year college institutions (institutos Magistrales) and successfully complete the designed teaching training program including, theory, methods, and teaching practice. Aspiring secondary instructors must attend a two year specialty college (Scuole di Specializzazione) to obtain their designation of Abulitazione. In many countries around the world, teachers are not as qualified to teach the higher levels of education, while the lower level students also receive a subpar academic education. Outside of Italy such as in the United States, we often see instances in which teachers have problems accommodating to special needs, or handicapped students. Italian teachers receive training on the integration of these students in the classroom while also offering the normal specialization in these areas. The final distinction of Italian teaching is that unlike teachers in the United States, Italian private school teachers must meet the same qualifications as public school teachers. Throughout my high school experience I have had many teachers that may have been qualified, but did not have their teaching certificate. While our private schools are responsible for their own staff, Italy requires that all teachers prove their qualifications through certification. With one qualified teacher to every 11 students in a classroom setting, there is no confusion as to the reasons for the strong educational system and the 98% literacy rate in Italy.

Italy and Languages

I found it very interesting in the reading on Italy that the Ministry of Public Instruction mandated states teach other languages. This was stated as essential for educational and professional development. Elementary schools were reorganized to include modern languages and middle/upper school curricula included the study of foreign languages. I think learning different languages is extremely important and valuable. The Italian government was right when they said that the study of languages and culture are essential to meet the needs of immigrant populations as well as other reasons. We learned that language helps create a sense of national identity also. To combat obvious problems that arise with immigrant populations, the Italians have taken a hands-on approach to language. 

I think the teaching of multiple languages is something that the US doesn't look at as important and is something that should be reformed. Maybe it is because the US is secluded from many other countries unlike in Europe or perhaps its just a manifestation of the US as the best and not needing to take on other languages, but this thinking needs to change in my opinion. Just like the Italians were able to foresee, the importance of language is paramount for many reasons and is something I think the US Education system should look into reforming. 

Britain Seeks Its Essence / Studying Civic Education

Both Hahn’s article Britain Seeks Its Essence and Lyhall’s New York Times article brought up the question of what it means to be a citizen of one’s country. Lyall discussed the search for a motto to define what it means to be British and Hahn explored citizenship education within schools. Hahn explained that even though citzenship education is not as important in Brittan as it is in other western countries, a sense of citizenship is still instilled in the people. On a similar note, Lyall proved that the majority of the british feel that they are defined enough as a nation that they don’t need a motto to distinguish themselves.

            Unlike what Hahn says, I don’t feel that citizenship education was of central importance at all in my education. Being in a more eclectic community in college with people from all over the country has given me more of a sense of what being an American means, but before that I feel as though I identified more with my local area. It just seems very vague to me to say “I’m from the United States” and that it says more about me to say that I’m from New England or that I’m a Vermonter. Perhaps it is different in other schools around the country but I really do not think of the U.S. as a place that places a strong emphasis on citizenship education.    

Civic Education in the United Kingdom

I find it interesting how the idea of creating a statement of values is being received in Britain. When I think about the possibility of something similar here in America, had we been a nation with an evolution similar to Britain, my reaction would be very much like that of those in the article. But instead, our American sense of values and what it means to be a ‘citizen’ have already been instilled in a written bill of rights and constitution. These sentiments are implicitly, rather than explicitly, understood in the UK. Hahn mentions that it is perhaps for this reason, and the fact that the nation was not created out of a revolution, that the concepts of ‘citizen’ or ‘civic education’ are not as important in the UK as they are in the United States or other western democracies.

I think Gutek also makes an interesting point when he says British policy, society, and education has transformed as a result of evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, change. The idea of ‘Britishness’ is an idea that has simply evolved over time, as values and social standards passed down through the generations. But in an era when immigrant populations are on the rise, bringing in waves of people who have yet to be introduced to such standards and values, the reliance upon unwritten rules becomes less effective. So I can understand the necessity of creating such a “statement of values,” but I question its validity in a growing society where people find it easier to define themselves by differences than by similarities.

Gutek chapter 11

Gutek writes about the UK’s religion in schools.  In the maintained schools, each system follows an approved non-denomination format.  In fact, religion instruction is required in England and Wales. If there are enough non-Christian students in school, the parents can petition to have separate assemblies.  This has to do with the increase in the number of Muslims and Hindus, most likely from globalization. Voluntary schools also receive financial aid and have religious services.  They are based on the church that runs the schools.  Clearly, there are ties to church and state.

I went to a Catholic high school that was run and taught by monks.  The difference, however, is that it did not have any funding from the government.  Gutek touches on this when he writes that the state is not allowed to give taxpayers money to religiously affiliated schools. This difference in philosophies is a very important distinction.  I feel that while the church was involved in my education that was not the case for the majority of my peers.  In the UK, the church has a much bigger impact.  I am not sure if this is a good things or a bad thing, but I would prefer not to have religion in school. 

gutek chapter 11

Learning about the educational system and history of the UK is especially important because of the influence the UK has had on the formation of so many nations. We have already studied the US, Nigeria, Jamaica and India, all of which were originally colonized and governed by the British. Thus, many of the pillars of the British system have remained. One of the educational problems the British have experienced is the lack of vocational education due to the emphasis on the study of classics and general intellect rather than specific training. Recently, school curriculum has been nationalized, although administration of the schools remains local with national funding and supervision. As a constitutional monarchy that was once the seat of a great empire, Britain retains a strong sense of tradition and social stratification. However, the monarch is now merely a figurehead and the real power lies with the House of Commons and the Prime minister, who along with the House of Lords form the bicameral parliamentary system. As the UK has transformed from the seat of an empire to a modern european national, there has been a gradual trend toward reform that has extended oppurtunites for education and economic success to a larger part of the population. The economy now is firmly based on financial services rather than industry. I found this chapter particularly interesting, not only because the UK relates to our own educational context as Americans, but because of how the UK has adapted from a major colonial power to a succesful modern european nation.

Chapter 18

When I was reading the education in Nigeria, I felt bad for students in Nigeria because of lack of supply, untrained teachers, and limited spaces. Gutek stresses the presence of the high illiteracy and serious AIDS problem. Because the country itself is not yet large and rich enough to educate students, the need for rebuilding the nation is highly urgent. Because Nigeria has multiple tribes, languages are diverse. Therefore, there are many languages that people speak, but English is the official language because of the influence from Britain. Gutek discusses “The Nigerian government identifies education as a key agency in national building, especially in achieving the goals of national integration and economic development…education is seen as an important agency for creating a political culture conducive to economic improvement (422).” I believe that these phrases focus the main point of his point. The educational system is rather weak, even though secondary and higher education were supposed to prepare the technically skilled people who might need for the modernization of the country. The primary school is designed for child development, the parents responsibilities, and training for care to others. Moreover, it is compulsory but free for everyone. However, as the education level goes higher, the enrollment gets fewer. This is because there are few spots for the university, and the admission is highly competitive and selective. In order to improve the quality of the country itself, I believe that students should be educated more, and the education should be more available for Nigerians. In addition, rather than focusing on one individual group or tribe, they should integrate and selectively borrow other nations’ core elements in education.

Gutek Chap. 18

I have to be honest in saying that this chapter somewhat bored me, but only because the person I interviewed was from Nigeria and his account was much more exciting! Fortunately there were a few new things that I learned or that caught my attention. One is the distributions of age in Nigeria: only 2.8% over 65 and a median age of 18. For one, I did not know that a median age of 18 was possible. This demonstrates a huge population boom or a huge increase of early deaths. The huge population boom seems likely since Gutek mentioned that there was a government idea for a 4-child per family policy (compare this to the 1-child rule in China!) However, I also believe there must be a rapid increase in early deaths due to AIDS, malaria, and other diseases (potentially even from dirty water/air because of Nigeria's lax environmental protection). Interesting enough, my interviewee said that a few of his great grandparents are still alive. In his family and surrounding village, most people live to their 100s or at least 90s because they eat locally grown healthy food and stay very active. However, in other regions or nowadays this may be drastically affected by viruses/diseases.

Another interesting piece was the effort of Nigerian planners to include study of Nigerian history and culture as a way for nation building/unity. As Gutek states, "The problem, however, has been to create a shared national history where none existed." This statement could not be more true. If someone asks us what happened in the 1800s in the U.S., we would be able to tell them about a few key aspects pretty easily. However, my interviewee was not able to tell me much about Nigerian history past his own mother's and father's experience and the oral tradition of his Yoruba village. This is because Nigeria did not exist until the 1800-1900s when it was colonized by the British. How can you teach history when there was no history? How can you teach "Nigerian culture" when it is really 250 different cultures?

One last note is that I thought it was interesting that the political structure of Nigeria mimics the U.S. with a president/chief of state and elected by popular vote for 4-year terms, when it was a nation colonized by the British. However, this system seems to be working out pretty well for Nigeria since the successful term of Obasanjo. But in the recent election as expected there were many issues with counting the votes and corruption.

Nationalism and Diversity

We often discuss in our class the subject of diversity in education. Many students often assume that diversity is the goal in education, but the beginning of chapter eighteen on education in Nigeria makes evident some of the cons of diversity in education. Nigeria has about 250 ethnic groups, but there are dominant groups that other groups fall under. According to this article, people tend to be more ethnocentric than nationalistic, which makes nationalism relatively uncommon or non-existent. The article mentions how in some European countries, having a common learning language as well as a national language fosters nationalism as well as a more unified country. The issue that arrises in very diverse places with large groups is the question of which languge to standardize, which culture to emphasize over another because that is generally how it would take place, especially if a party is in power that is identified primarily by the ethnicity of the members.
By emphasizing one languae a different group may see that as an imposition of another cultuer onto their own--especially in a place where people identify more with their ethnic makeup than they do with the nation state.
Nigeria had another difficult issue in addition to these being that there was no common link between the 250 languages and dialects in the country nor did that have common historical links to unify them except for Brittish occupation of the country. The one link for the nation is English which not only carries with it the memories of past oppression as well as cultural ideas and theories that the language caries.
I think that the Nigerian government made a respectable decision in making English the primary language in education and then requiring that the students learn three local languages.

Nigeria (Ch 18)

Nigerian education suffers due to a lack in government. Systems of education in other countries we’ve studied have a decided balance between centralized and disperse factors. The United States, for example, has federal guidelines that are then refined and carried out by individual states. France and Japan, however, have highly centralized educational standards and Germany, in contrast, has a dispersed model of education. Nigeria is faced with a dilemma; the country contains a vast range of distinct groups spread through separate urban and rural area, and there is no true precedent of a strong, accessible, nationalized education system. Nigeria is suffering the classic symptoms of other LTDCs; there are economic difficulties, although the country has natural resources such as petroleum; there is a colonial history that has resulted in internal fractions of diverse groups, now under the jurisdiction of a single government; there is very little funding for education and educators and consequently, the country experiences “brain drain.” Continued education in Nigeria is correlated with certain typical factors, similar to those we’ve seen in South America. First, there are religious schools that present an agenda separate to that of a typical public school. Second, the students cannot afford the “free” education because it often requires boarding and for parents to pay other expenses during their son’s education; also, it is typical for male students to have greater opportunities than female students because of the roles men and women often take in society.

Gutek Chapter 18

Gutek stresses the three stages of Nigerian history as the main influence on its' economy, politics and education: indigenous early history, British colonial rule, and post-independance. Because of British rule, the political, judicial, and educational systems are somewhat western in ideology, although there has been an attempt to move away from those policies and create a unique Nigerian national identity since independance in 1960. Nigeria is a divided and fragmented nation composed of many different states, ethnicities, language, and religions, and this has impeded national development. In 1966, these tensions boiled over when a millitary coup inflamed rivalries and caused the president to flee the country. A civil war ensued when the Igbo area of eastern Nigeria seceded from the nation and the millitary leaders of Nigeria attempted, succesfully, to stop them. The war ended in 1970, and the hard feelings still linger today. The nation signed a new constitution in 1999 with a bicameral congress and a multi-party system, and the new government is striving to integrate the nation and diversify and stabilize the economy, which is dependant on the petroleum industry. Nigeria faces problems such as AIDS, illiteracy and internal tensions, but the new emphasis on national education is an attempt to remedy these problems.

Nigeria Chapter 18

Before reading Chapter 18, I was unaware that Nigeria was once a British colony.  Since this is true, their education system is set up very similarly to Britain's and, in turn, ours.  There is primary school from ages six to twelve followed by secondary education which is from ages twelve to eighteen.  Nigeria has also made many strides in higher education since their independence in 1960.  By the 1990's, there were 29 universities.

A major difference with education in Nigeria and education in the U.S. is that they have many Muslim Koranic schools.  The problem with these schools is that the teachers are not necessarily qualified, but they have a strong understanding of the Koran.  Also, many teachers in rural areas only have primary education, as well.

Nigeria Chapter 18

What I found most interesting about this chapter on Nigeria was the complicated issue revolving around the great diversity of language, religion, and culture.  It is very apparent that this aspect of Nigerian society makes it extremely difficult to educate its large young population and to create a strong sense of national identity among its citizens.  Although it appears to be a much larger issue in Nigeria, this problem also occurs in European countries such as Spain and Italy, where a nation was created from a number of different regions, each with their own culture, variety of language, and history.  When Franco came into power in Spain, he sought to create unity among the different regions.  One way he attempted to do this was by limiting language to only Castillian, which was the only language to be taught and used in schools.  This created many issues because people of different regions felt like their culture was being compromised and still today there are problems with regions that desire to secede from the nation, such as the Basque region.  Ultimately, the resolution in Spain was to teach Castillian and the regional language in schools, which is similar to how in Nigeria the students study English as well as one of the three main languages.  It does seem to be problematic though, because so many other languages are learned and used in informal and nonformal settings.  Who is to say which languages are more important or "more educated" than others and therefore should be taught in formal settings.

Nigeria - Ch. 18

What I found interesting about the reading was the distinct difference between secondary schooling in Nigeria and that of the United States. While we start high school at about age 14, students in Nigeria start at age 12 and remain in secondary school for 6 years as opposed to our standard four year program. In the United states, aside from private institutions, we are not required to wear uniforms and do not pay tuition because it is included in our taxes. In Nigeria, secondary schooling is still expensive in that many secondary schools charge tuition fees, and require school uniforms. These requirements are often times what keep students out of schools in Nigeria; this results in a low enrollment. In American schools, inability to pay is not what keeps students out of schools. It is academic performance and lack of ambition and desire to learn which keeps them out.

Another significant difference between Nigeria and the United states in that the Nigerian educational system stems from the British pattern. Nigerian students must pass the entrance exam which his administered and graded by the West African Examination Council. In the United States, a student attends their county elementary school, then move on to the high school in their district; there are no entrance exams or committees that determine which students move onto secondary schooling and which don’t.

Gutek Ch. 18- Nigeria

It is hard to deny the strong influence that the UK has had on Nigeria in social, political, and educational contexts. While some of these influences have and may be helpful, others are detrimental. With regards to secondary schooling, Gutek writes that only about one-third of the appropriate age group is enrolled in Nigeria's 6000 secondary schools. This statistic is outrageous. With more than two-thirds of the nation's population not being educated beyond the age of 12, clearly the educational structure is robbing its nation of educated members. 

One contributor to this fact is that the country continues to be influenced by the British model of education where admission to these schools is highly selective (through exams) and elitist. With such a strong emphasis on the exam, certain children are put at a disadvantage. Those who cannot afford extra schooling, who don't have the support of their parents, need to work while attending school, etc... will have a harder time succeeding at the test as opposed to the privileged students who are wealthy and have the ability to climb the social ladder. While I realize that the use of strict and stringent standardized tests for admission to secondary school is used in a number of other countries, it is something that I personally do not agree with.

I like how in the US, if a child wants to or can, they have the opportunity and access to complete a secondary level education. There are no tests that dictate that the smartest kids go to certain schools and that others go to less 'smart' schools. While there is a difference between the types of school, like private or public, if a child wants an education, then they can have it. This is one of the most powerful and successful aspects of the US school system. We value education in the sense that we find it necessary to try and make sure that everyone who wants, has access to it. 

An Enclave of Brazilians - New York Times Article

Norimitsu Onishi’s New York Times Article An Enclave of Brazilians Is Testing Insular Japan described the status of Japanese-Brazilians living in Japan. It explained how despite the similar appearance of these immigrants to the Japanese nationals they are still on a separate level. I was shocked to read that it is not mandatory for foreigners to go to school in Japan. This makes it even more clear that the Japanese are really only looking for labor workers and are not interested in integrating the foreigners in to their society. Onishi concedes that indeed, “Children who do not attend Japanese schools tend to become isolated for Japanese society.” It is therefore not surprising that even though the Japanese-Brazilians were given permission to re-locate to Japan two decades ago, they are still very excluded from Japanese society.

Although Americas policies on immigrants has it’s flaws I think that it is much better at integrating foreigners into our society. We have restrictions for refugees and immigrants but also have a distinct sent of rules and a process for people to gain citizenship. Japan could stand to have schools like the INS rather than separate schools for people who speak different languages or have different backgrounds. Foreigners need to be able to become accepted in Japan, especially if the country wants more people to move there in order to work its booming industry, and I think a good place to start is with the school systems. 

Gutek-Japan

As I read the chapter, I found it interesting how Japan places an emphasis on harmony and the promotion of a group-based society within its school systems. From an American perspective it is easy to spot the negatives in this type of mentality. To sacrifice our individualism is to ignore our individual self-interests and ideas. Meanwhile, our consciousness – usually a product of our own individual thinking - is transformed into a tool molded by an outside source. Gutek brings up the point that this inhibits creative thinking and therefore stalls any type of progress and growth within a country.
On the other hand, I did notice that there could be a positive to a collective mentality. With an individualist mindset, you only have yourself to worry about. In school, if any of your actions are not carried out in the best way, there is only yourself to disappoint. Whereas with the group-driven mindset, your entire classmates becomes a part of the equation. With such a large group dependent upon you, it encourages you to do better and promotes higher achievement. Also, Gutek mentioned how there is equal funding across all schools in Japan. This equal distribution of resources gives students in both rural and urban areas access to the same education. In the US we have the opposite situation. There are obvious differences in our rural and urban school systems which cause students to receive varying qualities of education.

Japan developed a very interesting education system in the late 1800’s. Their approach was somewhat unique in that they took different aspects from varies countries to try and create the best centralized educational system. They divided the country into eight collegiate divisions, which was taken from the French. They also borrowed the approach to inspect schools and teachers by setting up a bureau. The primaries schools were mandatory for children 6-14 years old, modeled after the American system. Finally, they borrowed the majority of their system from the Germans. This included German research universities and German educated professors. This was inspired by the desire to “catch up” to other countries.
The concept of borrowing educational systems is an important aspect of globalization. As countries become more connected, it is important to continue to try to model and adapt education systems to other countries. Japan modeled Germany because they had similar goals of gaining power. Currently, all countries should have similar goals of creating the best educational system possible, and this will only happen if we keep borrowing from one another.

Gutek 15

Growing up in Korea, I knew that Chinese and Japanese school systems were completely different, but I did not know the specific details that made up those differences.

From the Gutek reading, I was surprised to learn that unlike China, Japan had education as a national priority. China also had education as a priority, but I think they focused on the quantity of education rather than quality, whereas Japan was able to have a true respect and commitment to education, known as "gakureki shakai" or "educational path society" and kogkureki shakai" or "a society of long educational rouths."

However, I don't like the fact that schools in Japan encourage conformity because then the school gets to decide what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Students get no individualism or freedom to express what they may think is right or wrong. Although I can see how Japanese people may think that teachers could help students uphold values of honor, respect, and responsibility to the home and family, which "mirror the larger society and economy," I think that they should only serve as mentors and guides, not people who tell them what to think and how to act.

Gutek Japan

What I found interesting about the reading was that Japan has taken other countries ideas and implemented it into their way of living. The reason why I found this interesting is because America wants to copy Japan’s educational system even though part of Japan’s educational system comes from America. As the reading stated the reason why America or most other places cannot mimic Japan is due to the fact that it is very homogeneous. Everyone in Japan is group oriented and they avoid individualism which is not how America functions.
Something I do not like about their educational system is the testing. I do not like the idea of taking one test that can determine what class you will be in for the rest of your life and not having the opportunity to retake it. I do not think that their testing is fair and it only creates social inequality in a society that is supposed to be group based.

Gutek Japan

I originally thought that the Japanese system of education would be extremely similar to the Chinese system.  Both had a strong belief in Confucianism and both hold strong beliefs about honor and respect.  It was a surprise to find out how different they two systems were, and how easily Japan seemed to make the change into a modern country whereas China had so many problems with doing so.  I especially liked learning about education early on in Japan’s history and how they combined Confucianism with learning “military arts”. I guess that was a given since the first schools were meant to teach samurai how to function under the government.  What surprised me though was the fact that, later on, the government also supported school where commoners could attend, and how this influenced how the Japanese people saw and understood education. 

The reading also mentioned how the country of Japan is made up almost exclusively of natives of Japan, the text said 99 %, and how Confucianism has had a large influence on their country.  If that is the case why go outside of Japan for alternate and new forms of education? According to the text it was because they (the Japanese government) wanted to modernize Japan while keeping Japanese morals and beliefs as the core of any renovation/ revision it made in regards to education and other areas as well.  It is amazing how well they accomplished this.  I still want to know why this occurred. The text says that the reason the Japanese government pushed so hard to become modern was because of pressure from the Japanese merchant class, but could there have been another reason?

Gutek Chap. 16

Histories of other countries always seem so much more ancient than history of the U.S. -- perhaps because the U.S. has only been around for a few hundred years, as opposed to China, which had been under imperial rule for over 2,000 years before 1911. For example, I was astonished to read that "intellectual activity was prized over applied and manual work" (363) in Imperial China. Contrasted with my own life, being brought up as an American means you always strive for the best, which can vary considerably, but generally means finding a good job. In the U.S., going to school and college is extremely important; not for the "intellectual activity," but for the competitive advantage of being able to find a decent, steady job after graduation. Also, we are always encouraged to "think outside of the box" to come up with our own ideas and solutions. This is why it surprised me when I read that state examinations in Imperial China were studied for by memorizing ancient Chinese literature (emphasizing cultural preservation). In fact, the examiners cared more about this ability of recalling texts than the ability to solve problems.

When thinking back to Gutek's chapter on the U.S., I believe that this may have also been the case in early colonial America. The best male students went into Harvard and studied art, philosophy, and history, just as the ancient imperial Chinese did. However, young adults in early America were not as constrained as the Chinese. They had the freedom to express their own views, and thus were able to expand to science and technology. In Imperial China, this was limited by the Confucian ethical code, which created a hierarchial ladder of subordination. Since sons had to obey everything their fathers said, and fathers had to obey everything the emperor said, then there was not much room for the freedom of thinking on one's own. As Gutek states, historical views still linger and are evident in modern China, as currently students must often still recall masses of information for university entrance exams.

Gutek Ch. 16 - China

Within this summary of China's educational system, the reading mentions the importance of student rankings and the maintenance of one's public persona, or "face," within China's secondary school institutions. One such way these rankings and public personas are developed is through various school leadership elections. Once students are organized into groups, called ban, they have the opportunity to elect leaders to whom they give specific responsibilities, such as the study monitor, propaganda representative, arts and entertainment leader, and the supervisor for cleaning. I found this particular point interesting because it reminded me of a documentary I've seen called, "Please Vote for Me." It follows the election of class monitor in a primary school located in central China. The focus is on three students as they prepare for speeches, debates, and musical performances - three events upon which their fellow classmates will base their votes. Along the way you see just how important these positions are to these students, all only 8 years old. As they go home to their parents, who act as political advisors throughout this process, the students face constant criticism as they're taught strategy against their opponents, and coached to memorize their speeches. The campaign begins to take its toll on these children as seen through the recurring tears and outbursts. I think the obvious emotional impact the election takes on the students is evidence of the importance that the school systems place on high rankings, which the reading suggests. As the schools encourage a system of rankings, based on a Confucianist hierarchical model, students are taught to constantly keep their public persona in mind and to be at the top. While failing their university admission examinations basically leaves them with no future, to be anything less than the best is simply not an option for these students.

Gutek, Chapter 16

My previous knowledge of Chinese history and politics was scarce before reading Chapter 16 in Gutek. It is interesting to compare the changes and revolutions that occurred in China to what I learned in my class last semester on the Cuban Revolution. Despite the dramatic progress that generally occurred at the beginning of these revolutions a continued focus on being revolutionary without a shift to productivity generally leads to destruction and falling behind as was experienced with the Mao administration with the “Great Leap Forward” movement. A generation of people that could have propelled the country forward economically and thereby politically never came into being. It is evident in studying these two revolutions that ideals and practicality have to find some sort of balance when it comes to ruling a nation. Similarly, in Cuba, Castro experienced a similar problem. After the excitement of the revolution died down, it became apparent that in order to preserve the nation, leaders had to slacken the restraints of their social and political ideals. It seems that extremes are excellent for enacting social and political change but not for sustainability.

Gutek Ch.16

Though China’s educational system is different from the United States I find that it has many things similar to our system that exist many years ago. One thing I noticed was that women were not educated until Christian missionaries stepped in. This was something that happened in America, and I believe that it is unfair to have such double standards when it comes to educating youth. Another similarity that I noticed was the type of education that is provided for children. In China, the children in urban areas seem to get more privileges in school because they have better resources, whereas the children in the rural areas do not receive quality education. In the American education system things are not exactly the same but there are many inequalities that exist. After reading the education in the People’s Republic of China I realized that educational inequalities not only exist in America but everywhere else in the world. I believe that something needs to be done to fix these equalities especially when it comes to equalizing education no matter where the child lives.

Gutek Chapter 16

The inconsistencies within the Chinese educational system are immense. The variety within Chinese education somewhat reminds me of the US healthcare system: there are variables based on where you live, a mixed historical precedent, and constant change due to economics and politics. The US healthcare system is also referred to a “nonsystem” because it lacks a degree of uniformly consistent elements; Chinese education appears to share that theme. Gutek describes the varied history of Chinese education, including the shifting principles behind educational thought; the ideological values of Communism and classless culture, but also the embedded discriminations based on socioeconomics, particularly location. It is difficult for me to believe that there are so many possibilities for primary education (five-year, part-time, and full-time six-year) and that the educational options afterwards are limited to so few students, a number that decreases along each step of the way, with so few opportunities for the students reach an upper, but not the uppermost, level. The goals of the Ministry of Education do not seem to be concerned about this problem, which is also an element of the larger problem of mass unemployment, as we discussed in class as an element of the Chinese news.

Gutek Ch. 16 - China

The first thing I found surprising in Gutek’s chapter on education in China was the stark differences between rural and urban education. I found this striking because from what I know the opposite holds true in the united states. Inner city schools struggle because there are too many students and not enough resources whereas school whereas schools in more rural areas are able to cater more towards the needs of individual students. In china the rural schools don’t have access to the same things the urban ones do and consequently students outside the cities have a distinct disadvantage. Being a country with such a large population, however, it is not surprising that the Chinese flourish at catering to bigger crowds. Consequently, it makes more sense that the government is advocating an increase in professor-student ratios in order to reduce costs.
The system of education in China is extremely different from my own, and I feel that a lot of this has to do with the fact that I grew up in an extremely small town. An average class size in secondary schools in china is 60 whereas our classes maxed out at fifteen. From my reading I found that ranking was extremely important to Chinese students. They are constantly in competition against one another and are compared to each other publicly. I’ve never experienced a situation where my grades or schoolwork was available for others to see. It’s always been an extremely private matter. I was also struck by the lack of importance of grades from teachers. Gutek made it clear that examinations were what mattered the most. I’m certainly glad that this has not been the case in my education.

Gutek Chapter 16

      Analysis of China's educational system is not possible without considering the historical and cultural context of the country. Confucianism is the dominant traditional ideology of the Chinese and tends to have a conservative influence on education and transmission of ideas. However, this thought-based approach was replaced by a much more action-based policy when Mao Zedong took control of the PRC during the 1950's and 60's. During his "Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution, Mao eliminated entrance exams for schools, relegated formerly respected teachers to menial labor, abolished non-maoist literature, and eliminated all intellectualism and outside influence at the threat of persecution and even death. As a result of this and the lingering PRC influence today, many people were deprived of the education they deserved and the system is still feeling the consequences. Also, similar to India, China's sheer size and distribution of resources combined with a top-down rather than grassroots approach leaves many people deprived. 

Personally, having taken a course on Chinese History, I was exposed to the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and how many honorable academics were forced to undergo physical and mental suffering. Thankfully, those times are over now and China is heading towards economic capitalism. The potential for growth and improvement economically and educationally is immense, and we will see if China is able to overcome its' traditional struggle with modernization and realize their national potential.

Chapter 16

When I was reading Education in the People’s Republic of China in American Education in a Global Society, written by Gutek, I found many interesting facts about Chinese education. Based on my previous knowledge, I thought that Chinese students would probably spend most of hours to study like Korean students. In addition, I thought that they would take many academic subjects, instead of involving in PE classes or extracurricular activities. Some of my previous knowledge was correct; however I was not completely right. When reading chapter 16, I found myself comparing the Chinese education to the American education. In China, there are about fifty to sixty students in one classroom, and there are many classrooms, while there are relatively small numbers of students in one classroom in the United States. Moreover, Gutek comments that the secondary schooling in China is based on the official ideological shifts.

The big difference between American education and Chinese education is the number of opportunities for students to enter colleges. In order to enter college, Chinese students should take an exam called “Gaokao,” which is similar to SAT. Since “gaokao” is the most fundamental and important factor to enter a college, teacher-determined grades and recommendations from teachers are not considered important. However, in the United States, the teachers’ recommendations are significant. Gutek mentions that “passing or failing the examination has serious lifelong consequences. Those earning hifh scores have a better chance to enter prestigious universities. Those who fail are unlikely to find appropriate employment and may even be unemployed (381)”. After I read this portion, I felt that American education gives more chances to the students, because Chinese students can take only one exam in a year, while students in the States have multiple chances to take SAT. Then, I realized that this was why Chinese students spend more time to study academic matters, instead of involving in extracurricular activities, which were not considered important to the college admission.

Gutek Chapter 16

What strikes me most about the educational system in China is the act of direct ideological indoctrination in formal schooling that seems to take place regardless of shifts in educational focus and political changes. In contrast to my formal schooling experience, it appears that China explicitly teaches and forces certain ideological beliefs upon its students. In my experience, ideas of nationalism and belief in American ideologies and values were psychologically ingrained in a more implicit manner. Though we engaged in certain activities that clearly demonstrated American patriotism and values in public schooling such as standing and reciting the pledge of allegiance daily, many students did not take this act seriously and others just stood for respect but did not speak the words. I learned many American values and customs during my formal schooling, especially in regards to educational values like individualism; however, I never felt that educators and administrators directly pressured me to believe in political ideologies. In fact, because politics in general can be a highly debated topic, I feel it was left out of my public school experience. My political identity in terms of my American citizenship was something that I believe developed as a result of my family values and other forms of non-formal education rather than as a result of my formal schooling.

Gutek- Chapter 16

The two-track system in China is something that I found interesting yet not surprising when reading the chapter. While it is true that the PRC is dedicated to establishing universal primary education, government resource allocation has caused a rift between schooling in urban versus rural areas. In rural areas, primary school improvement has been happening more slowly and relies more heavily on local resources. With resources more readily available in urban areas, the government funds these schools more heavily (ie. with a full-time six year school program). However, only 25% of the school-age population live in urban areas and thus attend these schools, leaving the remaining 75% to attend under financed schools. 

This dual system is only going to reinforce class differences and make it harder for those who live in rural areas to improve their lives. In a country that is officially a 'classless society', the institution of this dual system is creating just the opposite. But, I can see where the PRC would think that this practice is a good one. In many developing countries, governments favor urban areas as hubs for potential growth and advancement so they focus more of their resources on those areas. But, they don't realize that by ostracizing the rural areas, they are actually stunting socioeconomic growth. While this may seem unreasonable and too idealistic, I think China needs to spread the allocation of their resources more evenly throughout the whole population. By under educating those in rural areas, they are effectively loosing a huge chunk of their population in terms of productivity because they aren't as educated as those from urban areas. 

This scenario reminded me of  Three Cups of Tea and what Greg Mortenson is doing in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The places where he is building schools are those extremely closed off and rural areas that are denied government funding. His work is trying to reverse the effects of poor government decision making by trying to offer universal education regardless of location, which is what should be done in China. 

Chapter 16

After reading about education in the People's Republic of China in Gutek Chapter 16, my views of the Chinese school system have changed.  I was under the impression that students in China would spend more hours per week in school compared to the United States; however, they are about even at 25 hours per week.  A major difference though is that in China there are sixty-student classes and all classes are lectures.  It is a more rigid system than we have here.

The PRC has exams called "gaokao" which are college entrance exams similar to the SAT and ACT.  These exams focus on language and math just like the SAT's.  The only difference is that in the United States students can take the SAT's multiple times.  Also, if a student does not gain admission to any university, there are junior colleges and other routes that he can take to eventually find a career.  In the PRC, students who fail the "gaokao" often do not find their desired career and can end up unemployed.  I feel that there are more safety nets here in the United States that help students who have failed the SAT to eventually succeed in life.

Chapter 16

It was very interesting to see how different China’s education system is from that of the US.  It is so complex and is still developing in many ways.  True all education systems should evolve over time to better prepare students for entering the work force, but china’s seems to develop in short bursts interspaced with times of stagnation and even regression.  What I found the most interesting is how ideology affected the education system.  I was really interested in the whole Confucianism aspect.  To me it seems counterproductive to perpetuate the past to the degree that the Chinese did and that it would have n adverse effect on the education system.  In reality the system that the Chinese had at the time was truly remarkable.  They used the Confucianism belief to create a severely structuralizes government and education system. It is, at least to me, very impressive how long this system lasted and how aspects of Confucianism still influence the Chinese government (and education system) today. 

            The aspect of the Chinese education system that interested me the most is how competitive it is.  Throughout China’s history competition has played a large role in the education system.  There have been some times where this was not true, Mao’s Cultural Revolution of 1966, on a whole the Chinese have been and still are extremely competitive when it comes to education.  I don’t think I could handle the stress of being in a Chinese school. They are far too competitive for me.

 

Gutek, Chapter 16

One thing that really caught my attention in this chapter was that I have to be careful with the statistics that are given in the readings. For example, The "Great Leap Forward" talks about how there were significant increases in the number of students enrolled in schools. I took it for granted that it was a positive thing until it stated that this only masked a serious problem with the quality of education.

Because China is such a populous and vast country, it had many problems with not only making primary schooling available to everyone, but with allocating its resources efficiently. Although China was able to implement certain policies and laws regarding education, there were many tradeoffs involved because China had to prioritize what policies were more important than others. Its "geographical vastness, its immense school-age population, its limited financial and educational resources, and its uneven pace of national development" were just some of the other major problems that China faced during this time.

I am studying China for news each week, and it has been very interesting for me to keep up with its economy, politics, and other general news. I am also interviewing a student from China for my educational autobiography. I look forward to learning more about through the news, through interviewing for my educational autobiography, and through the speaker on Monday.

Gutek Chapter 16

Gutek describes PRC’s strong ideologies in education, media and entertainment that helps drive the nation toward a unified viewpoint.  They combine reality and mythology to create heroism in historical figures.  The example that Gutek uses is of Chairman Mao, “who led his followers on a long march of five thousand miles to escape annihilation by his Nationalist foes.” This combination of formal and informal education can have a strong impact on the citizens because it creates a constant, reinforced ideology.

I personally find this aspect of education interesting because it is not unique to China and is often used in times of war to unite a country quickly.  For example, during World War II, the United State's government took over Hollywood and put it in their war department.  They controlled the content of all films to rally American’s behind the war by portraying the same theme in all movies.  In essence, films were used as propaganda.  This non-formal education helped propel America to war.

Italy had similar tactics and made movies about a glorified ancient Rome. They, like the Chinese, created unity throughout the country by continuously showing historic mythological stories in films.  This lasted through World War II until 1946 when neo realism took over. The profound impact of such tactics is seen throughout history.