The learning gap- harold stevenson and james
stigler.
ch 2 - academic achievement.
Sendai - Japan, Minesota and chicago - USA,
Taipei - Taiwan
Of 13 year olds in Korea, Spain, the UK,
Canada, Ireland and the US, our students score the lowest in math.
On tests of algebra in which the Japanese and
hong kong students had a median of 80 points, our 12th graders had just over 40
points.
In 5th graders, the lowest scoring Japanese
schools scores higher than the highest Japanese schools.
ch 3- children’s lives
We spend about half our days in schools. Asians spend 2/3rds. We spend 180 to their 240.
95-98% of Asian families had bought their 5th
graders a desk. Only 63% of americans
had. By 1st grade more than 80% of
Asian kids had their own desks.
American children don’t spend more time
watching TV. Americans did 1.8 hours a
day and Japanes do 2.0 hours a day.
Asians are ore likely to make it contigent on homework completion.
Though asians read for pleasure and Americans
do more chores. Children’s magazines
are popular.
Chart on pg 60 is good
There are few janitors in asian schools the
children clean up.
Japanese and Chinese have recess after nearly
every class.
Chinese children work as a group. Working at your own pace (US style) means working alone.
Chinese children do group work. The US kids work alone. Perhaps that is why they talk
innappropriately during class and don’t stay after to join groups.
Americans don’t integrate school and
home. The desk scenario is a case in
point.
Americans believe in the importance of early
stimulation. We put mobiles over beds
and start reading earlier and read to them earlier.
9 of 10 US mothers teach their kids the
alphabet at home. Only 36% of Asians
do.
Asians don’t expect the preschool to emphasize
intellectual or academic advancement.
Paradoxically, just as Asian parents are
gearing up to invest large amounts of
time and energy in supporting their children’s academic activities, american
parents begin to pull back.
Responsibility is handed off to the teacher and the student.
US families give much more of a role to the
schools: sex and drug education, minority relations, nutrition and fire
prevention are taught in American schools.
The percentage of parents working in the Asian
and American families studied didn’t vary much.
Our schools attack our natural role
models. We love to hit at the clay feet
of Jefferson. Asian kids are given lots
of positive Asian role models to follow.
Our kids are proud of their individualism.
Asians are proud of their group orientation.
They worry about loner kids. One
group that they represent is the family.
We use shame to say “you should be ashamed of yourself” They wonder about the effect on the
family. Kids know that if the kid does
poorly it looks like the family isn’t doing its job.
The kids there are explicity taught how to
speak clearly and loudly, how to arrange their pencil box and to take notes and
organize their desks and their written answers so that they are legible. This isn’t sen as stuffing
individuality. Rather it allows you to
automate more and spend more time expressing yourself.
Asian parents see academics as the most
important task of childhood. Americans
see social skills, high self esteem and hobbies as the most important.
ch - 5
Effort and ability
Americans used to view themselves as rugged
individualists who can accomplish anything if they work hard enough. this had disappeared. Our belief in effort undermines those who
then feel they have no hope. It also
hurts those that think they can rely on talent.
In Asia, high test scored are seen as a sign
of dilligence. If one fails they are
not ashamed. It means they must work
harder. The slow bird must start out
early.
Charts pg 101-102
An american child who draws poorly may say “I am just no good at drawing” The asian “It is too bad that no one taught
you to draw”.l
When given an impossible mathematics problem
to solve. The US kids give up
quickly. Asian kids won’t give up.
When given many problems in 20 minutes, the
Americans try more and get more wrong and fewer right.
People ask should we expect all to do the high
end academic stuff? We’ve said no. SO
our academic course offerings dropped by 60% from 1910 to 1950.
We do learning disabilities. THey don’t.
Ch - 6 satisfactions and expectations.
40% of 1st grade mothers and 5% of Asian
mothers said they were satisfied.
American children do worse relative tot heir peers befor etheir mothers
would be dissatissfied than Asian children could. Perhaps even more stunning is that US mothers expectations went
down between 1st and 5th grade.
When asked “Let’s say your child took a math
test for 5th graders with 100 pts and
the average was 79 points. What score
do you think your child would get?” All
showed a positive bias. But american mothers said they would be
satisfied if their children got 76 points.
Asian mothers said 94 points.
American schools don’t have clear
stndards. American elementary schools
generally don’t provide grades just : needs improvement, satifactory and excellent.
Also we have different textbooks without
reference to grade level of reading within.
Also new math and science every year makes
parents unfamiliar with what’s taught.
Asian students know their main task is to get
an education. Older americans shy away
from academic achievement because it isn’t “cool”. Many wh see them selves as “pretty good” at studies theink they
are , therefore, “good enough”.
Suicide in both cultures is about 12 per
100,000. There is no evidence of
mental disorder or stress being more prevalent in Asian than american youths.
Asian schools are austere. They must combat cold by wearing multiple
layers of clothes. Many are in busy
areas with traffic noise.
China spends 3.7% of their GNP on education.
The us spends 6.8% of its much larger GNP.
They spend less on administrative staff. There are few janitors and service
personnel; one rarely encounters special ed teachers, assistant teachers,
school psychologists, counselors aor social workers. Kids do the maintenance and the family handles emotional problems
and parents assist slow learners.
Whereas we seek to maximize differences,
asians go for basic information and skills.
Chinese and japanes think it uneccesary to
consider individual differences in setting curricular goals and devising
educational programs.
We have no central control of our school
system. After WWII occupation we
foisted school boards and ocal control on the Japs. They disbanded them. They siad that it led to lack of continuity
grade to grade, a lack of a common fund of knowledge and hurt parents that
moved.
In Asia each teacher teaches the same topic at
the same time.Asian textbooks are slim, inexpensively produced paperbacks. They seldom have more than 100 pages and
cover one semester’s work. They rely on
the teacher to elaborate beyond the basics.
American textbooks are expensive and
comprehensive and are so big that american teachers skip sections and chapters.
By the 6th grade, asian kids have spent one to two more years at school than
our kids. They do 240 to our 180 But the difference in academic instruction
time is not so profound as the general statistics imply. Their school vacations are shorter and
spread throughout the year and they get homework and do school activities ofver
them.
In taiwan the teacher was the lekader of the
child’s activity 90% of the time, as opposed to 74% in Japan and only 46% ub
the US. In Taiwan 9% of the time noone
was leading instruction, 26% ub Japan and 51% of the time in the US!
US teachers must steal time away from classes
to do prop work. Americans spend the
least amount of time inolved in academic activities int heir classes. Only 65% of the time in 5th grade. Before extending the school year we should
make this better. We spend 10% of our
time in transition fromm one activity to another. Asians 5%.
We’re out of our seats 20% of the tiime.
Asians less than 5%.
We spend differing amounts on reading and
math. They spend uch ore on ath though.
Tracking doesn’t exist in Asian elementary
schools. Not separating causes weak
students to lag and strong ones to be bored.
separating causes strain on
resources. It stigmatizes without a
solution (if one exists) and different
curriculum screws continuity.
ch 8 - The profession of teaching.
Americans act as if good teachers are born,
not made.
Our teaching schools are in the balance between too vague and too
specific. Asians spend less time in
university classrooms in preparing to teach and more time in teaching
situations. The real training is
after graduation from college. In the
US training comes to a near halt after the teachers get certificates.
Master teachers get one year leaves of absence
to observe beginning teachers
All teachers interact more in their department
lounge. In this room the teachers have
desks in which they can query eachother and grade papers.
This is facilitated by their being on the same
lesson about the smaee timel TV shows
show how master teachers handle particular lessons.
Becominga teacher is tough in Japan. Young teachers don’t need to worry about
sacrificing financially to be a teacher.
They make as much as university professors and there is only one word
for teacher not teacher & professor.
Teachers in the US emphasize independence
which creates lonliness. The door
closes and ... THere is not a common
curriculum and therefore bond.
Beijing teachers teach no more than three
hours a day. Japs ony 4 hours a day (6
days)
But asian teachers spend more time at
school. Americans don’t have shorter
weeks (they work at home more.).
Principals are such by virtue of their success
as classroom teachers.
The ideal teacher in asia was the ability to explain things clearly
and to be enthusiastic. For the
americans sensitivity and patience were chosen.
They do not innovate as much as make each
performances interpretation good.
TEachers don’t feel bad about stealing eachother’s stuff.
And asian teachers are not counselors.
Discipline is for the sake of the group The teacher tells the lead student “its too
loud I cannot teach” and the lead
student quiets the class down.
In some schools there is an annual good
teacher competition judged by visitors.
ch 9 the practice of teaching
The lessons always began by presenting a
practical problem in Asia. They spent 8
times as long at the end of the class period summarizing the lessons as did
those in chicago. In american schools
the teacher was interrupted by someone else in 20% of all first-grade lessons
and 47% of fifth grade lesssons. none
in asia.
Asian teachers use the same props over and
over. In the USSS we try to be inventive (but perhaps end up confusing).
americans make little use of mistakes as
teaching techniques.In the US questions are posed to get an answer In asia it is to pose a question that
stimulates thought. A good question
gets discussio going for a while. A bad
one just gets a simple answer.
It is an error to thing that diversity in the
children’s social and cultural backgrounds that poses the greatest problem for
teaching. In fact, a far greater problem is variability in children’s
educational background. Teachers
everywher emust deal with students who vary in their knowledge and motivation.
Variety of teaching techniques and alternative
answers. Americans separate all into
different tracks.
National standards are good.
Teachers can no longer do counseling and
psychology and special ed and parent surrogate roles.
Our goals should be specific foir our nation.
Special ed forever puts the kid out. We spend more than any other country. Just more money to do the same thing won’t
help.40.4 % of our udgets go to teachers in 1989. In 1959 it was 56%.
American teachers need less time in the
classsroom. Our training should
deemphasize philosophy. It should
happen in school classrooms, not lecture hallsl.
And supervision shouldn’t be by already
overworked teachers. THey should get
sabbatical.
We ask kids to sit too long each day. Mor lunch would help We should lay off of the preschool years.
Families should make a desk for their kid and
set aside times for study.
We should ditch smiley faces for grades. We should withhold praise.
We can get support for change by showing that
this country was built o folks doing their best. We are investing in fellow citiz3ns.
We must drop the belief in talent. why did we drop the ideal of struggle for
achievement now? The worst chinese gets
average american scores.
undo the results of the previous reform.