Reading the first couple of chapters , The Flat World and Education, overwhelmed me with the statistics of how the United States has increasingly declined in education. I started to feel a bit unsure or insecure in our future based on the current education's state.
Globalization has changed, and is constantly changing, in an alarming rate. Other nations have been transforming their educational infrastructure to meet these needs, yet the U.S. has been acting in a slower manner to catch up.
The book suggests that other higher achieving countries have half as many standards to teach in math compared to the United States. Students are able to dig deeper into the topic and apply it to real word problems. This part made me question my own mathematical practices as I have to follow the common core standards along with my districts pacing guide. Are all the standards I have to teach really important? Is it realistic to cover so many topics in such a short time? Can this be the reason why many students have a difficult time internalizes different mathematical concepts because there are so many and so little time?
What I also thought was profound was the inequality of funding between school districts based on the poverty levels and the racial makeup of the schools. This has created the domino effect because of the lack of education, yet increasing need for intervention in the correctional system and social services.
It's a good thing I had my coffee refilled twice, because with all these stats, I need to have full focus. This book is an eye-opener to the realities of educational infrastructure.