As we discussed, one interesting feature of this documentary is how it sought to make us rethink how we do schooling in the U.S by showing us that some of the things we take for granted could be otherwise. What is something (or are some things) that you learned about education in the U.S. from seeing schooling elsewhere. Note: this will likely come from the film, but feel free to include anything you have learned from your own experiences.
Rachel Ruble:
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed when the documentary showed all of the different schools in each country is that the students have a lot more freedom. In the U.S., students are supervised the entire time while at school, and most students can't even leave to use the restroom without asking and using a hall pass. I noticed that schools in the U.S. are most similar to schools in Japan, in relation to their work load and testing, but somehow Japan does a lot better on the PISA test. In Finland and the Netherlands, there's much more freedom, less homework, fewer tests, and overall less stress on school. I can't comprehend how students in the U.S. spend a similar amount of hours studying per week as Japan, but is ranked so much higher in math and science globally. Overall, my eyes were opened to how much is wrong with the school system in the U.S. and I wonder if these problems will ever change.
Patrick H
ReplyDeleteI learned how much American culture emphasizes freedom and individuality without actually applying it in our education system. Students tend to have little to no academic or creative freedom in their education. They are also very restricted in their movement in school while students in other cultures can come and go as they please such as in Finland or Germany. I remember when some german exchange students came to our HS when I was in 10th grade and them talking about how little freedom we have in our school but we also have a lack of religion or ethics classes. I think we emphasize testing a lot less than asian countries where one test makes or breaks your life.
Catherine Fishburne
ReplyDeleteI learned so much from watching this documentary. I really enjoyed how we were able to see four different countries and be able to make those comparisons/contrasts by watching it directly. Prior to watching this film, I never realized just how much importance is placed on sports in the United States. I played two varsity sports during my time in high school. When we had an away game that was a far distance or even a playoff game, we would get out of school early along with the rest of the team. We would also have pep-rallies for the football and basketball teams that allowed class to end early on a few Fridays a semester. I just assumed that was normal, but after watching the documentary it is clear that is not the case.
Diamon Patterson:
ReplyDeleteThe United States do not invest the necessary resources toward our children's education. Some international schools provide apprenticeships and tutoring services. Our educational services in the U.S. fail to center around aspects that will help children be functional and independent adults. Instead, school systems produce young adults based on society's needs. Although the United States provide students with less autonomy in school, children in this country experience more social activities compared to teaching methods in Korea. Honestly, I believe it is important to not be drowned in work around the clock because the experiences outside of school aid children in their development or critical skills. Additionally, it was expressed in the film that sports are highly emphasized in the United States. I have noticed that schools in low income areas are more focused on sports. Sports are used as a tactic to push some students into college without preparing them mentally. The educational system in the United States needs to be revamped, but change can never come if we stay rooted in our ways of suppression in our country.
It was really interesting to see the education system in other countries and how the method of teaching and schooling affects students and their ability to learn. It was interesting to see how much more freedom there is in other schools like Netherlands. America prioritizes freedom but its not really applied in the education system. Students in Netherlands didn't recieve as much homework, less tests, shorter school days, etc while schools in America is highly strict. I also noticed how other countries prioritize education for children unlike America which is why I think education systems in other countries are so successful.
ReplyDelete-Lisa Carlen
DeleteWill Finnegan:
ReplyDeleteOne thing about education in the US that was emphasised in this film is that the US education system was designed to make all students the same by giving them equal opportunities. Students take the same tests, take the same classes with the same teachers,and are taught the same way too, regardless of their learning style. In Finland, it is shown that the schools accommodate for the students' needs, like giving them a lot of free time, and the choice to actually attend high school. In the US, high school students go to school for seven hours straight with at most an hour long break from studying. Then, they go home and do even more work to "improve their understanding of the concept". It's disappointing to see that other countries have such successful education systems while the US falls behind.
Luke H
ReplyDeleteThe most noticable difference for me was the value that other countries place on education. While the U.S says it values education, its hard to tell when looking at the statistics. Even though we are the wealthiest nation on earth, we arent even in the top ten for quality of education. Other countries with infinitely less resources are outperforming us because there are flaws with our systems. The quality of education in the U.S is really spotty, because of the way pulic schools are funded, the lower the property the value of an area the less money the surrounding schools will have and usually that leads to a lower quality education. In countries like finland equality of education is a main concern for the government, so they actively work to make sure every person can achieve the same level of education as their fellow citizen.
I learned that the U.S doesn't prioritize education like other countries. Although the U.S cares about education, they would try to put in more effort into improving student tests scores. People tend to not like school because its repetitive, and we have less freedom from going to the restroom and also needing to be in a certain class quickly. The teachers also don't really trust the students, and if the education system were to change now, it would be hard to adapt and accept these new terms and rules. In high school I would get big packets of work and told not to talk unless I have a question, with the teacher just sitting at their desk. What I feel like would be better is more engagement with the class, so they can learn better and pay attention.
ReplyDeleteWalter Garrison--
ReplyDeleteIf this documentary showed me anything, it only reinforced my reservations about the American educational system. I wasn't surprised to see how different the education in other countries might be because I have always known America is not like the rest of the world. It was wild to see how much more successful than the U.S. countries like Finland are in education. Their schools there are significantly less taxing in terms of hours and yet the country is way ahead of America in terms of how much the kids are actually learning. This fact confirms what I suspected about the hyper competitive environment we see in America. It is not healthy for a teenager to play two varsity sports while in 8 classes that each give hours of homework. It just doesn't make sense to put that kind of pressure on kids if you're supposedly trying to foster an environment that's ideal for learning.
This documentary showed me that there could be solutions to some of the issues in our education system. If we implemented some of the tactics from each country in the documentary I think it could have a positive impact. One of the most interesting things to me was how competitive it is to go to college to teach. They value teachers and how well teachers do their job to extent that we don't. If a system doesn't value their teachers then that just goes to show how much they value the students. If teachers are expected to educate future generation then I believe that they need have the resources needed to do so.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see the different ways education is portrayed in each country, and how all these different strategies seem to be working significantly better than in America. In Korea, the culture was very influenced by education. It seemed everyone honestly cared more about learning, and although the process was rigorous and time consuming, no one really seemed to complain. They saw education as a privilege and something to be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteIn Finland and the Netherlands, students were given more free time and autonomy in their education. There was no stress put on standardized tests like there is here in America, and students truly wanted to be there. Although the techniques were much different in these countries versus Korea, I think one similarly is that the students truly want to be there and want to learn. In Finland, kids get to choose at a pretty young age if they want to go to high school and further their education, or if they would rather learn in a different way by going to a trade school. I think this choice of path gives students a chance to be passionate about what they do, and therefore, students going to school are more driven and want to achieve.
I think American systems in general need a lot of work. The educational system is weak and needs a lot of improvement, but instead of really digging down to the foundation of the issues, we continue to dance around the deeper, more intricate layers when addressing problems. We pour money into standardized tests that reach a surface level of thinking, we give kids no sense of freedom in schools, and we put no emphasis on anything but good test scores and high GPAs. Even though I had a high GPA and good grades, I feel like I left high school with no knowledge. I love to learn, but the busy work and multiple-choice tests I took in school left me with no sense of ambition or drive. I have been trying to find my love for learning again in college, but the American education system really takes a toll on you.
Abbe Casey
JT Holeman. When watching the film I noticed that when there wasn't one country that had it all figured out. Most of the student documented in this film had positives and negatives about the education in the country they visited. If America wants to improve the education system we cannot look at just one place but a culmination of different factors and systems.
ReplyDeleteWhen watching the documentary I learned how much freedom students from other countries have when it comes to their education. Finland and the Netherlands aren't constantly being supervised while here in the US we need to ask for permission to do anything. I also liked how Switzerland gave the students options that being they continued with school or did an apprenticeship, and both options are seen with equal value. I wish the US did that because here I feel like trade school or anything that isn't college isn't seen as valuable or successful and it shouldn't be that way because not all students want to do school. It was also interesting to see how Korean students spend about the same time as the students here in the US doing school but they still do better in PISA test which really questions if the information we are learning in the US is enriching, why do we spend so much time but don't have the same results as Korea. It just made me realize that the US needs to fix some of its problems in the education system and we should use these countries as inspiration so we can get the enriching education we deserve. It was also nice to see the teachers being valued more in the other countries, for example I don't recall which country but it was hard to become a teacher because they value education so much and I feel like we under-appreciate teachers and are underpaid for all the work they do to educate us.
ReplyDeleteStevie
ReplyDeleteI’ve learned a lot about schooling outside of America through my boyfriend, who is from Austria. I once asked him what his first job was and he looked confused, “you know, like the job you had in high school.” He said “I guess this,” referring to his job as a mechanical engineer. He finished what we would call high school when he was 15. Throughout that, he had been able to explore specific interests rather than taking required electives. He went on to “college” and started his career at 20 years old. No debt, no heartache. I’m not sure what this system is called but I think it’s a really good idea. Allowing those who know what they want to do to pursue that career young yet also gives time to explore and figure things out. I explored by paying thousands of dollars at a community college before transferring to an even more expensive four year.
I've always thought that schooling in the US was definitely more restrictive than in other countries. After watching the documentary, I can 1000% say that that is the case. Before watching the documentary, schooling in the US had always just been something that I pushed to the back of my brain, because I was too busy trying to pass classes and not fail copious amounts of exams. I was so stressed and overwhelmed by school that I never really stopped to think about how crazy our schooling must look to other countries. In places like Switzerland and Finland, there is so much freedom. I recently had a conversation with my father about this. I never understood how America can say we're the best at everything we do, but then our schooling systems are hot dookie. We don't prepare our students for any type of future, instead forcing them into a sort of cookie cutter mold.
ReplyDeleteThis documentary opened my eyes to a lot of ways that the US educational system differs from other countries. The biggest eye-opener, as most people are saying, was the lack of freedom that we have as a students or even as teachers. In places like Switzerland and Finland, students are given a lot of freedom when it comes to their education and they also do not put as much emphasis on college as it isn't the only way to become successful. There are fewer exams and tests as well in these countries which gives students time to do things that they enjoy without having the stress and constant fear of the dreaded SOL or standardized tests, yet they are doing so much better than us. We pride ourselves on being the land of the free but I don't think our eyes are opened to all the different ways that we can be successful without college and without teaching to a test. How can we say that we value education and we are prepping great leaders of America when critical thinking is rarely used until AP classes in high school.
ReplyDeleteI don't think one can make a clear judgement of US education vs education in the other countries based off this documentary. Surely, the sample size is too small and doesn't account for how schools vary and differ depending on location and funding. With that said, based on the information from the documentary there are some key differences between US education and education in other countries. One big difference that was depicted in the schools in Switzerland and Finland was this freedom and the ability for the school to cater to different students. They realize that school isn't a one size fits all. They also put less emphasis on needing to go to college, offering services such as apprenticeships. In America, there is such a stigma around not going to college that it makes those who decide not to go seem second class to those who do. - Phong Ngo
ReplyDeleteI learned the US education system is very cut and dry. Emphasis on the dry. There is no "umph" that gets kids excited to learn and eventually become active learners. The only motivator for kids is to get a good job and live an American dream lifestyle. This idea turns the US education into a rusty machine, attempting to pump out working-class citizens with a golden goose now and then. Some schools have implemented things that will aid in a child's personal development. Similar to the Finnish and Swedish models found in the documentary. The high school I attended had a program similar to a trade school. However, space was limited, and it was used as a source for extracurricular courses for students. There is nothing for students to get excited about. Especially when many of them understand that the education system isn't being taken as seriously as it should be.
ReplyDeleteDesea Scott
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed is that a lot of schools have way more freedom than the US. Our schooling system is like Japan but for some reason they are way higher than us in test scores which says something. Places like the Netherlands and Finland have a way more relaxed education system like less test, less homework, less stress ect… Whereas the US you can barely leave the classroom to use the bathroom without asking.
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ReplyDeleteCindy
ReplyDeleteGiving students agency actually helps them so much more than we think. Even as kids they can begin to learn how to be decision makers, and I haven't seen that a lot from my experiences. In the United States, it feels almost like a factory at times. We have our bells and our rows with everything carefully scheduled and so little choice in our free time. We don't even have leisure time. Learning the different priorities each country has and how they actually act or implement policy to prioritize certain values or ideas has been mind blowing.
Something I have learned from watching this documentary is how much we incorporate the “One size fits all” system. Something that some students may take for granted in countries such as Finland, is that their education is almost entirely tailored to them. I feel that “tailored” is the perfect word here because when something does not fit you correctly, you can visit a tailor and they will make it fit FOR you. This is something we do not see in the United States, as everyone from whichever state you are from has the exact same curriculum as you. There is no “making something work”, there is only pass or fail. This benchmark has created a lazy work ethic in our education system because when you only have to learn something temporarily it is easy to forget. But when you know you are learning something that you will need to utilize for the rest of your life, it is easy to pay attention and be eager to learn.
ReplyDelete