An interesting look at Shanghai's school system!

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Excellence in Education

Shanghai's secondary school students were the top performers in the PISA 2009 tests. Chinese society as a whole is committed to excellence in education, and Shanghai's education authorities consistently seek ways to help low-performing schools and students improve their results.

Programme for International Student Assessment (2009)[1] (Top 10; OECD members as of the time of the study in boldface)
Maths	Sciences	Reading
1.  Shanghai, China 600 2.  Singapore 562 3.  Hong Kong, China 555 4.  South Korea 546 5.  Taiwan 543 6.  Finland 541 7.  Liechtenstein 536 8.  Switzerland 534 9.  Japan 529 10.  Canada 527	1.  Shanghai, China 575 2.  Finland 554 3.  Hong Kong, China 549 4.  Singapore 542 5.  Japan 539 6.  South Korea 538 7.  New Zealand 532 8.  Canada 529 9.  Estonia 528 10.  Australia 527	1.  Shanghai, China 556 2.  South Korea 539 3.  Finland 536 4.  Hong Kong, China 533 5.  Singapore 526 6.  Canada 524 7.  New Zealand 521 8.  Japan 520 9.  Australia 515 10.  Netherlands 508

TWO MILLION MINUTES: A GLOBAL EXAMINATION

This groundbreaking, controversial documentary film takes an in-depth look at how students in the United States allocate their high school years (approximately four years or two million minutes) compared with India and China. The film forms a picture of the various levels of global education and addresses the implications of these differences on the 21st century global economy.

Also check out this USA Today article about the film. 


Even though this documentary was filmed back in 2008, do you think the issues are still prevalent here in the USA?

A World of Learning

This is an interesting short documentary about how technology is influencing our classrooms and affecting the way our children learn all around the world.  It mainly focuses on the use of the electronic white-board. Check it out.

A World Of Learning from David Betteridge on Vimeo.

Too Cute!

If you remember my guest blogger Bev, who blogged about her kids studying in Japan, you'll definitely want to read this post of hers - " I don't want to go to school!" Bev's family is temporary back in the U.S. because of the earthquakes in Japan and her son has been attending school here. Her post made me laugh and hopefully it will brighten your day up too!

ABC News takes a look at education

Definitely a good look into what the successful countries such as China and Finland are doing in terms of educating their children.

Australia's Education System

First off, my husband and I are big fans of Australia. Most of the actors we love are from Australia. We love the gorgeous Aussie accent and we think that Australia is simply beautiful. If any of you are from Australia, we just might be able to be friends. Just saying! :) Here's a short insight into a broad view of what the Australian school system's like. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to find a guest blogger with a more detailed insight into the Australian school system!

An Interesting Article

8-Year-Olds in England Make Scientific Breakthrough. What Did Your Kids Do?

POSTED BY MEREDITH CARROLL ON DECEMBER 22ND, 2010 AT 6:05 PM via Strollerderby

A group of elementary school kids in England experimented with bees. Just bees, no birds.

When I was 8, I was the Blue Fairy in the school production of “Pinocchio.” The teacher was close to casting me as Geppetto, but ultimately in the audition process it became obvious that I couldn’t sing on key. Fortunately there were a few parts that required talking only, and I was just as thrilled (if not more so) to wave a wand and wear a gown instead, so all’s well that ends well.

I did countless other things when I was 8, including ride my bike around the cul-de-sac in front of our house and play “Charlie’s Angels” and “CHiPs” (a true child of the early ‘80s) with my friends. What I didn’t do, however, was get any studies published in any scientific journals. Of course, most 8-year-olds don’t. Some, however, do.

A group of elementary school kids in England, ages 8-10, recently made it into Britain’s Royal Society with their findings from an investigation on colors and patterns as seen by bumblebees. The fact that their writing and diagrams were handwritten and hand-drawn didn’t matter much to the prestigious peer-reviewed journal.

In fact, the organization said the kids’ findings were a “genuine advance” in the field, and that their work was carefully documented. Bees were trained through a sugar reward system to go to different color targets, and the kids found that they remembered cues according to the colors and patterns.

The principle finding of the kids? “We discovered that bumble-bees can use a combination of colour and spatial relationships in deciding which colour of flower to forage from. We also discovered that science is cool and fun because you get to do stuff that no one has ever done before.”

I have only a few serious regrets about my childhood (although the ones I have are rather substantial). But now I kind of regret not at least trying to get published in a scientific journal. Forget that I’m seriously math- and science-challenged. Would it have (figuratively) killed me to give up an afternoon of playing doctor with my Cabbage Patch Dolls to spend some time poking some bees? Could I have set the bar higher than just trying to snag Ricky Schroeder’s autograph? After all, while collecting the same amount of black rubber bracelets as Madonna was cool, I’d argue getting my research published in a scientific journal might have been even more so.

What do your kids do for fun?

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior: Is it an accurate depiction?

By now, most of you have probably read the article Why Chinese Mothers are Superior by Amy Chua. Being Chinese myself, I'll be the first to admit that I did laugh in recognition of some of its details. However, it generated a lot of mixed feelings. First of all, I don't believe that it is an accurate depiction of all Chinese Mothers. I believe that it is quite an extreme version of discipline and teaching that takes place in a Chinese/Asian household. We'll delve more into that in a little bit.  I also didn't like how proud she sounded to decimating her children to nothing but worthless if they didn't perform well enough for her standards. However, I will support her ideals of promoting realism and discipline in your child, as well as to push them to the best of their potential to a certain extent.

I spent a good amount of my childhood in Asia. There, I attended local schools. Academic emphasis was the utmost importance and the stress and pressure given by parents, teachers, and myself was certainly high. As much as I appreciated how much more advanced subjects I was being taught, I definitely did not agree with certain methods of teaching used. I remember being punished during my elementary school days galore by "mad"...can I emphasize "MAD" teachers for really the smallest things ever. I remember when I somehow forgot to do the very last page of my math homework packet once, my crazy teacher wrote on my uniform in chalk "I will not forget to do my homework" and made me stand outside of her classroom for the entire duration of her class. Talking during class and helping a classmate try to understand a concept the teacher was teaching often landed me in the same spot. That little nook outside my classroom and the back of my uniform became fast friends very quickly. I hated school but thank goodness about the perfectionist part of mine that was lingering somewhere in that little girl's body! I just had to prove to myself that I was smart enough to get good grades. I aced the most important exam and went on to one of the top high schools. Imagine if I didn't have that in me though. Would I have allowed those teachers to just trod over me and believe that I was truly worthless? I have actually seen that happen to fellow peers. I'm just glad that didn't happen to me. As I thought about my personal experience, I believe strongly that had the teachers been more positive in their teaching methods, it would have yielded the same results - Getting good grades and entering into a good school while allowing me to truly enjoy learning. This is not to say that every Asian teacher was exactly miserably abusive this way. I had some wonderful teachers who taught amazing things while using positive reinforcement but being firm about getting us to do the best we could at the same time.  

That being said, I do believe there is a difference between a Western and Asian household. Of course, this is not true of every household....only a good number of them. I do see that in Asian households, nothing short of an A is expected while homework is usually detested in a Western household. For that, I do like the concept of the Asian household. I truly believe that children are extremely intelligent and they can do almost anything if they put their minds to it. I believe that we need to foster a feeling of confidence and sense of achievement by showing them they can do things they often think they can't. Of course, I do not agree with extreme methods of scolding or beating in order to get the child to excel in something. I believe often when a child does not excel, it is because either the problem in question is not explained well enough for them to grasp the bigger concept or their parents or themselves are impatient and give up easily. Perhaps what we should teach our children instead are the qualities of perseverance and diligence and the results that can be yielded if we put our whole hearts into achieving them. I once had someone tell me "I don't know how to do it" when I asked him why he wasn't putting more effort into the project. I was taken aback by his answer. I paused for a moment and then replied: "look, I don't know how to do it either. But I will do all the research possible to try and find as many answers as I possibly can." I did the research and became quite familiar with what the project required. My partner never bothered to put in that extra effort. Needless to say, he was never an expert or close to being one of our project. Teach your kids to do all they can do and help supplement their efforts with advice, tips and encouragement. Do that and you will find a child that will one day be disciplined and a achiever in all areas.

Being a Chinese mother myself, I seek to instill qualities of hard work, paying your dues, and being successful academically. For that, I am proud of my heritage and all the fine values that come with it. However, I also want to find the balance of allowing my child to be a child. He needs to learn to be creative and street-smart in addition to simply being book-smart. I will teach him all I know about it but at the end of the day, such qualities must be found by the child him/herself. As delicate as that balance is, I believe it to be possible. I believe that a parent can teach realism to a child and not take away from his/her self-confidence. That can be done by building a strong relationship with your child and being open and candid about discussions with your child. Those discussions must be 2-way. For example, instead of simply telling your child he/she is "FAT", perhaps teaching them the importance of healthy eating, physical activity, and then incorporating those ideals into your family as well is really what is needed. 

A look at actual current preschools/kindergartens (Japanese early education and Korean early education) in Asian countries only shows us that the Asian culture is also giving way to a different teaching approach. I don't think such fun and innovative methods of teaching were employed 20 years ago. Perhaps it's time for Amy Chua to look into what's being changed now and how this is helping children succeed better instead of simply arrogantly displaying her own methods of teaching to the whole world. After all, one of the greatest quality of teaching comes from the teacher's ability to be taught him/herself first. What do you think? 

Erin Patrice O'Brien for The Wall Street Journal

Amy Chua with her daughters, Louisa and Sophia, at their home in New Haven, Conn.

Preschool in Korea

Hi, I'm  LeRae and below is my little rockstar son who is almost 4.  In my son's short little life, the biggest thing that ever happened to him  happened  when he turned almost 1 years old. My husband's job landed our little family in South Korea, and we made the big move to the other side of the world. The next biggest thing in his life? It was probably starting preschool which was not too long ago.  

In Korea, they don’t have separate names for preschools or kindergartens.  They group early-schooling before 1^st grade together and call it [yu-chi-one].  Most yu-chi-ones are private (very few public ones to meet the demand) and enrolling your child to a good school is very competitive.  All of these schools have waiting lists and on their enrollment days, I’ve heard of moms standing in line in front of the schools before they open just to secure a spot.  If it’s a really popular school, moms even camp-out the night before or  hire someone to stand in line! It’s almost like black Friday!  You can imagine my culture shock coming from small town in Utah. These yu-chi-ones also can cost an arm and a leg because they are private, and some of them can be as expensive as some college tuition in America.

Besides the crazy competitiveness, you have to choose what kind of yu-chi-one you want to send your child to. Korea has many different styles of schools but most of them can be divided into two groups, Korean speaking vs. English speaking.  The surprising thing was that many of the Korean moms prefered sending their kids to English speaking schools (English being one of the most important subject next to math).  Since the Korean kids are not naturally exposed to English and foreigners, they send their kids to these English schools so every day they get some exposure to native english speaking environment .

My husband and I decided to send our son to a Korean speaking school since we felt that our son was getting plenty of exposure to English at home.  Besides we wanted him to have a solid foundation for his native language. After looking over several schools, I was able to find the school that I liked.  They believe that children grow by playing, and that they learn best when they're having fun.  They had an excellent program that  I was very impressed with.  They had one theme for a month and they explored that one theme with music, language art, english, math, gym, and other educational toys and tools.  They have very high safety standards and they use organic or pesticide-free produce for kids' meals.  I could tell from their teaching materials and books that they try to use the best of what is available in current education system in Korea. But out of all these things, what I liked most about the school is the overall atmosphere that is filled with smiling teachers and children's bright sparkling eyes in each classrooms.  

My son absolutely loves his preschool and he is excited to go every morning!  I think he is extremely lucky because back when I went to preschool, it was nothing like this. I’m not sure yet how Korean elementary educational systems are yet and this is just my personal experience with one particular preschool. But I am excited for my son to experience this great yu-chi-one while we are here in Korea.

- vanilla with sprinkles -

Japanese Kindergarten by guest blogger Beverly

When we found out that we'd be living in Japan for the next three years, our first thought was that our 2 kids (then 3 yrs and 8 months) could be going to school in a Japanese school. We live on a military installation and had the option to choose the American style school system or the Japanese style school system.

In my mind I thought Japanese kindergarten would be rigorous and focused on academia. Because everyone knows that in Japan math is top priority and discipline is expected. Right? Aren't the teachers all certified ninjas or samurai?

I took a tour of a Japanese kindergarten and was amazed to see 3-5 yr olds sitting in their little chairs listening to the teacher, singing songs, painting pictures, and playing nicely. How on earth do you get kids this age to sit still with their hands in their laps, wide eyed, with full attention to their teacher? I thought this must be a strict school.

Then we sat down with the principle and after a chat about what they do at school, I asked what their belief in discipline was. He said, in his simple English, "No discipline, we teach them what they need to do". Really? That's it.

My memories of my younger years in school were in Singapore where a slap on the hand from a ruler was acceptable punishment then. This was what I thought all Asian schools were like. I was very wrong. I've come to see that this kindergarten is a fun and loving place. Teachers hug their students. Lots of encouragement and praise is given. (*note: not all Japanese kindergartens are alike in their beliefs, this is just my understanding of the majority after talking to a few Japanese mom's about this subject matter)

But where are the books and pencils and math drills and academics? I thought Japan was top notch for it's math and they had to start teaching this from the womb right? Not so. Japanese believe children are children and should be allowed to be children. They should be exposed to culture and art and music at this age. They should be allowed to play in the mud once in a while. And collect bugs and acorns. It isn't until elementary school where the academics begins. Then it's common to see school age children going to school on Saturdays.

But childhood for the kindergarten age children seems to be scared in Japan. There are holidays and festivals dedicated to the wonders of childhood. At ages 3, 5, and 7 children are dressed in elaborate kimonos and taken to shrines to pray for their continual growth and blessings, and for expensive photo shoots. Everywhere you go, children under elementary school age are almost always admitted free to museums, amusement parks, and hotels and at restaurants they are catered to very well with special dishes and silverware and toys and candy. And why do you think cute, kawaii, things abound in Japan? The Japanese love the cuteness of childhood! (OK that's just my personal theory, but I think it explains it quite well. :) I watch Japanese mothers and they rarely scold their children, and if they do, it's in a quiet voice. And children are quick to correct when their mothers say something. How is this possible?

Here is where I learned something big about Japanese parenting culture. From a very young age children are taught to do things as a group. If the class is reading books, then everyone reads books, if the class is singing, then everyone sings, if it's rice ball day for lunch, then moms will pack only rice balls and nothing else, nothing extra. Why? Because you don't want to make someone feel bad or offend someone. If you got something extra in your lunch box, then the other kids around you would feel bad. And that would be bad. You don't want to stand out. Misbehaving makes you stand out.

I soon noticed that the children would tell other children when they were out of line and help to get then back in line. For instance, the children noticed that my son, didn't always understand what was going on. He would want to go play with clay, but it wasn't time for clay and the children would tell him that and take what he had and put it away. As if to help him save face from the teacher telling him it wasn't time for clay. But of course in my son's mind, they were keeping him from what he wanted to do; they were keeping him from being an individual. He's grown up with an American mindset.

This is the biggest difference in the two schools of thought, Japan vs the US. I don't believe one is better than the other because they both have their pluses and minuses. One teaches individualism, thinking out of the box, and being ahead. While the other teaches team work, mindfulness of others, respect, and self discipline.

I'm not worried about my kids missing out on an American style education. They will eventually go to an American school when we move back to the US. But I do want them to take with them the good parts of a Japanese education, and have the best of both worlds.

CQ - What is it?

CQ, otherwise known as cultural intelligence, is something many young Americans are lacking. According to David Livermore, PhD and author of the book Leading with Cultural Intelligence and directs the Cultural Intelligence Center in East Lansing, cultural intelligence is a "globally recognized way of measuring and improving the way we work in and out of lots of different cultural contexts. CQ is similar to IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) in that it quantifies a set of capabilities believed to be important to both personal and professional success. CQ is unique in that it focuses specifically on the skills needed for success when moving in and out of lots of different cultures—a reality for many of us and a certainty for our students’ in the future."


I believe that in addition to having a strong foundation in English, Math, and Science, it is equally important to instill a sense of global awareness and camaraderie in our children. So just how do we do that? Here are some tips to get you started:


1. Letting your child learn a second language. When learning a second language, it is important that your child learns all aspect of the language and not just the speaking function. Your child should learn how to read, write and speak the second language. More importantly, your child should be immersed in learning about the culture and history of the chosen language. Finding books and blogs about the legends, history, and current events in those countries is a great start. It is fun to find a mommy blog of a certain country as often times, it details the lives of their children as well. It is a fun way for a child to learn about how children in a different part of the world live each day. 


2. Find an international pen pal for your child!  A great website for finding a pen pal is Amazing Kids. The Amazing Kids! PenPals Program is a literacy-based, traditional letter writing pen pal program, available to all children ages 5-17 worldwide. At a flat fee of just $10 per child, per pen pal, their program is a low-cost (and fun!) way to help your child practice their literacy skills, while making a new friend. Teachers or groups of 15 or more receive a 50% discount, at just $5 per child.


3. Talk about global current events at home. You can spark an interest in global events within your child by first being interested in it yourselves. As you talk about different global events within your family, you will soon find your children asking questions about those happenings. Try to be positive about such events and if you don't agree with something that's happening, try not to lash out in a derogatory manner. :) Teach your children to form personal opinion of such matters and always ask why they feel about a certain issue. If possible, try to teach them to see the issue in all forms before firming opinions.


4. Try different ethnic foods with your children. This teaches them to enjoy other cultures and not simply live in their bubble of PB + J's!


5. Engage your child in different subjects. Having a strong CQ is not just about being globally aware. Your child should learn to be well-rounded in the arts, technology, geography, and literature, to name a few. Bring your children to watch different plays, listen to different kinds of music, read books of various genres, go to the Opera, go to museums, and so forth.


Well, these few tips should be plentiful to get you started. If you have any more suggestions or ideas, feel free to drop a comment!!! :) 

A visit to Finland...

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A whilst ago, I did a posting on Finland ranking #1 in Math + Science in PISA. I was extremely interested to learn more about Finland and I was excited when NBC paid Finland a visit to learn more about their education system. It is amazing to learn that just 40 years ago, Finland's education status was no way near where it is now. Their smart government saw where technology was heading and decided to change things around. Although 40 years seem like a long time, I find it impressive that the country has turned its eductaion system 360 degrees in such, my opinion, a short span. I believe too, that is is not only important, it is vital that our teachers should also have a master degree. Why? Not only will this help us find a pool of more qualified tecahers for our children, it will also weed out a lot of teachers, who are simply getting a teaching degree because it is easier and less time consuimg than most other majors. We need to start looking for teachers who are truly passionate about teaching. I also find it important that we need to have teachers who teach the same group of students for a few years in a row. As a tutor myself, it takes a while to get to know each child well and to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. It is even more difficult to learn how to motivate them with such short interaction with them. I believe that we will find that teachers will be able to drastically improve their students' scores and capabilities if they were to stay with them longer. That being said, before that can be done correctly, we must first improve the qualifications and quality of the teachers we are recruiting. I wouldn't want my child stuck with the same teacher if he/she wasn't passionate about teaching them. The U.S. is starting to head towards the same direction but there are still miles and miles for us to travel vefore we will get to a good stage in improving our education!

Trailer: We are the people we've been waiting for

I just found the trailer to the new documentary - We Are The People We've Been Waiting For. It's an independent documentary, inspried and guided by Lord Puttnam and Sir Michael Barber. It explores the education system in the UK and questions whether its current system provides young people with the right opportunity. I am so excited to watch the actual documentary! Check it out!

5-year-old Math Wiz!

Check out this article about a 5-year-old girl, Cherlyn Lee, who is a mental-mathematical wiz. She studies Abacus, which is an asian method of mental math!

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100607-220784.html