The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way

by Amanda Ripley
Hennepin County Library audiobook 7 discs
read by Kate Reading
genre: non-fiction, education

This is worth a re-read. Ripley, a journalist, followed three American teenagers who studied abroad (Finland, Poland, and South Korea). She also interviewed countless exchange students who came to America, teachers, principals, parents, and politicians. Her thorough research brought out some very interesting differences between the United States and other countries who are outperforming us in education.

One of her biggest findings had to do with expectations - in other countries, adults have high expectations of students, especially in math, and students strive to achieve. Not so much in the U.S. where classes are much easier than in other countries.

She pointed out that it is harder to become a teacher in these other countries, with fewer, more exclusive universities offering programs that lead to teaching degrees. Those countries with higher expectations of their teachers also give them more autonomy in their classrooms.

She suggested that in other countries, students have freedom to fail and learn from the consequences. In the U.S., there are so many second chances, lowered standards, and work-arounds that students aren't really ready for the real world or the rigors of the work place. Rigor came up a lot, especially in regard to exit exams.

She did point out that Finland, Poland, and South Korea are much more homogenous than the U.S., but she also shared statistics from other countries with higher populations of immigrants that are more successful than U.S. schools. She also pointed out that the U.S. spends much more money per pupil than most other countries, but has worse results.

The system in South Korea sounds horrible to me. That country (according to the author) has the highest suicide rate among adults in the entire world! The hagwons (cram schools) sound too intense to be believed. As much as I am passionate about education, this doesn't sound like a good solution.

One student observed that "meeting expectations was mostly a matter of hard work" in talking about exit exams and systems (like Korea) that have high expectations of students. The author observed that "kids are kids" - in every country she visited, they like to play video games, talk to friends, etc.

I thought I had made other notes about this book . . . perhaps I'll uncover a scrap of paper and need to add to this. This book gave me a lot to think about in terms of my role with my students. I can't reform the country's education system, but I can do my best to stretch my students.

The author and reader both did excellent work on this.