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.
US schools seemed much more rigid and controlling compared to schools abroad. Schools abroad respected high school students as young adults capable of personal responsibility, whereas American schools reject that idea. American schools are obsessed with sports in a way that other countries are not. This spirit of competition has multifaceted manifestations in the American public school. A spirit of competition is the accepted and perpetuated byproduct of not only athletic programs, but also class tracking, standardized testing, elected student leadership positions, application based service clubs such as NHS or BETA, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis was me olivia saunders
DeleteLauren Jefferson - I learned that the U.S. school system is much more controlling than other places, and also may be more rigorous than it has to be. We have fairly long school days where students can't leave the building and don't have much autonomy. I think places like Finland prove that giving students more freedom can be a good thing. However, I also acknowledge that cultural differences would make it hard for the U.S. school system to become more like Finland's.
ReplyDeleteJesslyn
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stuck out to me about this documentary was the focus American schools place on sports. It was really heartbreaking and a little surprising to me to discover how little American studies actually end up receiving scholarships from sports. In my highs school, most of the students played at least one sport. It was highly encouraged for us to be "well-rounded." It was thought that if we played sports, got good grades, and joined clubs, colleges would love to see it.
It was also very apparent that American schools do not give much credit to our students. We don't allow students to have agency in what we learn or how we learn. Everybody has to try to follow the same path and if it doesn't work for them... oh well.
students* not studies oops
DeleteAngela Mitchel
ReplyDeleteThe United States, although students have some freedom in choosing which electives they take, does not give students a sense of individuality. Education is standardized state to state and student success is completely based on GPA and standardized testing scores. In Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Finland, education is focused on hands-on learning and prepares children to become adults. In the US, high-school supposedly prepares us for college; Once in college, that is when students are allowed more freedom. However, there are things that I appreciate about the US education system. After learning and witnessing education systems in some other countries, it has made me grateful for the ability to choose most of the classes I took in high school. In Turkey, high school students are not allowed to choose any of the classes they take, and to graduate, students have one attempt to pass one major test. If they fail, they fail - no repeats. They then have the option to get a GED type certificate. I am also glad that we are not placed under as much pressure as students in South Korea. Their entire schooling is highly rigorous. I wish the US will be able to allow students more practical and hands-on learning experiences. I believe there should be higher emphasis and widespread use of career technical schools. These allow students to still get a baseline education as well as have experience in multiple career fields.
From the documentary I was able to learn a lot about how much schooling varies from country to country, which was not something I had given much thought to. I learned how the freedoms American children are given in school seem to be limited when compared to some of the other European countries who allow their students more choice on whether or not they want to be there or not. This stood out to me as it shows the differences in values, here in the United States we force our children to attend school and teach them that it is the only way to make a living. However, in the film the students said they choose to be there, which definitely factors into why they are so well behaved and successful. This brings up the question of how many students arent in school in this country, and whether or not this choice factors into their amazingly high test scores, as some children may be gifted in another path and not be interested in continuing their education. This could possibly be something we could implement into the United States as after a certain level of public school a lot of students feel like they are wasting their time, with a test centered educational system, but if they were given the opportunity they may have a more beneficial experience pursuing an apprenticeship in a career they find of interest, similar to the paths the children of Switzerland follow. In the United States education is a lot more standardized and test oriented, it may be beneficial to instead help students find and fuel their passion so they feel they have more purpose, similarly to what some of the European countries do.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I learned about from the film is that sports are not nearly as important in schools in the various countries that featured in the film compared to the U.S. I found this very interesting and I was also intrigued by how they described high school sports. They pretty much described high school sports as a waste of time and a distraction from school itself. While this is true in some cases, I think high school sports can be very helpful for students. As a former high school athlete, I can say that sports can be one of the biggest reasons for student to succeed in school. While this didn't necessarily apply to me, I knew a lot of students that would use sports as a motivation to do better in school. Minimum GPA's for athletes and additional tutoring are among some of the things that make high school sports more than just a distraction.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest differences I saw between other countries and the US's school system was the faith put into the children. The other school systems provided the kids with a lot more freedom and choice than we do here in the US. They allowed kids to grow and make their own decisions from a younger age then we tend to do here. They allow for a more hands on and self involved learning environment which I think allows for me free and critical thinkers. It also make the students learn how to self-regulate and manage time which I think tends to be a big struggle for American students because we are used to always being monitored. Overall other countries just give more freedom and choice to the students then we normally do in America.
ReplyDeleteI learned that American schools are very different compared to other countries around the world. Out of all of the developed countries; America has much lower grade statistics. Other countries have better education system and treat the students with more respect, such as letting them go to the bathroom when needed. They also do not have focused sport teams in school. In America, sports are the most important part about school. In other countries tests are way more important. They teach children how to think outside of the box rather than just memorizing definitions. -Natalie Agee
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing I learned was the different levels of rigor between the other countries. There was a clip showing the stats between the three countries. It showed how much time and energy was used in Korea and how flexible Switzerland and Finland were, yet their numbers were the same. United states rigor can be compared to that of Korea, but we aren't meeting the benchmarks of the other countries. In my opinion, it just goes to show how our focus on education in the united states is so statically based. Rather than proper education for continuing with higher education or going into the working field after high school. Regardless of where a student ends up after their mandatory school, there is plenty that the education system has failed to do to prepare us to be the best we can be—for example, teaching about taxes or healthcare.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that we are not trained to be creative people. Yes, you can be creative and take classes that help express that. But it is a skill that is used in every subject.
US schools are more controlling and rigid, but don't have the same success rate as schools who could compare in those departments, like South Korea. Finland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland schools were much more successful too, and with much more flexibility. United States schools don't provide students with the independence and responsibility that the European schools provide. But they also don't prioritize education the way the South Korea one does, though South Korea’s comes with a lot of pressure. It kind of falls in the middle. Midhat A.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this documentary really focused on the negative aspects of our American education and compared it with the positive attributes that the international schools had. One of these highlights was the lack of freedom in American education compared with international education systems. This is ironic because the land of Freedom had the least freedom for their students within their school systems. To be more specific, things like leaving school early or going to the bathroom without permission are typically frowned upon by the American education system. In contrast, Finland and other international schools let their students exercise more freedom by choosing when to attend and when they want to go to the bathroom. It's these little details that I initially didn’t consider which could potentially play a significant role in the difference between education systems.
ReplyDelete~Matt E
I noticed that other countries don't put as much emphasis on sports as the US does. In the US, lots of parents and people from the community go to sports events like football and basketball. In other countries like South Korea, parents and other people would gather to celebrate students taking an important test. From my experience with big tests like the SAT, it was perceived as dreadful where as South Koreans anticipated and got excited about a big test. I feel like the focus on sports perpetuates a lot of stereotypes you see in schooling movies. The jocks and the cheerleaders are the cool people, because of the schools importance on sports. People in band or people who do well in school aren't seen as popular because schools don't value those things as much in America.
ReplyDelete- Andrew Gager
Through watching the documentary, I developed the opinion that U.S schools do not have a good approach at building relationships with their students. A relationship in education is key in order to nurture passion and motivation for learning. When looking at some of the schools that the students studied abroad at, the schools seemed more like a community. The teachers genuinely seemed to care about the students gaining knowledge and skills, and in turn the students appeared to put genuine effort into learning and coursework. In U.S schools, a lot of the time it can seem as if learning is just a process, and doing well simply boosts the statistics of your school. You can feel as if you are going through an assembly line, rather than shaping your future and engaging with your education. These overseas schools gave their students a longer leash, establishing trust and responsibility. In contrast, the authority that U.S schools exercise over their students communicates a message that students are anticipated to do wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found to be the useful tactic in place in other schooling systems was the mutual respect between both teacher and students. In The US schooling takes a more authoritarian approach where respect is demanded by the teacher and students are simply subjected to their rule. While I think respect of teachers is absolutely necessary having it not go both ways can be cause for resentment and a lack of enthusiasm in schools. By instilling mutual respect students are more likely to want to be there and participate. It is just more humane and instills a sort of value in the students that I believe is necessary for success.
ReplyDeleteJones Boyer - One thing that the film made me realize about the US is the extent to which our education system is set up to dehumanize students. Simple parts of daily life in public schools such as hall passes and dress codes aren't being implemented in other places, and it seems like the overall approach to dealing with students in the US comes from a place of distrust. I think that when educating young people, these systems we have in place are teaching them that they aren't trusted or valued in the same way that adults are, and I feel that this is an unhealthy mentality in setting them up for adult life.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that other schools seem to prepare their students for life after high school more than US schools. Especially in Switzerland where they had an occupational school right next to the academic high school. Students in the occupational school were as respected as the academic students and were not seen as less than for going into an occupational field. I also noticed how most US schools do not give any students the benefit of the doubt, there is an expectation that the student does not want to learn and is trying to get out of school. In other countries the students are shown compassion and are helped through their failures.
ReplyDeleteThe European school system seemed to be much more relaxed, allowing their students much more personal freedom as opposed. They happened to teach much more advanced topics and subjects than American schools, however. The South Korean schools were much, much more difficult and rigorous than American schools, however.
ReplyDelete-Killian
DeleteSchools in the U.S. don't do a good job of keeping it's students motivated. We learn about things that we don't feel has a good effect on our lives as adults. Why are we learning complex math about how to calculate triangles if we aren't planning to be a mathematician? I understand the importance of some courses, but as we are nearing graduation, our classes should be geared more towards what we want to do with our futures and careers. It is stressful thinking that we only have one year to start realizing what we want to do while in college, where we have to start taking those courses the next year. In other countries, we learn that schools do motivate their students to think about their futures and gear their education towards that career more.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Jegels
The school system in the US vary on where in the US we are focusing on. Schools that are in wealthy areas are well equiped and have the resourses for students. Such as laptops, other electronics and textbooks. Versus schools that are in areas that are not wealthy, schools that do not have the resourses that students may need which affects their learning in the long run. Schools in the US are also a lot stricter, kids are required to go to school and do not have a choice, compared to certain foregin countries. What I do not like about schools in the US is that I believe that they teach us what they believe is important. They do not tell us about the bad side of history. I beleive highshools should have courses that help students make a choice in what they want to do as a carreer. Wether it would require college education, trade school or certifications. If it does not require any of those then highschool adminstrators should help students find a job that can help them make a living after high school.
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