According to the head of PISA
The latest round of Pisa results, published this week, show that many of the most disadvantaged students in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam perform as well as the highest-achieving quarter of students around the world.
In the western world, only Estonia and Finland match such a level of resilience against social disadvantage.
So why are ang mohs not rushing to follow these Asian countries’ education systems? Racism? Not invented in ang moh land?
Many moons ago a few locals asked Chris K (cybernut hero though he’s no nut who is our very FT in London and now in Tokyo) why ang moh FTs not sending their kids to S’pore schools (Btw, int’l schools not cheap here — see photo). He said ang mohs got different view of education
Here’s an expansion of his point using excepts taken from a BBC article. Remember that while Korean kids underperform ours, they also thrash ang mohs.
Three Welch kids who went to Seoul to experience shared their experiences with the BBC, two of them dissed the Korean system
Tommy: “They base their education on fact-based information and memory-based education, thus giving them an advantage in the Pisa testing and other global tests. However, British children are, I believe better prepared for further education and career choices as they understand their knowledge and can apply it.”
Sarah: “I understand that the education system in place in Korea is beneficial in the fact that good results are constantly being produced, but I couldn’t help but question what the effect of all this work and pressure was on the girls’ mental well-being.”
And even former minister of education Ju Ho Lee say its PISA topping system is bad
Former minister of education Ju Ho Lee said it was time to make changes to the South Korean school system.
“Those high test scores in Pisa mask very important problems in Korean education, for example, Korean students don’t have enough time to read, to do sports, to do music, and to spend that time freely because they are too much pressured to prepare for the exam.
“Even the Pisa test, when they ask Korean students whether they are happy in school, Korean students rate the lowest.
“It’s time for Korean parents to make changes to prepare our next generation for the 21st Century. Our children may need a different set of skills other than just high test scores – communication, collaboration and creativity, they should be nurtured.”
The BBC also reports:
The government is making changes to the system and Jun Sung Jang, the principal at the boys school, has introduced a school sports day to tackle the problem of stressed out children.
And remember when Korean kids behaved like sheep and died? And that was when Korean kids were topping PISA?
This is waz wrong with East Asian education systems: no thinking allowed without permission.
But the East Asian systems have things that the West can learn from
The Welsh students’ head teacher, David Haynes, would like to bring top maths teachers over from South Korea to fill the shortage in Wales.
“In the health service, we bring across doctors from other parts of the world and they contribute greatly to our society and the provision we receive,” he said.
“Specialists and highly-trained professionals coming from other parts of the world like South Korea could contribute greatly to our education system.”
Mr Haynes has already introduced some Korean-style changes at his school, reorganising the school day and bringing in parents to help raise standards.
The third Welch kid who went to Korea said: Ewan: “One thing I feel we could take from the system is that there is a lot respect for teaching staff in Korea and they have the same social status as we give to doctors, which allows them to get a lot more done and for kids to become brighter.”
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 