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

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259960-the-smartest-kids-in-the-world 


"One thing was clear: to give our kids the kind of education they deserved, we had to first agree that rigor mattered most of all; that school existed to help kids learn to think, to work hard, and yes, to fail." – page 193


Expectations and resilience

  • All students learn Math & Reading -- no splitting up

  • Kids will fail and try again

  • Don't need empty, continuous praise

  • Kids can and need to understand real-world, complex concepts

  • Demographics aren't a factor <-- parent involvement/pushing much bigger factor

  • All kids can write --> get rid of multiple choice tests

  • Kids can handle failing grades and then improve

    • No more "A for effort"

    • The world after school is not like that --> kids are being set up to fail once they graduate

  • Kids need to learn to think and work hard to succeed

  • Education is a serious, important quest

  • Education is more important than sports or self-esteem

  • Kids are less supervised in top countries, b/c they know the stakes

The fundamental difference between US and top performing nations is the focus on rigor and respecting education

School environment

Teachers

  • Teachers job is as important as a doctor --> Only the most talented should be allowed

  • Spend less money on fancy technology and repurpose it to pay teachers more and pay for high quality training

  • We need higher standards for teachers. Teachers who meet these standards will justify higher pay and will command more respect

  • Better teachers mean we need less structure, b/c better teachers want and take advantage of autonomy

  • Top countries spend about 1/10th as much on technology. Foreign exchange students generally agreed that it was a distraction in the US

Parents & at home

  • PTA kids often did worse

  • Kids need role models

  • Kids do better when

    • parents show interest in what their kids are doing

    • parents read to them 6 nights per week

  • Art work, posters, etc. won't help grades

  • No kids like school -- all kids like TV and video games. The difference between cultures is how seriously the kids take school

! Beware, push your kids too hard and they'll retaliate. One child in Korea stabbed his mother and then hid the body for 6 months.

Sports

  • Sports in school confuse priorities

  • Only a minority of students play, the rest watch

  • Meanwhile, American obesity increases (so it's not making us any healthier)

  • Sports teaches leadership; ...but only to few, while draining focus and resources for everyone else

  • Primacy of sports sends mixed message to kids about how to succeed in life

  • Sports diminishes relevance of school as a path to success

  • Athletes spend all time training, there's no time to learn

  • Teachers need to be good at coaching, which distracts from time to be good at ...teaching

Sports should exist, but separate from school. Secular.

Appendix - questions to ask current students when touring schools

  1. In this class, do you learn a lot every day?

  2. Do students in this class usually behave the way your teachers wants them to?

  3. Does this class stay busy and not waste time?

  4. If you don't understand something, what do you do?


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