Thoughts from the highschool visits.
We read the article What do the best classrooms in the world look like?
Interesting points:
* Other countries do better; e.g. Korea and Finland. Korea it is perhaps because of the 8 hour days followed by intense parent pressure and tutoring. But Finland is laid back, with less average homework.
* What do they have in common? 100% of teachers are from the top 1/3. In the US, about 23% of new teachers are--and only 14% in high-poverty schools.
Big surprise: good teachers are more important than good toys.
* Another thing they have in common: not necessarily spending more, but it is more equitably distributed.
Here is the McKinsey&Co report referenced--lots of great charts!
Tom was talking about an interesting article about happiness in Finland--because the way things are set up in that country, people tend to take jobs based on what they like to do, rather than salary.
We read the article What do the best classrooms in the world look like?
Interesting points:
* Other countries do better; e.g. Korea and Finland. Korea it is perhaps because of the 8 hour days followed by intense parent pressure and tutoring. But Finland is laid back, with less average homework.
* What do they have in common? 100% of teachers are from the top 1/3. In the US, about 23% of new teachers are--and only 14% in high-poverty schools.
Big surprise: good teachers are more important than good toys.
* Another thing they have in common: not necessarily spending more, but it is more equitably distributed.
Here is the McKinsey&Co report referenced--lots of great charts!
Tom was talking about an interesting article about happiness in Finland--because the way things are set up in that country, people tend to take jobs based on what they like to do, rather than salary.