Teaching in the U.S. vs. the rest of the world

[Anonymous]

I guess you get what you pay for...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFqQm1541aA

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's the pay. I think it's that teachers have no autonomy, have to teach to the test and can't kick disruptive students out of their classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Didn't watch the video. My sister's kids go to an expensive private school and they do a couple projects that are neater than what my public school kids do, but overall, all the kids are getting a good education.


Does it compare to the education that friends and family are getting in Europe and Asia? Yes, more or less.

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to watch a YouTube video someone made, but I will share my personal experience.

I've taught in the US in two cities and have taught international students from Germany and China. I followed the standards from the German A-levels with my exchange students. They were on par with the upper grades honors/AP students in my school. I wish it was easier to find those standards in curricula in the US. They are more rigorous and in my opinion fun to teach. It's one of the things I miss the most about teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's the pay. I think it's that teachers have no autonomy, have to teach to the test and can't kick disruptive students out of their classrooms.

This basically is it.
I grew up transatlantic and went to schools both in the UK and the US. Here you find parents have a lot to say and hold a lot of sway, in public and privates. In the UK as a parent you are basically shut out. The school is in charge of what is happening at all times.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think it’s teacher autonomy, I think it’s a crap curriculum. “Teach the child how to think, not what to think,” “little kids aren’t developmentally ready to learn facts,” “rote memorization is pointless in the modern world,” etc. So yay, now we have a bunch of citizens who don’t know anything.

[Anonymous]

Elementary education in US is fine. It's the middle and high school education that cannot compete with many other countries.
School does start a little too early here, but it's because the US doesn't have free daycare for all. This early learning cuts into play time, which is learning for young children.
Middle and high school classes are taught by chemists, historians and linguists in the old country. It makes a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's the pay. I think it's that teachers have no autonomy, have to teach to the test and can't kick disruptive students out of their classrooms.

It is both.

Plus the fact that most Americans over 35 hated school and have a lingering resentment of teachers that they carry over into their own children’s school years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not going to watch a YouTube video someone made, but I will share my personal experience.

I've taught in the US in two cities and have taught international students from Germany and China. I followed the standards from the German A-levels with my exchange students. They were on par with the upper grades honors/AP students in my school. I wish it was easier to find those standards in curricula in the US. They are more rigorous and in my opinion fun to teach. It's one of the things I miss the most about teaching.

Classical tracking is epitomized by the German system.

Read last Sunday’s Post article in the A section attacking tracking as “contributing to systemic racism.”

Then read up on efforts to dismantle excellence in US schools in the name of “equity.

The US will literally dumb-down our public education system, and we will be worse off for it in the decades to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary education in US is fine. It's the middle and high school education that cannot compete with many other countries.
School does start a little too early here, but it's because the US doesn't have free daycare for all. This early learning cuts into play time, which is learning for young children.
Middle and high school classes are taught by chemists, historians and linguists in the old country. It makes a big difference.

Actually the problems in elementary education bleed into middle and high school education. Kids aren't taught to read properly. They don't have good background knowledge for science and social studies. Elementary math teachers (in general) are not good mathematicians. One thing the video doesn't say is that Finish teachers are generally top of their class in college. US teachers are generally not. Highly educated college students go into teaching in Finland. Highly educated college students in the US go into tech or finance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's the pay. I think it's that teachers have no autonomy, have to teach to the test and can't kick disruptive students out of their classrooms.

100% this. I won’t get back to teaching because children are undisciplined and teachers are powerless to do anything about it. It’s awful. It prevents us from using our expertise to teach. I also no longer want to spend my time interacting with parents like those of you who post entitled, elitist comments here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elementary education in US is fine. It's the middle and high school education that cannot compete with many other countries.
School does start a little too early here, but it's because the US doesn't have free daycare for all. This early learning cuts into play time, which is learning for young children.
Middle and high school classes are taught by chemists, historians and linguists in the old country. It makes a big difference.

Actually the problems in elementary education bleed into middle and high school education. Kids aren't taught to read properly. They don't have good background knowledge for science and social studies. Elementary math teachers (in general) are not good mathematicians. One thing the video doesn't say is that Finish teachers are generally top of their class in college. US teachers are generally not. Highly educated college students go into teaching in Finland. Highly educated college students in the US go into tech or finance.

Even those really great Finnish teachers have trouble teaching when the kids aren't good.

I've seen other videos of this teacher teaching in Finland and she's great. But she couldn't control this "multicultural" classroom where the standards and expectations for behavior and academics were obviously way lower at the same age. (Or even comparing to a lower age in Finland, which she hinted at a couple of times.)

Teacher quality is only part of the issue.

[Anonymous]

It’s not just the US vs the rest of the world. I read an article about a British teacher who quit after she spent time teaching in the Netherlands. She found it too stifling after the Dutch approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s teacher autonomy, I think it’s a crap curriculum. “Teach the child how to think, not what to think,” “little kids aren’t developmentally ready to learn facts,” “rote memorization is pointless in the modern world,” etc. So yay, now we have a bunch of citizens who don’t know anything.

.

Of course little kids are developmentally ready to learn facts. In fact they are little sponges who are EAGER to learn facts...that are relevant and exciting to them! Curriculum depends on your school district. Some are better than others. Same with teacher quality. Same with teaching to the test. The most important factors in academic achievement are socio-economics of students, education level of mothers/parents, teacher quality, and class size in my opinion. - a teacher

[Anonymous]

Many other school systems more seriously track students, so HS is great for those on the right track. In the US you can do crappy in HS, still go to a college somewhere, find your groove and get into a top grad school (happened to DH!). So less efficient, but more flexible. Like a lot of things in the US.