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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

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 [b]generally [/b]not. Highly educated college students go into teaching in Finland. Highly educated college students in the US go into tech or finance. [/quote]

As a former teacher from a high achieving background, I want to thank you for qualifying this statement. It was so demoralizing to hear broad generalizations over the years.

Having taught young children from a variety of backgrounds to read, it’s a night and day difference between high-income and low-income families. Kids whose families read to them at home before age five have a huge head start. Kids whose families tutor them are at an advantage that I can’t overcome.  Being a native English speaker is a huge advantage.  I had ESOL students who got ten reading groups a week ( between me and the ESOL teacher)  who didn’t make as much progress as average students who saw me twice a week. Yes, some ESOL kids totally caught up, but others stagnated.

And since this forum is anonymous, kids who had me after my third year of teaching had a huge advantage. Kids who had me after my sixth year of teaching were even luckier. When many teachers leave by their fifth year in the profession, students are missing out on having an experienced educator. When I left, my reading teacher videoed me teaching to share with new teachers. I have no idea if she used the footage, or if it helped anyone. We need to make teaching attractive enough to make teachers want to stay. I had no qualms about leaving because of the toll the job was taking on my marriage. DH never wants me to go back, and while that’s great for my kids, that’s a loss to the community. 
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