The Smartest Kids in the World, by Amanda Ripley

A nice discussion comparing the American educational system to that of three foreign countries, Poland, Finland and South Korea, which perform near the top of the PISA, "Programme for International Student Assessment" (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2012/index.asp). It is heavily referenced and should be read by all American educators. Ripley follows three American teenagers as they spend one year abroad immersed in their respective country. At one point the American student asked some Finnish high-schoolers why they cared so much about school. They responded that they "had to in order to get a good job." Mind you, these Finnish students seemed to have the same general social interests (and time) as American teenagers - they just took their schooling a bit more seriously. Why? Is it because Americans don't need a quality education in order to succeed? Current data argues against this. Significant earnings are left on the table if one doesn't graduate high school. And earnings are stratified as one reaches higher levels of education (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm). Rather, Ripley argues, America has a cultural problem. Our educators don't only teach (many of them do double duty as sports coaches). Our teachers are also not the highest performers in school themselves - you can't teach what you don't know. For example, many math teachers in the U.S. were never math students. In Finland, in order to be a teacher, you must have graduated in the top third of your high school class. Similar requirements exist in other countries. The upside is that being a teacher becomes a prestigious professional occupation drawing in high performers. In Finland, too, while average teacher salaries are not significantly higher than in the U.S., they are more aligned with what doctors and other professionals earn. Ripley also explores the evidence on how we make children life-long learners. Would you believe that children of parents actively involved in the PTA and school activities don't perform any better than their peers? Rather, the most effective thing you can do for your children is read to them on a daily basis.