Reading week 10

Reading week #10
1. What is the main argument being made by the speaker?
Yong Zhau’s main argument revolves around standardized test scores and how they squash the creativity and confidence of our youth. He made some very interesting points regarding America’s education and the ‘horse’ race to the top. But like Zhau, to the top of what? He also argued that although China may have the highest test scores, they have stifled the creativity of their youth. They are now looking for the next Steve Jobs.
  2. Do agree or disagree with his argument?
 I definitely agree with Zhau’s arguments. America’s educational system is stuck in a rut with no definitive solution. I agree that literacy is very important but not enough to set as a national goal. As Zhau said, it should be the floor not the ceiling. Meaning it should be the base of building a curriculum. Our text has a good point on page 342 by stating ‘While standards of literacy are constantly under negotiation in any community of practice, we do believe that relative newness…where values, norms, and literacy are particularly flexible.” The 1950s, ‘60s through 2007 the US claimed that our education was bad because our test scores were not top of the world. Politicians kept making edicts to improve test scores when they should have been improving the educational system. According to Zhau pushing for higher tests scores damage the student’s confidence. With today’s digital generation and globalization we must realize the other countries are not our competitors, but collaborators, investors and consumers. Our test states on page 342 “ We do not believe that educators and parents need to bear down on kids with complicated rules and restrictions and heavy –handed norms, but(on page 343) Parents need to begin with an appreciation of the importance of youth’s social interaction with their peers and recognize that children are knowledgeable experts on their own peer practices.” In conclusion I agree that test scores do not reflect or predict the student’s ability or the quality of our teachers. The schools must get involved to help every child to meet their potential. Page 532 of our text states in part “ Rather that thinking of public education as a burden that schools must shoulder on their own,…(page 353) it should think of education as a process of guiding kids participation in public life that includes social, recreational and civic engagement.”