Brandon Sartin
In one of my business courses, my
teachers spoke on how American students’ test scores compared to their
counterparts in other countries. She spoke specifically on Finland and how
their society and education culture is different than ours. She argued that in
this country the primary and secondary school teachers are usually the students
who do not perform well on standardized testing; which is contrary to the
Finland education approach. In Finland educators are paid higher compared to
American educators, and being an educator is a highly regarded position. My professor
believed that the low-test scores by American students were due to the
infatuation with technology. She believes we are not as good critical thinkers,
due to our dependence to technology.
In Finland certain technology is not
allowed in the classroom. She stated that Finland was out performing America in
education because of this alone. However, I believe that as culture swings to
an information age there has to be a middle ground between technology and sharp
critical thinking skills. The question is how do we find that balance on a wide
scale. I do not believe the answer is getting rid of technology, but yet using
it as an aid to our learning. As this is a class focused on technology, I
believe this would be a great class discussion.
Link to an article explaining what
American students’ low test scores mean for the future.
Article on the effect of technology
on critical thinking skills.
That is not surprising to me. We put our energy, as a nation, into other things such as sports or our media. It is still very alarming that the "best" country in the world is falling this far behind when it comes to intelligence. Finland came up from behind though.
ReplyDeleteI feel that you put the nail on the head with the notion of finding a happy medium between technology and critical thinking. I believe we are a statistics driven society that bases intelligence off of test scores, and if you're doing better than the status quo. However, being able to memorize (which we do very well) does not help us with decision making and our critical thinking skills. For example, foreign language classes should be more geared toward conversing, business courses should be centered more towards case studies & real life on the job work, etc. Once one is able to apply what they have learned theoretically to a myriad of real life scenarios then I believe we will start growing in our critical thinking as a country without being too reliant on technology.
ReplyDeleteI agree that technology should be utilized as an educational tool in our US system. Because technology is becoming something that is involved in everything we do, it should implemented in a way that benefits future generations of students. I don't necessarily think technology is the overwhelming force in the difference between the two countries, but rather the way curriculum is implemented. Clinton hit it on the mark with the way certain classes require a certain form of conduct. I think once we establish a more advanced and engaging way of educating, we will have no problem competing with Finland and other countries.
ReplyDeleteI think it's safe to say that American students have indeed slacked off as far as intellectually thinking through real world problems. How can I make this statement? Well, I would argue that the primarily issue is not necessarily technological advances throughout our society but instead, the lack to effectively and efficiently utilizing the tools available to us everyday. This is merely a personal opinion but I would venture to say that by this time in our advancement as an information age and technological focused country, we should have not only initiated the innovation of hovering cars but rather produced multiple generations of various models and "taken to the skies."
ReplyDeleteTechnology should be used in education. It is becoming more and more prevalent these days that digital learning is the way to go. Technology isn't taken advantage enough by the public school system that only allows the traditional method to prevail. This will ultimately be the downfall of the educational system in the United States. Many foreign countries learn advanced mathematics by middle school, whereas many American taught students are just beginning to delve into algebra. It's a sad truth that if we don't advance, we will, as a people, fall even further behind than we already are.
ReplyDeleteI believe Americans need to take a new approach in our school stystems. If the system now shows a steady decline and the rise of education in other nations then that means we're doing something wrong. Not much has changed in the way students are taught since the early 1900s. Education in America has been stagnant and there needs to be a new system with better technology. In middle and high school kids are not being taught how to write or balance checks, public speaking, how to talk in interviews, or even how to make a resume. Things need to change if America wants to be a the top.
ReplyDelete