Zhao focuses his energy on the relationship between education and entrepreneurism, suggesting there is an inverse relationship between PISA scores and entrepreneurial activities.
Zhao highlights that standardized testing and rote memorization are the biggest enemies for entrepreneurial capability. I agree with this statement, and recognize the double-edged sword of Common Core. On the one hand, the standards encourage students to go beyond surface-level rote memorization; deeply analyzing a variety of text genres, mastering an array of writing skills, and learning to communicate and collaborate with peers. However, it will also lead to standardized tests, which in my experience, has wholly negative outcomes and severely limits learning.
According to Zhao, this limitation is apparent in the Chinese education system, which is why it strives to replicate the US model of education; promoting the individual, critical thinking, curiosity, and habits of inquiry, without the use of standardized tests, uniform textbooks, or student rankings.
Ironically, the reformed US education system is striving to reduce the very components that the Chinese are so eager to adopt. However, these components have not been intentionally designed, rather they are a by-product of a poorly constructed education system. Zhao continues to claim that creativity cannot be taught in the classroom, in the traditional sense, but the accidentally created holes of the US education system foster an entrepreneurial spirit.
I believe there must be a happy medium. I have observed the same students being left behind, and I believe a national curriculum can help these students master, at the very least, basic skills expressed by Common Core. Supposedly higher-level students can be pushed, in the same classroom, to exceed expectations by differentiating instruction, while modeling aspiration and motivation for all students. This can be achieved by creating a safe classroom environment, which promotes learning and collaboration, while recognizing the individual.
For me, closing the achievement gap is not the priority; rather we should be looking to move all our students up the scale.
Zhao highlights that standardized testing and rote memorization are the biggest enemies for entrepreneurial capability. I agree with this statement, and recognize the double-edged sword of Common Core. On the one hand, the standards encourage students to go beyond surface-level rote memorization; deeply analyzing a variety of text genres, mastering an array of writing skills, and learning to communicate and collaborate with peers. However, it will also lead to standardized tests, which in my experience, has wholly negative outcomes and severely limits learning.
According to Zhao, this limitation is apparent in the Chinese education system, which is why it strives to replicate the US model of education; promoting the individual, critical thinking, curiosity, and habits of inquiry, without the use of standardized tests, uniform textbooks, or student rankings.
Ironically, the reformed US education system is striving to reduce the very components that the Chinese are so eager to adopt. However, these components have not been intentionally designed, rather they are a by-product of a poorly constructed education system. Zhao continues to claim that creativity cannot be taught in the classroom, in the traditional sense, but the accidentally created holes of the US education system foster an entrepreneurial spirit.
I believe there must be a happy medium. I have observed the same students being left behind, and I believe a national curriculum can help these students master, at the very least, basic skills expressed by Common Core. Supposedly higher-level students can be pushed, in the same classroom, to exceed expectations by differentiating instruction, while modeling aspiration and motivation for all students. This can be achieved by creating a safe classroom environment, which promotes learning and collaboration, while recognizing the individual.
For me, closing the achievement gap is not the priority; rather we should be looking to move all our students up the scale.