A World Class Education Ch 3

Changing is hard. The bigger the change, it seems, the more difficult the task. Education is one of the most important things in a child’s life, so what happens when someone decides to present new challenges to our way of thinking? Vivian Stewart attempts to bring some very good points to light in chapter three of her book A World Class Education. Most successful systems tend to have the same basic elements when it comes to education. Strong leadership with ambitious vision is necessary for a profitable future in American instruction. High quality teachers and administrators who focus on global and future orientated goals help guide their students toward a more equitable state. Teacher accountability is also extremely significant; the nation board standard number four states that teachers should strive to strengthen their skills as an educator and critically examine their practice in order to improve their performance. Lastly, teachers should always keep an open mind for the future and continuously learn new ways to develop curriculum. This relates to national standard number five.

In physical science, students are required to manipulate mathematical equations in order to solve for a range of variables. Here in the United States, we use the English system as our standard for measurement: However, nearly everywhere else in the world, the metric system is used. I apply global orientation to my classroom by teaching my students the metric system and explaining why it is important for scientists to have the same system of measurement. We should be mindful of learning the way others do things and less consumed with the our own systems when we can all benefit from a unified structure.

Stewart, V. (2012). A world-class education: learning from international models of excellence and innovation. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.