A Mirror for Americans (el. knyga) (skaityta knyga) | knygos.lt

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This is the second of two books in which Cornelius Grove reveals the differences in societal values that explain why East Asian students always gain much higher scores on the international comparative tests than American students. While Grove’s first book explored homes in East Asia, “A Mirror for Americans” explores SCHOOLS there, i.e., how preschool and primary school teachers prepare pupils for ongoing academic prowess.

In the final chapter of this accessible, short book (148 text pages), Grove concludes that East Asian lessons are “knowledge-centered” – i.e., focused consistently on the specific content to be learned – to a degree not often found in U.S. schools. In reaching that conclusion through the body of the book, Grove discovers 12 characteristics of East Asian pre- & primary teaching that lead to knowledge-centeredness.

Three of those 12 characteristics are: (1) In preschool and first grade, pupils are deliberately trained how to learn in classrooms and how to support any teacher’s effective lesson delivery. (2) Lessons are never interrupted. School-wide announcements on the PA system do not occur. No pupil is ever pulled out to join another activity, not even special tutoring. Teaching time is sacred. (3) Teachers ask probing questions that begin with “How…,” “Why…,” and “Can you think of another way…”; also, wrong answers get special attention because dissecting them helps pupils distinguish flawed from accurate reasoning.

The “mirror for Americans” offered by this book enables readers to see American teaching from an outsider’s perspective. The surprise is that East Asian classroom methods actually are NOT vastly different from those common in the U.S. What makes the difference is a deeply ingrained set of cultural values that fervently respects, even craves, the type of knowledge acquired through academic study.

It its June issue, “Choice” magazine says, “Overall, this clear, readable, and slim volume is excellent for anyone interested in global perspectives in education,” and concludes “Highly recommended.”

Don't miss Cornelius Grove's blog, "Pleasures & Perils of Writing Non-Fiction."