While Considering School Choice, What About Teacher And Tutor Choice?
Dr. Bill Smith, Editor: Readers will have noted a number of article promoting School Choice. However, my elementary and post secondary education was in the public school system eons ago when things were different. It was during the post WWII era when teachers were professional and student were expected to both perform and to behave. Homework was both required and relevant. Also, even a poor child had access to the teachers who focused on getting you educated and not being concerned about the clothes you wore, or the lunch or non-lunch that you had. Teachers understood the times having lived during or fairly close to the depression era and all had lived during WWII. They understood that the best thing they could offer every child was the solid fundamentals needed to both survive and to get a job. There were no discussions on certain future jobs being better than others. And at least my teachers pushed all their children to their maximum ability in English, Math and Science.
Even though I was from a low income family, I received the same quality education as the other students and it prepared for transitions in life and for college. My parents dropped out of high school. My dad enlisted during WWII, fought in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked hard at anything available. As a teenager, I was expected to work to help supplement the family income. No shame here; lots of others did the same. The key point: teachers of my era did not permit excuses for not getting homework done. They expected assignments to be completed. Like many others of my era, I was the first high school graduate in my family.
I married and was drafted at age 19 during the Vietnam War. However, I was prepared by the quality education I received. When opportunity knocked, I was ready as were many of my fellow classmates. After a career in the military, I became a university professor. And, before retiring, I taught teachers instructional methods and ' test preparation and measurement' for evaluating students.
Unfortunately, over the last 50 years. I noted that the professionalism of teachers dwindled. The standards of school were lowered. Class sizes grew. Non-traditional material crept into the education system stealing away critical time needed for core fundamentals. Focus on sports became more important than academics. Progressive ideas crept in replacing truth, reality and standards of excellence.Sex education arrived. Deficient teachers were retained. And a few years ago, I noted that over 50% of recent high school graduates at a local university were being remediated in English and mathematics.
That's when I became very interested in alternative school options, charter schools, and parents right to information on school performance, and eventually in school choice.
But today, I noted the following article about teachers working as "free agents" - "private tutors." But the attention getter was that one person was making $4 million a year for an after-school tutoring academies. Is this happening in America? - No! It is happening in South Korea.
A South Korean teacher makes $4 million a year! The U.S. could learn some lessons here about pay based on performance and accountability. The author points outIn South Korea, students truly are the customers. If you are a highly-respected teacher . . . countless numbers of students will pay for your services, which . . . can become quite lucrative. Most importantly, they are getting results.
South Korean students routinely outperform students in the United States on international tests. However, this wasn't always the case. “Sixty years ago, most South Koreans were illiterate; today, South Korean 15-year-olds rank No. 2 in the world in reading, behind Shanghai. The country now has a 93% high-school graduation rate, compared with 77% in the U.S.” Obviously, This is a far cry from American teachers unions striking and doing everything they can to stop their members from being held to high standards and simply wanting more money poured into our public schools.
We are missing the boat on this one in America - free enterprise, tutoring, high academic performance, and $4 million for a year's work. 그 빨! That's Korean! And my emotional response to or current situation. The following article by U.S. Chamber’s Mark D’Alessio.
by Mark D’Alessio: In this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal, journalist and author Amanda Ripley, profiled a teacher in South Korea who makes $4 million a year. Yes … $4 million. His name is Kim Ki-Hoon and he teaches in one of South Korea’s private, after-school tutoring academies called "hagwons" where his lectures are videotaped then available for purchase on the Internet. Mr. Ki-Hoon is paid according to his demand (which, evidently, is pretty high) in what Ms. Ripley calls “a free market for teaching talent.”
These private tutors are essentially "free agents", meaning they don’t receive a base salary—their pay is based on performance. So, how is their performance evaluated?
Ripley writes, “Performance evaluations are typically based on how many students sign up for their classes, their students’ test-score growth, and satisfaction surveys given to students and parents.”
In South Korea, students truly are the customers. If you are a highly-respected teacher in a hagwon, countless numbers of students will pay for your services, which, as Mr. Ki-Hoon has demonstrated, can become quite lucrative. Most importantly, they are getting results.
South Korean students routinely outperform students in the United States on international tests. However, this wasn't always the case. Ripley writes, “Sixty years ago, most South Koreans were illiterate; today, South Korean 15-year-olds rank No. 2 in the world in reading, behind Shanghai. The country now has a 93% high-school graduation rate, compared with 77% in the U.S.”
A startling statistic that Ripley uncovers is that South Korean parents spend $17 billion a year on tutoring services similar to Ki-Hoon’s, while American parents spend approximately $15 billion a year on video games. According to Ripley, in South Korea, “if parents aren't engaged, that is considered a failure of the educators, not the family.”
So, what can the United States learn from high-performing countries like South Korea when it comes to educating our kids? Ripley has embarked on finding the answer to this question in her upcoming book, The Smartest Kids in the World—and How They Got That Way, which will be released on August 13. Ripley will be providing keynote remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s upcoming education summit on September 17. . . . [More Conference Info]
Tags: education, free enterprise, South Korea, tutoring, smart kids free enterprise, choice, school choice, Us Chamber of Commerce To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Even though I was from a low income family, I received the same quality education as the other students and it prepared for transitions in life and for college. My parents dropped out of high school. My dad enlisted during WWII, fought in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked hard at anything available. As a teenager, I was expected to work to help supplement the family income. No shame here; lots of others did the same. The key point: teachers of my era did not permit excuses for not getting homework done. They expected assignments to be completed. Like many others of my era, I was the first high school graduate in my family.
I married and was drafted at age 19 during the Vietnam War. However, I was prepared by the quality education I received. When opportunity knocked, I was ready as were many of my fellow classmates. After a career in the military, I became a university professor. And, before retiring, I taught teachers instructional methods and ' test preparation and measurement' for evaluating students.
Unfortunately, over the last 50 years. I noted that the professionalism of teachers dwindled. The standards of school were lowered. Class sizes grew. Non-traditional material crept into the education system stealing away critical time needed for core fundamentals. Focus on sports became more important than academics. Progressive ideas crept in replacing truth, reality and standards of excellence.Sex education arrived. Deficient teachers were retained. And a few years ago, I noted that over 50% of recent high school graduates at a local university were being remediated in English and mathematics.
That's when I became very interested in alternative school options, charter schools, and parents right to information on school performance, and eventually in school choice.
But today, I noted the following article about teachers working as "free agents" - "private tutors." But the attention getter was that one person was making $4 million a year for an after-school tutoring academies. Is this happening in America? - No! It is happening in South Korea.
A South Korean teacher makes $4 million a year! The U.S. could learn some lessons here about pay based on performance and accountability. The author points out
South Korean students routinely outperform students in the United States on international tests. However, this wasn't always the case. “Sixty years ago, most South Koreans were illiterate; today, South Korean 15-year-olds rank No. 2 in the world in reading, behind Shanghai. The country now has a 93% high-school graduation rate, compared with 77% in the U.S.”
We are missing the boat on this one in America - free enterprise, tutoring, high academic performance, and $4 million for a year's work. 그 빨! That's Korean! And my emotional response to or current situation. The following article by U.S. Chamber’s Mark D’Alessio.
These private tutors are essentially "free agents", meaning they don’t receive a base salary—their pay is based on performance. So, how is their performance evaluated?
Ripley writes, “Performance evaluations are typically based on how many students sign up for their classes, their students’ test-score growth, and satisfaction surveys given to students and parents.”
In South Korea, students truly are the customers. If you are a highly-respected teacher in a hagwon, countless numbers of students will pay for your services, which, as Mr. Ki-Hoon has demonstrated, can become quite lucrative. Most importantly, they are getting results.
South Korean students routinely outperform students in the United States on international tests. However, this wasn't always the case. Ripley writes, “Sixty years ago, most South Koreans were illiterate; today, South Korean 15-year-olds rank No. 2 in the world in reading, behind Shanghai. The country now has a 93% high-school graduation rate, compared with 77% in the U.S.”
A startling statistic that Ripley uncovers is that South Korean parents spend $17 billion a year on tutoring services similar to Ki-Hoon’s, while American parents spend approximately $15 billion a year on video games. According to Ripley, in South Korea, “if parents aren't engaged, that is considered a failure of the educators, not the family.”
So, what can the United States learn from high-performing countries like South Korea when it comes to educating our kids? Ripley has embarked on finding the answer to this question in her upcoming book, The Smartest Kids in the World—and How They Got That Way, which will be released on August 13. Ripley will be providing keynote remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s upcoming education summit on September 17. . . . [More Conference Info]
Tags: education, free enterprise, South Korea, tutoring, smart kids free enterprise, choice, school choice, Us Chamber of Commerce To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 3:51 PM - Post Link
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home