Did you know? No, I didn't, and I don't think any of us do.

Wow. Let me preface this post by stating that I knew only that we lagged behind other countries and that I did not know the extent of our gap.

Secondly, once again I believe I keep repeating myself, we need to take a look at the way we are educating our youth as their future jobs probably do not exist yet. We need to find ways to help our students to think outside of the box all on their own without being prompted by teachers/parents. We need to develop more independent thinking and critical thinking skill sets for our students to be able to work without being spoon fed information.

On another point, why don't we just blatantly admit our lag and study the approaches of other countries all out. I know, there has been research and "Did You Know" showcases this idea, but, I mean, our government should take the lead on this by helping us to learn what we can do to assist our students. Whether it is to find a new way to intrinsically motivate our kids or whatever it is, we need to find out. That would be more helpful than the old reliable governmental approach of standardized testing.

Lastly, in terms of technological advances, I understand that it may be difficult for school systems and veteran teachers to keep up with the ever-changing world. However, teachers should be willing to learn the new technologies as they come about through PD hours to be able to realte to our students. Using blogging as an approach to get kids to write is a tremendous idea, in my point of view.