Here’s how they do it in the best education system in the world:

Shanghai’s education system is distinctive and superior—and not
just globally, but also nationally. Hong Kong, Beijing, and ten Chinese
provinces participated in the 2009 PISA, but their results reflected
education systems that were still the same-old knowledge acquisition
models, whereas Shanghai had progressed to equipping students with
the ability to interpret and extrapolate information from text and
apply it to real world situations—what we would normally refer to
as ‘creativity.’ Twenty-six percent of Shanghai 15 year-olds could
demonstrate advanced problem-solving skills, whereas the OECD average
is 3 percent.

I do mean that literally, the best in the world:

Every three years, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) administers its worldwide
Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) to measure how well a nation’s education
system has been preparing its students for the global knowledge
economy. Nations such as South Korea, Finland, and Singapore have
traditionally topped the rankings, but, apparently, even they are no
match for Shanghai, which shoved the others into lower positions in its
very first year of participation in the programme, in 2009.

That’s according to
Jiang Xueqin writing in the Diplomat 1 August 2011,

How Shanghai Schools Beat Them All.

So, how did they do it?

First, the Shanghai municipal government believes that the most effective
way to raise the human capital it needs for the global knowledge economy
is by focusing on raising the overall quality of its education system
rather than investing in elite schools. ‘Students of privilege will
do well wherever they are, and more resources directed at them won’t
improve them that much,’ Schleicher explained. ‘But more attention
and investment will greatly improve disadvantaged students.’

Lacking adequate capital, Shanghai decided to rely on the expertise of
its best principals and teachers to reform its failing schools. The
Shanghai government promised career advancement opportunities and
autonomy if educators could turn around such schools, and this policy
has been stunningly successful. According to Schleicher, 70 percent of
Shanghai students are ‘resilient,’ meaning that they have stronger
math, reading, and science skills than their socio-economic background
would suggest.

‘There’s real interest and engagement between teachers and
students,’ Schleicher said. ‘Every Shanghai classroom has high demands
yet offers extensive support.’ There’s an expectation and a demand
that every student can succeed, and teachers regularly collaborate to
improve student performance.

According to Schleicher, what’s truly impressive about Shanghai schools
is how they focus on collaborative and creative learning.

You know, like an ongoing civil discussion.
Like
a debate.

And Shanghai is winning the global education debate.

You want education improvements here?

1. Do something for the least successful students.
2. Model what works by having a real discussion.

A real discussion: not parrotting talking points and ignoring
what anybody else says.

You want knowledge-based jobs?

Today, the United States may be the leader in creativity and
innovation, but that’s because it made university education universally
available 40 years ago, Schleicher argued. Now that the United States
is failing to invest properly in public education, its prospects are
dim. Shanghai is in the reverse position. PISA reveals that Shanghai is
creating for itself a skilled workforce, and that’s a ‘significant
advantage,’ he told me.

You don’t agree?

Let’s have
a debate about that.

-jsq

PS: This post owed to Don Thieme.