Are We Fixing the Wrong Things?

Problem:
To main problem discussed in this article is not necessarily that our education is falling behind from other countries but it does have an effect on it. A report discussed at the beginning on page 619, A Nation At Risk, stated that "Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world." The Education Reform feels that they need to toughen up our education systems and our standardized testing so that other countries like China and Japan do not take all of our jobs in those fields. "China now graduates six times as many engineering majors are the US; South Korea and Japan, four times as many." (pg. 620) I think that the main problem in this article is not necessarily that we might be under educating our children and being outsmarted by other countries but that we are possibly taking away what is important, not just to the US, but to other countries. In the section Our Secret Weapon, it states that other countries hire US employees for their creativity. "The advantage is we come from a very conscientious culture. You tell our people what to do , they'll follow the rules, they"ll do it. The downside is they are not as creative. We fixed that by having a US-based R&D team that's doing more advanced research." (pg. 621) While we are toughen our education and strengthening our testing, other countries like China are loosening up and aiming at more creativity. "As the United States calls for more homework and more study time, China has launched a battle to reduce such burdens on its students." The main problem is not necessarily our lack of a more difficult and structured education, but a good education.

Solution:
A solution that the writer seems to offer in this article is not that we should necessarily toughen up on our education but that we should broaden our education. Instead of it be more difficult, we should teach them more about the world that we are surrounded by. Make our children more prepared for interaction with people from other countries. Make them comfortable with other countries cultures. "We need people who can speak other languages, who understand and respect other cultures, and who realize that globalization and economic development in other nations do not necessarily mean job losses, lower wages, and trade deficit in the United States."

General:
I do agree with this article. I understand that some of our education has been weakened and that we do need to toughen up. But to take away everything that makes us unique is not the best idea for our children. I think that our schools should come up with different classes to teach of the world. If you are comfortable with the knowledge you have on other countries you are dealing with, than you could possibly have the edge that a supposed more intelligent person would have.

This article does partially help me with my topic. Education is an important topic for me to learn a great deal on. I plan on being an educator in my future, I would prefer not to be one that makes class easy, but hopefully makes one interesting.