Have you heard the news? Students from Shanghai, China have just beaten the pants of the rest of the world and in particular on the United States, on a respected international assessment in reading, math, and science. The assessment is known by its acronym PISA, which stands for Program for International Student Assessment.
“Wow, I’m kind of stunned, I’m thinking Sputnik,” said Chester E. Finn Jr., who served in President Ronald Reagan‘s
Department of Education, referring to the groundbreaking Soviet
satellite launching. Mr. Finn, who has visited schools all across China,
said, “I’ve seen how relentless the Chinese are at accomplishing goals,
and if they can do this in Shanghai in 2009, they can do it in 10
cities in 2019, and in 50 cities by 2029.”
Here’s the excerpt that got my attention:
Chinese students spend less time than American students on athletics,
music and other activities not geared toward success on exams in core
subjects. Also, in recent years, teaching has rapidly climbed up the
ladder of preferred occupations in China, and salaries have risen. In
Shanghai, the authorities have undertaken important curricular reforms,
and educators have been given more freedom to experiment.
Perhaps I’ve got your attention now. For those who believe the arts are a core subject, well, apparently Mr. Dillon is not one of them. Perhaps Mr. Dillon hasn’t heard that the arts are part of the core. Perhaps Mr. Dillon is being a realist and calling it as it is in many districts.
Well, if you think that giant grants from the Feds for STEM education, and an educational industrial complex built on reading and math wasn’t enough, it’s hard not to read this as something that augurs an even greater focus on core subjects, meaning ELA, math, and you can now add science to that list.
Let’s not forget sport either. Is there a difference between sports and physical education. I guarantee you that physical education instructors will tell you yes, loudly. Nevertheless, if the prospect of a Race to Shanghai means less physical education, considering that in many urban school districts you can’t provide much less, well, someone is going to have to find another way to deal with the over 40% of children in school districts such as New York City who are either overweight or obese.