quote:

Is it time for the student to offer the teacher a few lessons?

Twenty-five years ago, Americans like economist Jeffrey Sachs were running around Poland helping to turn moribund socialism into a vibrant market economy. Now, with the U.S. trying to fix its lagging educational system, it might just learn a thing or two from Poland, which in the past decade has moved sharply forward from the rear of the international pack and beats the U.S. on most performance measures. And it didn't even spend a lot money to get there.

Poland now has the fourth-highest number of higher education students in Europe, behind the U.K., Germany and France. Reading, once an obstacle, became an asset — more so than in the U.S., the U.K., Germany or France. And 19th place in math on a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has helped it produce some of Europe's brightest talent in the technology field. The U.S. ranked a "below average" 27th.

"Our curriculum is mostly based on the effects of education — not just what students know but what they can do, and how they can use their knowledge practically,"

...

Leaders in the capital, Warsaw, saw a growing generation of underserved and uninspired students as an economic bear trap. Without drastic reforms, the country could kiss its decade of prosperity goodbye.

"We have to move the entire system — push it out of its equilibrium," urged then-Education Minister Mirosław Handke.

Handke got his green light. With remarkable speed, in a year academia in Poland was unrecognizable. The demagoguery was ditched and in came a new form of general education that resisted specialization. Just a year after that, in 2000, Poland began to leap up the international league tables.

By 2012, the last time the OECD conducted its survey, Poland was one of the best teaching countries on earth.

In fact it's the only one to have gone from below average in the chart, which now measures 510,000 15-year-olds in 65 territories, to above — with a GDP ranking just 46th globally. On key indicators — math, science, reading — it came from behind to rank well ahead of the United States.

How did Poland do it?

Back in 1998, Handke, a former chemistry teacher, was staring at a horrible formula. Polish children went to primary school for eight years before being funneled into vocational training at age 14.

Under the revamped system, primary school lasts six years, followed by three years of a new comprehensive lower secondary school, before a decision is made on whether to send a student to vocational training. Knowledge — reading, writing, 'rithmetic — is valued above technical skill. Foreign language — especially English — became a key component. In 2000 only 1 percent of kids received four hours or more of language classes. By 2006 that figure was 76 percent.

But it's not about money. Poland spends around $5,000 per student annually from primary through tertiary education, but outperforms the United States, which spends around three times that amount.

Poland has its socialist past to thank for the rapid progress, says Izabel Olchonowicz, an education consultant: "People were very eager to modernize; they were waiting such a long time," she says. "Right now is the result of that."

The economy has continued to be strong. When Europe's economies were tumbling in 2009, Poland was its only island of growth, getting a 1.6 percent lift. Poland is far better off than when Handke had his say.

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Originally posted by krisblaze
Germany underwent similar circumstances and landed on more or lesd the same system, albeit after a slump in the 90s.

America introduced the 6 3 3 track + vocational split in Japan during the postwar period, so I think theyre familiar with it.

What is it that America needs to learn from the "polish" system?

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Originally posted by Adam Grimes
If you are the result of said system then nothing, thanks.

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Originally posted by Robtard
Is the correct answer to the thread "nothing"?

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Originally posted by Stigma
But what immediately comes to mind is the fact that, as the article says, despite spending three times less money on a student, Poland outperforms the US.

Thus, what the US could learn is more effective fiscal policy when it comes to education.

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Originally posted by Putinbot1
He still posts just not in the GDF, I always saw him as Surt light with a better Education.

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Originally posted by Bentley
I thought that was DDM's description

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Originally posted by TempAccount
Education system in US is too decentralized for any meaningful changes to occur outside the state level.

You have kids in Alabama barely passing Algebra while Californians students might have a familiarity with calculus by the time they graduate.

My suggestion would be:

1. Schools need to start operating year round. Maybe not all at once but start extending the school year into the summer. In exchange shorten the total time spent in school by a year.

2. Stop with the infinite amount of useless standardized tests

3. Cut out the bullshit

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Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Centralizing schools is the complete oposite of what should be done. F*** public schools in general and f*** 'Comon Core'.


If that offends Kirk or any other moron well then that's just too damn bad. Kirk's opinion on these issues like this is why I laugh to myself when he tries to pretend he's a conservative or even just part of the real right in general.

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Originally posted by mike brown
In 1970, in response to the news that the United States had landed on the moon, the Polish government announced they had plans to out do NASA and land one of their own astronauts on the sun.

When critics remarked skeptically that they would burn up before they ever reached the surface, the Polish government responded "we're going at night."