World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students

Let me start by stating that this book pretty felt like the ideas were taken from my head and Yong Zhao just brought clarity and data to support the ideas.This book is a must read!As the American Education System works towards spending billions of dollars in creating a Common Core curriculum, other countries are trying to emulate what America schools once were. I am not stating that the school system we had was perfect, but it allowed students to pursue their interests and there is a reason that we have more creative awards, innovators, Novel Laureates, and patents than any other country. Forcing everyone to teach the same way is going to cause schools to eliminate those opportunities for students to explore their passions.This book discusses what America is doing wrong and questions why we want to be like a China education system that can have students pass tests, but cannot innovate? China is striving to be us and vice versa. We are in a pivotal moment right now in education and this book shows what can be if we continue down this path.It is imperative that teachers have freedom within their classroom. When a teacher can no longer teach a project because other teachers in the subject field don't want to and teachers cannot add their own flare to their subject, then students lose out. This mindset is settling in not only with policy makers, but communities as well.Parents want more work. More homework, harder classes, more tests, etc. At what point do we say enough! A child should not have to attend school for 6-7 hours a day and then go home to hours of homework each night. It is very important for kids to have time to explore, play, sports, art, music, drama, etc. These avenues allow students to find out who they are and what they want to pursue.Yong Zhao, the author of this book lays out what he thinks needs to happen to allow students to think like entrepreneurs and prepare for the world. The way things are going right now we are not allowing for this to happen.This is a well written book. He supports all ideas with several facts, figures, and examples. Being a book review I won't go into all my thoughts and ideas with each section of this book, but I will tell you that this a necessary read for anyone involved in education and wondering what the future holds for us. If we don't start to rethink how we teach and how schools operate we are going to find ourselves falling behind. Creating a national curriculum driven by people who have not stepped foot in a classroom is not the answer. Teachers need to be willing to step up and take risks to challenge their students. As Rabindranath Tagore stated, "Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time."It is time for teachers to change and adapt how we teach. It is time for administrators to step up to the challenge and change the system. And it is time for policy makers to get out of the way and quit acting like they know what they are talking about. If our students don't prepare to be a global citizen and learn to seek out problems and learn to solve them, then the future could be different from life today! Read this book and find out more about how we can change things to better prepare our students for their future.

Yong Zhao has done an excellent job in documenting the short comings of the current education model. The current educational model is set up to produce good employees not entrepreneurs. Citing statistics such as individual productivity has doubled since 1980 he made the case that the world doesn't need any more employees. The world needs people who will start their own companies, and be the leaders in innovation. Having done such a good job in identifying the problem he did an even better job in suggesting solutions. The current model of standardised testing and one size fits all curriculum not only destroys the confidence of those that aren't the top performers in the class it does teach to all learning styles. His proposal of a Product Based Learning system is nothing new as it used to be called Integrated Learning. However, the standards to which is wishes to hold it to are very different. He provides success stories using this model such as High Tech High in San Diego County, California. When I finished reading this book I knew exactly what kind of school I wanted my kids to attend. Unfortunately, it's not an option yet where we live.

After hearing him in person, reading the book was even better because I had a voice to put with the words. However, even without the voice, you'll find the book thought provoking and you'll realize that the US school system isn't as bad as all the hype in the media. Zhao searches out the parts of the US school culture, where it works, that actually produces innovators, creative minds, and problem solvers. Asian countries and Finland may be scoring the highest on standardized tests, but the US is still the leader in innovation. What would you do without you Kindle, your iPad, or that latest item you just bought after watching Shark Tank after all? Zhao gleans out what will be marketable skills for the workers/innovators of the future, and how the US is far less successful at squashing these attributes out of our students than other countries are. A must read for every educator and parent.

I thought this might be another book of blah, blah, blah of what we need to do as American educators to more like the Chinese. Instead, Yong Zhao beautifully introduces his argument for exactly the opposite and offers explanations that are completely reasonable. His research and understanding of the differences between the United States and other countries are impressive. I have learned so much from reading this book and now feel confident when I assign a creative project that requires problem-solving and critical thinking. If one of my students has an idea, I listen a little more closely now and encourage their entrepreneurial spirit. I highly recommend this book.

Yong Zhao's research is energizing to read -- for me, an educator -- because he challenges the current groupthink about the importance of test scores as the single most important indicator that our schools are on the right track. I appreciate the global perspective he brings to the discussion about what it means to be well educated. I found this book exhilarating. Watch him on Youtube to get a taste of his ideas. This would be a good book to read in a professional group or to share with over-anxious parents. I wish policy-makers would read it and broaden their perspectives!

Education K-12 is just now incorporating critical thinking and learning within contexts. The education industry needs to be more nimble than this today. The hiring profile needs to change for staff and administrators, too. Today these folks generally do not have the demeanor and attitude for rapid change and respond with chips on their shoulders, and anger directed at any and all including their colleagues. We need well prepared educators who also have a flexible, dynamic, can do attitude. This book identifies so much that I've experienced and provides a source of frustration and is spot on with its critiques supported by data and research.

Great read. Thoughtful..... Thought provoking.....