The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn from Japanese and Chinese Education Ex-library Edition

Very impressive work. Funny thing is that the USA's legislators keep hurtling the primary-level education system in the wrong direction: more testing, more administration, getting rid of the arts and world language, fancier buildings, not paying education staff well, etc. from what has shown to work best for students across the world.

Nice

Gives you the facts and is quite interesting. This is a weekend read as opposed to Ravitch or Saulberg. Gives you a basic understanding of Asian educational philosophy as compare to what is done in the USA. It is light reading, yet has some interesting bits that will make you think. Mistakes are okay and parent expectations are a major difference between the educational systems.Worth a look to broaden your educational vision. Not a content heavy book but more like a novel-light and sweet.

Quality book in fine condition delivered in a timely way. Thanks.

This is a reasonably interesting book on the differences between education in the U.S. and Japan and China. I am a practicing educator and selected this text in hopes of garnering a few strategies to add to my repertoire. Essentially this book does not fit this need. The research is presented on the cultural differences, how the school day is organized, roles of the teachers, etc. It does not necessarily offer a variety of teaching strategies that one could borrow from the other cultures. If you are looking to develop your background knowledge on the differences between the educational systems then this is the book for you. If you are looking to improve your classroom teaching look elsewhere.

Nice book. Received fast! Thanks.

Learning Gap is a thoroughly researched book highlighting concrete problems in America's education. It is of particular interest to me because I was brought up in the Chinese education system until I was 16 with two parents who were both Chinese teachers, and went through high school, college, and graduate school here in America. I, like the authors, also happen to be a psychologist whose research focuses on K-12 education. Reading both the Learning Gap and the Teaching Gap reminded me of my own experience growing up in Chinese classrooms, at home, moving to America, and now researching in American classrooms. Many of the phenomenon described in the book are prevalent in classrooms I have observed in Pennsylvania schools, even in award-winning teacher's classrooms. While I do believe the authors overstated the positives of the cultural and school environments in China (since I've been to many Chinese schools with lousy teachers and unmotivated kids), it did not understate the problem in American education today. Most imporantly, the book established that within-culture difference, while strong, is small compare to cross-culture differences. Its arguments are not based on hollow idealogy or fad, but data. That makes Learning Gap a rare gem of high academic integrity. It can serve as a good reference book for the evaluation of education for schools, parents, and students themselves. For an educator, a parent, or a concerned citizen, this book is very uplifting and energizing. Not because it highlighted problems (we hear problems every day just on the news), but because it narrowed down to the relevant, important, significant problems. The first step to saving education is to know which limited set of problems must we devote our limited resources towards. To quote a popular American slang, we need to "get the biggest bang for our buck" in education. I believe the Learning Gap and the Teaching Gap has done a marvelous job towards that end. My kudos to the authors for their research scholarship, for their strong stand based on data, and for a thoroughly well presented and uplifting book. I recommend this book for teachers, parents, concerned citizens, and even students themselves.

This book provide comparative studies education systems and cultures between US and Asian especially Japan and China. I'm as a teacher found that this book was brilliantly written by the authors. It open our eyes in such a ways that there is gap in education achievement between this two continental. An it also trigger me how to improve my teaching.