Analysis Of The Smartest Kids In The World

The recurring problems that seem to be consistent throughout The Smartest Kids in the World are the issues of unelevated students and staff. All across the U.S. students are constantly undermined by their elders, whether it be teachers, parents, or each other and vise versa; the saying is “if you can’t do, teach. ” this has built up an unattractive reputation for teachers when in other countries they are at or above the status of doctors. These two problems come from the same root cause but affect different aspects of the American education system. “‘The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers,’” (Ripley 63). Ripley quotes a Korean policymaker on his statement about the education system. It means to have

From an early age students are judged by their superiors ; they’re told where to go and what is expected of them, but did anyone ever wonder if that had an impact on the students learning? Ripley did and Sherman Alexie and Jonathan Kozol. In Superman and Me, Alexie writes about the roadblocks put in place by the very people who are supposed to help students overcome them, “then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision,” (Alexie 358). These students knew what the expectations were and it wasn’t much. On page 137 of The Smartest Kids in the World Ripley continues this predicament by using Poland an example; studies were done that showed once students were classified into leveled groups they stop excelling unless they are in the ‘gifted’ group. If high expectations are set for students they will reach them, but not if they are oppressed by low standards; now sometimes people don’t even realize they are doing it but it resonates with kids, it gets in their heads and dries them to believe they aren’t any good or that they’ll never be any good. Jonathan Kozol addresses this same problem in his piece Fremont High School this time with a little girl named

This includes America , even though it thinks it is the best country in the world update, it isn’t, not even close when it comes to education. It all starts with the teachers and the students; if the teachers aren’t well educated the students suffer causing them to be held back, but if the well educated teachers expect the minimum from students that what they are going to get. Teachers need to trust that the the students will do their best and exceed expectations, if only given the