According to Andreas Schleider, we must use data to build better schools. In the 1960’s, the U.S. was first when it came to education, this has slowly declined and we now see countries that once had poor educational standards surpassing the U.S. in this area. Korea showed the world that by improving a country’s education system, you will improve it’s economy and general livings standards. Therefore, it’s not a booming economy that’s the predictor of a solid education system, but in fact it’s the other way around. Andreas states that per pupil spending only accounts for less than 20% of performance among countries. For example, Luxembourg spends the most on their education system, however, they are still ranked pretty low.

The dividing factor is not how much money is spent but how the money is spent. For example, Luxembourg and Korea invest around the same amount in their education system. However, Korea pays their teachers more (therefore attracting the best professionals), invest in longer school days and in professional development for teachers. Teachers are also expected to not only educate but develop their students. Luxembourg on the other hand pay their teachers a lot less. This is because they have smaller class sizes that inevitably require more teachers. We see this in the U.S., if we invest in paying the best  professionals to teach our children, we could have a stronger education system. The question is always, where can States find this money? It seems that Korea’s larger classroom idea is the solution. However, this would work in an ideal world. Societal values in Korea and the U.S. differ. I think most teachers nowadays would be afraid to teach a class of 40 plus students. How many of us have heard teachers say after a long day with disruptive students, “I don’t get paid enough for this”. I remember one of my former Chemistry teacher always stating that she used to teach a class of 60 boys in India and they were better behaved than our class of 30 Catholic School girls. I think that teachers also struggle with larger classroom sizes due to the constraints placed on them through national standards. Where as countries like Korea allow their teachers to collaborate in order to find their own innovative ways to impart wisdom.

Like Andreas alluded to, educational change will not happen over night, but understanding how other counties have made positive strives certainly gives us hope for our country’s educational future. It’s now up to States to analyze the data, policies and practices of other countries for the purpose of implementation here.