After reading the first four chapters in Zhao’s Catching Up or Leading the Way, I think that defining what individual passions entail is essential to answering this question. In comparing the American education system to those across the world, some students pursue individual passions from a very young age, and are sent down a pipeline toward specialization, while other students are given the chance to study broadly as they figure out what interests them, and then choose an individual passion. For me, the second option seems like there is much more of an individual choice. In this circumstance, I do not think that it leads toward a narrowing of student learning.
In our other readings, Peter Senge has taught us to think about whole systems, and to try and see how they function as a whole. Using this approach, the American education system that allows individuals to pursue personal interests and passions leads to a broad range of differentiation and specialty. Zhao writes that, “if everyone in the United States had been good only at manufacturing, it would have been very difficult for the country to quickly adapt to new industries such as information technology, which has grown significantly since the 1990’s as the manufacturing industry has declined” (Zhao, pg. 54). Zhao writes extensively about how this care for the individual is cultivated when schools give extra time to talent shows, clubs, and extracurriculars on campus. When we care more about the person, and less about the test scores, education prepares our society as a whole for an ever changing world.
One other thing that caught my attention and stayed in my mind after reading this week was the comparison to Britain, and the difference between a “sponsored mobility” and a “contest mobility” system. While the Us, “everyone is assumed to be equal and participates in the same contest for upward social mobility,” and in Britain they have an approach where, “an individual’s admission to the elite groups in sponsored by the existing elites” (Zhao, pg. 55). In comparing these systems, we can see the different needs for early assessment testing. In Britain, they use tests to define the paths of those who are suited for highly regarded social groups, while others are relegated to a lower class. What is confusing about this to me, with the growing emphasis on testing in the US, is why we do not value the individuality of our system. We should be proud of the results our education is producing, and not feel like we need to win in every category possible. Sadly, as Zhao points out, fear of growing competitors is a great tool for politicians, and is a great tool for garnering votes.
References
Senge, P.(2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Zhao, Y. (2009). Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization. Alexandria, Virginia. ACSD.