First Chapter of The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner

Global Achievement Gap Chapter One

The preface and introduction talks about how far behind the United States students are as far as graduation, being prepared for life or work after graduation, and scores on the assessments.  They also talk about the difference in how workers think today than they used to, creating a need for critical thinking and problem solving.  Also, these two sections talk about how schools focus on material the students will be tested on that they memorize then forget, instead of preparing them and teaching them.

Chapter one talks about the skills employers look for when hiring employees (asking good questions and the ability to engage in a discussion).  He also talks more about education curriculum focusing on teaching to the tests instead of teaching students to think.  He also related the story about the MIT biologist whose sons had varying experiences in their fourth grade classroom.  The first did a great assignment that really sparked his interest, but by the time the second son reached the same class the teacher felt she had to snuff out the fun stuff in order to prepare the kids for the tests they needed to take.

            Wagner brings up the idea that there are two achievement gaps in our education system.  The first is the gap between the quality of schooling between middle-class students and poor or minority students in America. The second is the global achievement gap which refers to what our best public schools are teaching and testing versus what skills all students will need to succeed as learners, workers, and citizens today.  He outlines the same seven skills we learned about from his lecture, but goes into greater detail on each one. 

1.      Critical thinking and problem solving:

            The habit of asking good questions, critical-thinking, and problem solving skills are of great importance in the workplace.  It also goes into depth about how corporations have changed the way they operate.  They used to run off a hierarchy of people down the ladder, but now they work as teams that must work together in order to come to a solution  which is why this skill is so important.  He interviewed heads of many corporations and even the military and came to the same conclusion that critical thinking is the most important skill.  A good quote from this chapter is from Annemarie Neal in regards to advice for teachers, “Throw out the textbooks!  The answer isn’t in the books.  The answer is in everything but the books.  Problems change and so approaches to problems need to change.  We also need to rethink the accountability system.  We’re getting what we measure, but we are measuring the wrong things.”

2.      Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence:

                  This section talks about the importance of teamwork and how it is a changing term.  Technology has allowed much advancement like conference calls, emails, and virtual teams to develop which has created more opportunities for different people to put their heads together.  21^st Century includes Global Awareness in its skills framework.  Global awareness includes the ability to do the following:

·         [use] 21^st century skills [such as critical thinking and problem solving] to understand and address global issues

·         [learn] from and [work] collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue in personal, work and community contexts

·         [understand] other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English languages

Kids today seem to have a lack of leadership and collaboration skills. 

3.      Agility and Adaptability:

            This section talks about how jobs have changed since years ago, and they will continue to change, so the workers must also be up for change.  What people are hired to do may be completely different five years later, and those people must be able to adapt to that change and excel because of it. 

4.      Initiative and Entrepreneurship:

                  This sections talks about concerns about how kids today will be able to seek out new opportunities, ideas, and strategies for improvement. 

5.       Effective Oral and Written Communication:

            The leaders that Wagner interviewed said that many of the high school and even college graduates do not have effective oral and written language skills.  They do not know how to communicate their thoughts, passion, and create focus while being clear and concise. 

6.      Accessing and Analyzing Information:

            There is so much information available these days that a lot of people may not know what is important and what is irrelevant to a certain point.  The vast network of information is not only quickly and easily available; it is changing just as vastly and quickly. 

7.      Curiosity and Imagination:

            Up and coming employees need to have the creative ability to design and create what the consumer wants and/or needs and do so in a way that will set them apart from the competition.