ipl-logo

Amanda Ripley's The Smartest Kids In The World

883 Words4 Pages

Basic, Boring, and Plain are just three words of how to never describe the thought provoking research book, The Smartest Kids in the World, by the author, Amanda Ripley, who logically argues that education must be reformed. She mainly underscores the need to apply the revolutionizing techniques that she deliberately unveils to the audience with a hurl of statistics and appealing testimonies from foreign exchange students to the very developed nation: The United States. Ripley urges the nation to implement more rigor into students’ coursework, hire highly educated teachers, and hold both teachers and students accountable for results in order to prepare students for the flood of trenches that lay ahead. The author quickly grasps the attention of the reader by presenting three unlikely candidates, Finland, Poland, and South Korea, as her main role models of a good educational system that the modern world should learn from. It almost seems like she is trying to convince the world that indeed there are elephants on top of earth who are trying to balance the globe from falling. However, as she begins to take the reader on an journey through Finland, Poland ,and South Korea’s educational system and how they got there, she is able to quench the preconceived notions with the same agility an exterminator eradicates a bug’s life. She …show more content…

If a reader is looking for a vivid adventure with drama then Ripley's book will feel longer than Moby Dick. In a broad scope her book is for people that want to be more involved with social and political issues that are now trending. More specifically, her research is the perfect cup of tea for those who are interested in education and are looking for ways to make changes in their own education because Ripley provides a plethora of information regarding how habits outside and inside of school can affect a student's

Show More
Related

The Smartest Kids In The World By Amanda Ripley Summary

958 Words | 4 Pages

Many topics concerning education and its institutions are discussed in Amanda Ripley’s book “The Smartest Kids in The World: and how they got that way,” however, one of the most interesting can be found in chapter five “An American in Utopia.” The introduction of Kim, an American exchange student studying at a high school in Pietarsarri, Finland opens the chapter. Using Kim’s experiences in the Finish school system, Ripley continues to make a comparison between the students' in Finland and the United States. This segment highlights Finish teachers and students viewing education as a legitimate pursuit, while the American students more often than now saw it as a forced activity.

Read More

The Character Analysis Of Ben Ripley's Spy School

918 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine if you were whisked away from your normal life and were enrolled in an elite CIA spy school without a choice. This is what happened to Ben Ripley, an average twelve year old who gets his big break in the world of espionage. In Spy School, a novel set in Washington, D.C., Ben Ripley gets the opportunity of a lifetime when the CIA offers him a scholarship to an elite spy school, but this big break throws him into the daily life of a spy, and he struggles to stay alive. In Spy School, the author shows the similarities and differences between Ben and Erica, another student at Spy School. In Spy School, Ben and Erica show some differences with the way they handle pressure.

Read More

Stereotypes Revealed By Aaron Falk

521 Words | 3 Pages

As a freshman in highschool, I had never heard of Jane Harper, or read any of her books before this. My English teacher challenged me to pick up a book and read it. Instantly, the cover caught my eye. The book looked like a very compelling novel, so I decided to read it. It just came out in September of 2016, so it is a very new book.

Read More

Alix Spiegel Struggle For Smarts Summary

734 Words | 3 Pages

Alix Spiegel’s article, “Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern And Western Cultures Tackle Learning” tells a story of the contrasts between western and eastern education. (Spiegel, 2012) As I read the article, I thought about my experiences in education growing up in the small country of Jamaica. Similar to the Japanese class Jim Stigler found himself in, I remember Jamaican classes being crowded and underdeveloped.

Read More

Waiting For Superman Vs Idiot Nation Essay

898 Words | 4 Pages

Did you know that the United States ranks 17th in education performance? That is a huge drop from 1980 when the United States was ranked 1st. Clearly, our education system has gone in a downward spiral and is struggling to keep up with other countries. The documentary, “Waiting for Superman” by David Guggenheim, and the article, “Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore, discuss the weaknesses in our education system. Although both authors offer compelling arguments, “Waiting for Superman” contained a better argument because of its abundance of rhetorical strategies, whereas “Idiot Nation” contained some logical fallacies.

Read More

Summary Of The Smartest Kids In The World By Amanda Ripley

990 Words | 4 Pages

The common assumption that America is the leading nation in the world takes a hard hit in Amanda Ripley’s The Smartest Kids in the World, a book that explores the top education systems throughout the world, which are not that of the United States. After reading the book, it comes off with strong viewpoints, and makes you think critically about our education system. It highlights the PISA tests, both praised and criticized for their ability to calculate the knowledge and creativity and individual possesses. The book also features a unique narrative style involving three students from America embarking on journeys as “correspondents” to three of the tops ranking PISA countries.

Read More

The Game Of School: How It Hurts Kids, By Robert L. Fried

599 Words | 3 Pages

The Game of School: Why We All Play It, How It Hurts Kids, and What It Will Take to Change It by Robert L. Fried is a great tool for identifying challenges in school systems and planning school reform. This book explains in great depth the problems faced by students and educators in schools today and ends with a call to action for solving these problems. Some major concepts that arise frequently throughout the book are time being wasted, students feeling powerless and the prioritization of test scores over authentic learning. Time is wasted by everyone in school and is wasted in various ways, for example students are given busy work and teachers rush through a curriculum while students learn nothing. Students, while they are the most important stakeholders, feel as though they have no control over their education.

Read More

Smart People, Directed By Lydia R. Diamond

683 Words | 3 Pages

Smart People is a contemporary play by Lydia R. Diamond that is set in Harvard University. It is directed by Chuck Smith. The play circulates around the lives of four racially diverse characters: Brian White, a cynical Harvard professor specializing in neuropsychiatry; Jackson Moore, a hot-headed surgical intern at Harvard Medical school; Ginny Yang, a shopaholic Harvard psychology professor; and Valerie Johnston, a tenacious actress and part-time research assistant. Obviously, all of the characters are intellectuals who deal with racial issues and quarrelsome romantic relationships. Smart People is a play that created meaningful spatial relationships through four different levels, strategic distancing, and subtle changes to represent issues

Read More

Acting Out Culture Analysis

832 Words | 4 Pages

Schooling for the students Schooling systems have been the same since anyone could remember. What might need to change for students to get the equal amount of education as the “gifted” students? Will students still benefit from the lack of renewal in the education system? According to the authors from chapter 4 "How We Learn" Alfie Kohn, John Taylor Gatto, Bell Hooks, and Kristina Rizga, explaining in their essays published in "Acting Out Culture" by James S. Miller.

Read More

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned?

1918 Words | 8 Pages

If not in a safe classroom environment, where is a better setting to expose children to real world issues and behaviors. While there is heavy emphasis placed on the importance of breaking the status quo and the law in particular, such behaviors demonstrated in "Fahrenheit 451" encourage problem solving and individual thinking in the minds of students. As stated by Grace Chen, "The attempt to expose students to challenging topics and issues, as many teachers support, is not intended to force students into a certain mode of thought; moreover, the books are to serve as opportunities for students to think, theorize, question, and explore(8). " Books like "Fahrenheit 451" truly foreshadow this future of complete censorship and lack of individual thinking. Huckleberry Fin demonstrates critical thinking, and promotes the understanding of the time period it is set it.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Against Schools By John Gatto

1011 Words | 5 Pages

In the “Against Schools” article, author John Gatto describes the modern day schooling system and its flaws. He uses several rhetorical strategies in trying to prove his point. He successfully uses all three types of rhetoric in writing this article, which includes ethos, pathos, and logos. He establishes these strategies very early, and often throughout the article. He believes one issues with today’s schooling system is boredom, and that there is a distinct difference between what it means to be educated and schooled.

Read More

Seven Lesson Schoolteacher

575 Words | 3 Pages

The essay, The Seven Lesson Schoolteacher, by John Taylor Gatto addresses educational curriculum with a cynical truth that transpires around the United States. His brutal honesty grasps the reader by using common sense and a hint of sarcasm to appeal to humor. The main point of his argument in my perception, states that we must develop children to be critical thinkers and not always agree with authority. By allowing the schooling in a child’s development expecting them to not question an adult’s words does lead to a population that has accepted being dumbed down. Following what has been indicated, a direct quote positions people deprived forever of finding the center of their own special genius (Gatto, part III, pars 3).

Read More

Analysis Of Fremont High School By Jonathan Kozol

646 Words | 3 Pages

Many people think that most American schools are satisfactory. That is far from what is actually happening. The harsh reality is that schools that are unsatisfactory do exist. In Jonathan Kozol’s “Fremont High School”, he points out the flaws of a high school located somewhere in Los Angeles. This helps shine light on differences in the quality of education in various areas of the country.

Read More

Social Class In Eliza Haywood's Fantomina

830 Words | 4 Pages

She is ridiculing society and its limitations of women in higher

Read More

School System Argumentative Essay

1248 Words | 5 Pages

Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius... But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid". Unfortunately, most school systems depict this quote. They judge a significant amount of the population by their ability to answer a few questions. They rate them with letters and numbers, and force students to be represented by these letters and numbers for the rest of their lives.

Read More

More about Amanda Ripley's The Smartest Kids In The World

Open Document