A book every parent and educator should read. As a mom and teacher I constantly struggle with the pressure and emphasis the education system today places on testing yet refuse to change any of the issues the school systems are lacking. I find how other countries and cultures think about school and education in general is fascinating and found this book interesting.

As a high school teacher in America, this eye-opening memoir is inspiring and frustrating.
I knew conceptually how other countries educate their next generation, but seeing it through the eyes of someone who lived and actively studied it tells me I can do so much more for my students.

WORLD CLASS by Teru Clavel describes "One Mother's Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for Her Children" since they attended school in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo before moving back to the United States. This is definitely a topic of high interest to our students, especially those whose parents may have been educated in other countries. There are certainly cultural differences and attitudes which are fascinating and Clavel describes many of them. However, she is extremely negative about the Palo Alto school district, one of our sister schools. Frankly, this caused me to wonder how reasonable it was to try to generalize her children's experience(s) as describing an entire nation's (or region's) school system? As other reviewers have noted, I do believe that her intentions were good, but I felt that she often made sweeping statements which were rather simplistic and sometimes repetitive, as she herself says, "One of the hard truths I came around to in California was that I'd been a little naïve about the US education system in general. ... I had downplayed in my own mind how deeply rooted and systemic the problems are." To her credit, she includes extensive notes and references, plus a glossary and index. Also, Clavel draws a number of parallels, noting, for example that in 2017 the OECD found that globally teachers make an average of 88 percent of the salary of those in other professions with the same level of education (in US middle schools, that figure is 60 percent) – if we want the best teachers (and reduced turnover) for our children, we should reflect that in our compensation and provide better financial incentives. I also liked how she tried to steer the conversation to learning, rather than schools, although I believe there is much more that could have been written about innovation in American schools relative to Asian ones. Overall, her suggestions about dealing with administrators or encouraging your child to read the classics seemed unrealistic for many parents. She says, "I've always believed that you assess your child's education every day and then support them as best you can" which is certainly important, but at what point should those students be taking increased responsibility for their own intellectual and emotional growth? If you are interested in education, I would suggest beginning by shadowing a high school student at your local school as well as reading other titles related to this topic.

This is an incredibly well researched book by educational consultant, Teru Clavel. This is a debut novel for her that shares her children’s school experience in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo and a harsh critique of American education. As an educator, I devoured this book! She redefines mastery and talks about everything from class size (class size actually doesn’t matter too much), teacher certs, and how anything below 95% is considered failing (America it is around the 65% mark). I also appreciated how candid she was when talking about America and the haphazard curricula, random integration of technology, teacher turnover and the lowered expectations that we are constantly justifying.

Will post this to my instagram account next week before the release date.

I wanted to read this book because it talks about topics close to my heart. All my school education was in India and I moved to Canada for graduate studies. My passions led me to pursue a teaching degree and I recently spent an amazing time with junior high students during my final placements. The Canadian education system is similar in some ways to the United States, that Teru goes into detail in this book. The Indian education system shares similarities with China and Japan. Through World Class, I had the opportunity to glimpse education in other countries while making connections through my own experiences, guided by the eyes of a parent who wants to give the best to her children.

This is a well researched book and it treads carefully on topics of funding for schools, teacher certification, role of community in helping children learn, mindsets, academic pressure, cultural norms and advocacy. Using research, interviews and personal experience, the reader is provided as much information as possible. The underlying story of Teru's journey through different cultures and their school systems makes this an engaging read that imparts lots of facts, first-hand experiences, anecdotes as well as tips when thinking about one's own children's education. I took away so much from this book, bookmarking portions I would come back to when I am at that stage in life. I also had great discussions with my partner about the things I learned from Teru's journey.

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone involved in education., whether it is as an administrator, teacher, or parent. There is so much we can learn from other cultures and Teru does an amazing job of describing both sides of the coin, since no one method is perfect - everything comes with its pros and cons. Though some of the material is targeted at readers residing in the United States, most of it is general enough to be applied anywhere when looking for the right school for kids or even the kind of environment that would be most conducive at home to their upbringing. I look forward to revisiting this book in the future.

I am thankful to NetGalley, the publisher and, the author, Teru Chavel, for making this book available ahead of publication, and giving me the opportunity to experience her journey in education story.

An eye opening revealing look at Asian school systems that answers the question why Do Asian students excell,When the author her husband & children were given the opportunity to move to Hong Kong for his career right at the time they were facing the task of getting their children into schools in Manhattan a competitive grueling task,they jumped at it.The school system they find their the methods are astonishing to them.She shares with us their lives as expats and their children schooling where they excell in a structured program & will be far ahead of their American classmates.
This is a warm entertaining and most important educational read a book parents will gain from,#netgalley #Atriaboojs