The Smartest Kids in the World (42 page)

“Joyful rigor”:
Moskowitz and Lavinia,
Mission Impossible.

appendix II: AFS student experience survey

1,376 Americans went abroad:
Poehlman,
2011-2012 International Youth Exchange Statistics.

The Measures of Effective Teaching Project:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Learning about Teaching.

The Brookings Institute surveys:
Loveless,
How Well Are American Students Learning? With Special Sections on High School Culture and Urban School Achievement,
and Loveless,
How Well Are American Students Learning? With Sections on Arithmetic, High School Culture, and Charter Schools.

Math skills tend to better predict future earnings:
Hanushek, Peterson, and Woessmann, “Teaching Math to the Talented,” 12.

The findings from the 2001 and 2002 Brookings Institute surveys:
Loveless,
How Well Are American Students Learning? With Special Sections on High School Culture and Urban School Achievement,
and Loveless,
How Well Are American Students Learning? With Sections on Arithmetic, High School Culture, and Charter Schools.

United States children lead highly structured lives:
Hofferth, “Changes in American Children’s Time, 1997-2003.”

Excessive, vague, or empty praise has corrosive effects:
Henderlong and Lepper, “The Effects of Praise on Children’s Intrinsic Motivation.”

Tendency of math class to “stay busy and not waste time”:
This question was inspired in part by a question used in the Tripod survey—an instrument designed by Harvard University’s Ronald Ferguson and analyzed by the Gates Foundation in the aforementioned MET study (see Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Learning about Teaching).
We were not attempting to replicate that survey, of course. Still, that particular question seemed like a good way to help respondents assess the relative rigor of their math classes.

Tendency of math teachers to “accept nothing less than our full effort”:
Ibid.

Page numbers in
italics
refer to illustrations

accelerated track,
138

accountability,
131
–33,
165

ACT,
156
,
262
n,
269
n
–70
n

of teachers,
88
,
91
,
93
,
272
n,
274
n

Advanced Academics,
184

Advanced Placement,
138
,
139
,
142
,
143
,
197

affluence,
4
,
70
,
111
,
123
,
160
,
212
,
256
n,
259
n

Afghanistan,
266
n

African-Americans,
113
,
132
,
158
–60,
195
–97,
218

AFS (American Field Service),
8
,
38
,
43
,
44
,
152
,
153
,
220
,
258
n

student experience survey,
8
–9,
64
,
96
,
101
,
112
,
118
,
157
,
219
–38,
223
,
258
n,
269
n,
275
n

aggression,
113

Air Force, U.S.,
5

algebra,
74
,
77
,
78
,
99
–100,
189
,
270
n

American Association of University Professors,
23

American dream,
193

applied track,
138

Arizona, BASIS schools in,
197
–98

arts and crafts,
78

Asia,
18
,
261
n

Korea as extreme manifestation of old tradition in,
58
–59

Asian-Americans,
65
,
110
,
113
–14,
160
,
218
,
276
n

attitude,
30
,
120
,
121
,
192

Australia,
3
,
47
,
57
,
159
,
255
n

Austria, tracking in,
138
–39

authoritarian government,
161

autonomy,
116
–17,
118
,
133
,
145
,
146
,
160
,
166
,
168
,
183
,
215
–16

Bama Companies,
43
,
181
–82,
183
,
186
,
287
n

Barresi, Janet,
186

BASIS schools,
197
–98

Belgium,
3
,
4

Bethel, Scott,
ix
,
87
–88,
93
–95,
272
n

Beverly Hills, Calif.,
4

biology,
40
,
183
,
270
n

Blanchard, Mark,
ix
,
282
n

Boe, Erling,
121

boredom,
2
,
14
,
41
,
54
,
74
–76,
188
,
209

Boruch, Robert,
121

Boser, Ulrich,
264
n

Bowles, Samuel,
278
n

Brazil,
122

Breslau,
124
–25,
279
n

see also
Wrocław

Brookings Institute,
226
,
228

Brown Center on Education Policy,
275
n

Busan, South Korea,
46
–58,
46
,
60
,
104
–6,
104
,
114
–16,
178
–79,
265
n

author in,
65
–66

described,
48

Eric in,
see
Eric, in Busan

see also
Namsan

Bush, George W.,
17
,
28
–29,
194

Buzek, Jerzy,
131

cafeterias,
53
–54,
56
,
102
,
144
,
183
,
215

calculators,
71
,
76

calculus,
76
,
270
n

Canada,
3
,
4
,
16
,
73
,
139
,
159
,
160
,
193
,
261
n,
265
n

child poverty in,
71

exchange student from,
50
,
53
,
56
–57

performance-level changes in,
3

Catullus,
188

Cha Byoung-chul,
x
,
176
–78

Chao, Ruth,
113
–14

character,
120
–21

Charlotte (Kim’s mother),
ix
,
30
–32,
37
–41,
43
,
44
,
87
,
184

charter schools,
168
,
173
,
197
–98,
217
–18

Château de la Muette,
15

cheating scandals,
174
–75

cheerleaders, parents as,
107

Chekhov, Anton,
69
,
72

children’s books,
82
–83,
84

China, Chinese,
25
,
43
,
52
,
58
,
182
,
255
n,
260
n,
266
n

see also
Macao; Shanghai

Chinese-Americans,
113
,
276
n

choice, school,
167
–68

Chopin, Frédéric,
128
,
180

Churchill, Winston,
72
,
125

civility,
102

civil-service exams,
58
–59

Civil War, U.S.,
68

class size,
59
,
107
,
108
,
262
n
–63
n

coaches:

parents as,
107
,
110
,
213

of sports,
41
,
87
,
94
,
109
–10,
119

Colon, Mich.,
99

Colon High School,
99
–101

Common Core,
75
,
194

communication,
5
,
23
,
182
,
277
n

communism,
126
,
133

competition,
24
,
167
,
277
n

in Korea,
58
–61,
64
–65,
168
,
173
,
277
n,
285
n

in U.S.,
65
,
109
,
168

compliance,
121
,
122

conformity,
66

Confucius,
59

Congress, U.S.,
18
,
35

conscientiousness,
122
,
123

corporal punishment,
265
n
–66
n

creativity,
6
,
15
,
18
,
90
,
134

crime,
127
,
129
,
227

critical thinking,
1
,
4
,
15
,
19
,
21
,
23
,
24

Croatia,
27
,
275
n

cultural exchanges,
38

culture,
3
,
6
,
18
,
110
,
120
,
121
,
277
n

in Korea,
49
,
52
,
56
,
58
–61,
175

curiosity,
28
,
38
,
66
,
82

CyWorld,
54

democracies,
25
,
161

Denmark,
107
,
122
,
193
,
275
n

DePaul University,
54
,
187
–88

depression,
113
,
151
–53,
283
n

DeVry,
184

Diamond Bridge,
48

diesel mechanics,
142
–43

difference,
117
–18,
151
–68

difficulty, AFS survey and,
225
–27,
225

diligence,
107
,
121
–22

disobedience,
113

diversity,
4
,
6
,
17
,
91
,
158
–61,
163
,
165
,
166
,
167
,
218

see also
immigrants; minorities; race

divorce,
39
,
62
,
153

drive,
104
–23

differences in,
117
–18,
120
–21

in Finland,
154
,
155
–56

of Korean students,
64
,
105
,
192

in Poland,
137
,
146

in U.S.,
143
,
160
,
183
,
192

Duckworth, Angela Lee,
279
n

Duke University, summer camp of,
32
,
39

Duke University 7th Grade Talent Search,
29

Duncan, Arne,
18
,
259
n

dysfunctional families,
36

early childhood programs,
78
,
217

Eastern Europe,
69
,
128

see also
Poland

eBay,
41
–42

Economic, Social, and Cultural Status Index (ESCS),
255
n
–56
n,
280
n

economic competitiveness,
24
,
141
,
186
,
194

economic growth:

in Korea,
59
,
60

PISA sores and,
24

Economist,
6

economy,
4
,
42
,
92
,
141
,
194

of Finland,
90

of Oklahoma,
43

PISA and,
258
n

of Poland,
130

of Sallisaw,
26
–27

education:

international comparisons of,
see
PISA

mystery about,
1
–9

national performance-level changes in,
3

spending on,
4
,
6
–7,
17
–18,
24
,
33
,
35
,
60
,
64
,
65
,
70
,
85
,
90
,
107
,
110
,
136
,
139
,
140
,
141
,
146
,
160
,
165
,
166
,
170
,
174
,
175
,
184
,
260
n
–61
n,
264
n,
281
n