Friedman on Education in the U.S.

˙ PREAL Blog

An opinion piece by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times emphasizes the importance of teachers and includes two points that merit noting.

  • On what to teach: “There are three basic skills that students need if they want to thrive in a knowledge economy: the ability to do critical thinking and problem-solving; the ability to communicate effectively; and the ability to collaborate.”
  • On the teaching profession (speaking of Finland and Denmark): “They took teaching from an assembly-line job to a knowledge-worker’s job. They have invested massively in how they recruit, train and support teachers, to attract and retain the best.”

 

Read the complete article here.


Suggested Content

Should Good and Bad Teachers Receive the Same Pay?

Former Nicaraguan Minister of Education Humberto Belli recently shared with us his article published in La Prensa on the subject of teacher pay. Belli co-chaired the Task Force on Education in Central America that produced PREAL’s Central American Regional Report Card in 2007 and was a member of the advisory committee for the Nicaragua national…

˙