More about the book:

11-11-2009: Primary Source reviews my book: http://www.primarysource.org/catching-up-or-leading-the-way
09-11-2009: Fred Deutsch writes about the book on his blog: http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=898
29-10-2009: Laura Berman writes in Detroit News about the book and an interview with me: http://bit.ly/4bcuy
28-10-2009: Dr. Suzie Oh in Korea writes about the book. Here is the link in English with Google Translation: http://bit.ly/FgxBy and here is the original Korean version: http://bit.ly/2ogsC9, if you can read Korean.
16-10-1009: Correction: A reader pointed out an error in the book. On page 31, the book says “Senator Judd Gregg, a republican from Vermont,” …

There is widespread fear that US is not preparing enough talents in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) while its global competitors, such as China and India, are producing a lot more engineers and scientists. And this fear has been used to fuel investment in STEM education in the United States.  For example, a report produced by the National Academies of Sciences at the request of Congress in 2005 and published in 2007 (with a revision in 2008) says that “Last year more than 600,000 engineers graduated from institutions of …

Student performances on international tests such as TIMSS and PISA have often been used to show the poor quality of American education and America’s future is in danger. Proponents of national standards have also used them to justify their efforts. I have in different places cited evidence and analysis to show that international tests do not predict the future of nations. Here is another article that provides yet another perspective on how we should interpret international test scores.
Published by the weekly science journal Nature, the article says:
“International testing that is …

Detroit Free Press published my comments on the current movement towards national standards today. You can read the online version here: http://www.freep.com/article/20090830/OPINION01/908300438/1069/OPINION01/National-education-standards-can-end-up-hurting-students

What is happening in China? and why I disagree with Bob Compton and his film 2 million minutes?
Just returned from a 10-day trip to China:
August 17, lecture at the training program for directors of Confucius Institutes in Beijing, flew to Kunming, Yunnan
18-19, meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching in Kunming, back to Beijing.
20, Presentation about Zon and trends of online language learning at Hanban, flew to Shanghai
21-22: Meetings with East China Normal University Press, Institute for Curriculum Research, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission’s …

This article Education in the Flat World: Implications of Globalization on Education was published in Edge Magazine (Phi Delta Kappa International), 2(4). 1-19. You can download the PDF version here.

This is a video of Yong Zhao’s keynote speech at Asia Socity’s A World Class Education conference on July 11, 2009, Washington DC. It is titled Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization after his new book.

Ed Week Post about this video: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2009/08/michigan_scholar_questions_com.html
Will more standards, accountability, and higher test scores make American students more globally competitive? In the video, Yong Zhao retells his personal story and questions the wisdom of current US education policy. He argues that global competitiveness comes from a diversity of talents and recognition of individual passions and creativity. This is part of a film series produced by the Mobile Learning Institute’s called “A 21st Century Education”

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It seems that the U.S. will soon have national education standards that will be adopted and implemented in most of the nation. This is a very significant political victory for the national standards proponents, who have been working on it for over two decades. The first President Bush and President Clinton tried it but failed. Now President Obama will have it without even having to convince Congress or the nation, as he is trying with health care reform. This is the part that is strange and not right—something that will …