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The Global Achievement Gap: Why Our Kids Don't Have The Skills They Need For College, Careers, And Citizenship—and What We Can Do About It (2008)

by Tony Wagner(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0465002293 (ISBN13: 9780465002290)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: I'm very delayed in sending out this review. I read this book back in 2009, and had the good fortune of then engaging Tony Wagner to come to Maine to keynote an education conference at the time the state's leadership was changing. Oddly, the Maine Education Commissioner tried to embrace the book/author's recommendations, but was blocked at every turn by Governor LePage. That being said, this book takes the research from enormous studies that identified the seven specific skills missing in our emerging high school graduates and offers solutions or rather pathways for how to reverse that trend. You won't be surprised to know that the skills gap have nothing to do with math, English, science (STEM)or any other curricular content. Read this book if you wish to understand why e... moreffective teaching that involved hands-on coaching, mentoring, and relational-based instruction won't happen through "virtual schools" alone.
review 2: The well-written and thoughtful book by leading educator Tony Wagner provides a compelling argument for overhauling our educational system in the United States. Dissatisfied with the traditional teacher training he received at Harvard University, he set out to discover what skills are needed by today's students to succeed in college and careers. He spent years engaging CEOS and other corporate and company leaders and owners and college professors in discussions about the skills most important to them when hiring new graduates. The results were nearly universal: Critical thinking and problem-solving came up over and over as the most important skills high school graduates need to succeed in college and careers.Instead of "teaching to the test," we should be focusing on what he calls the Seven Survival Skills: Critical thinking and problem solving; Collaboration across networks and leading by influence; Agility and adaptability; Initiative and entrepreneurialsm; Effective oral and written communication; Accessing and analyzing information; and Curiosity and imagination.I can't do the book justice in just a few paragraphs. I highly recommend you read this book so that you too can understand and be prepared to change an educational system that has remained unchanged for about 200 years. less

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