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The Smartest Kids in the World
- And How They Got That Way
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
How do other countries create "smarter" kids? In a handful of nations, virtually all children are learning to make complex arguments and solve problems they've never seen before. They are learning to think, in other words, and to thrive in the modern economy.What is it like to be a child in the world's new education superpowers?
In a global quest to find answers for our own children, author and Time magazine journalist Amanda Ripley follows three Americans embedded in these countries for one year. Kim, 15, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, 18, exchanges a high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, 17, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for Poland.
Through these young informants, Ripley meets battle-scarred reformers, sleep-deprived zombie students, and a teacher who earns $4 million a year. Their stories, along with groundbreaking research into learning in other cultures, reveal a pattern of startling transformation: none of these countries had many "smart" kids a few decades ago. Things had changed. Teaching had become more rigorous; parents had focused on things that mattered; and children had bought into the promise of education.
A journalistic tour de force, The Smartest Kids in the World is a book about building resilience in a new world-as told by the young Americans who have the most at stake.
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Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor
- A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating and Making It Work!
- By: Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun
- Narrated by: Tim Gunn
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Tim Gunn, America's favorite reality TV cohost, is known for his kind but firm approach in providing wisdom, guidance, and support to the scores of design hopefuls on Project Runway. Having begun his fashion career as a teacher at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim knows more than a thing or two about mentorship and how to convey invaluable pearls of wisdom in an approachable, accessible manner.
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Life lessons for All
- By Trendy on 03-11-16
By: Tim Gunn, and others
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Excellent Sheep
- The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life
- By: William Deresiewicz
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale's admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to "practical" subjects like economics and computer science, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways.
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skip the book read the essay
- By Amazon Customer on 05-07-15
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Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire
- By: Rafe Esquith
- Narrated by: James Yaegashi
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Rafe Esquith, the only teacher to receive the National Medal of Arts, has garnered the American Teacher Award and numerous other honors. Still teaching fifth graders in a small, leaky classroom in downtown Los Angeles, Esquith fosters a wholesome climate where character, humility, and diligence matter and support is unconditional. For his mostly poor and Hispanic students, Esquith models two maxims: Be nice and work hard, and There are no shortcuts. And his students thrive!
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Inspiring even if not what it claims to be
- By Thomas Keeler on 11-14-10
By: Rafe Esquith
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The Why Axis
- Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life
- By: Uri Gneezy, John A. List
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Uri Gneezy and John List are like the anthropologists who spend months in the field studying the people in their native habitats. But in their case they embed themselves in our messy world to try and solve big, difficult problems, such as the gap between rich and poor students and the violence plaguing inner city schools; the real reasons people discriminate; whether women are really less competitive than men; and how to correctly price products and services. Their field experiments show how economic incentives can change outcomes.
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Some Interesting Insights But Poor Science
- By Harold Toomey on 06-09-23
By: Uri Gneezy, and others
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The Global Achievement Gap
- Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills our Children Need - and What We Can Do About it
- By: Tony Wagner
- Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
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Education expert Tony Wagner situates our school problems in the context of the global knowledge economy and analyzes the skills necessary for our young people to succeed.
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made obsolete by 'MostLikelyToSucceed'-still great
- By MichaelS on 04-01-16
By: Tony Wagner
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Generation Me
- Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before
- By: Jean M. Twenge PhD
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In this provocative new book, psychologist and social commentator Dr. Jean Twenge documents the self-focus of what she calls "Generation Me" - people born in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Dr. Twenge explores why her generation is tolerant, confident, open-minded, and ambitious but also cynical, depressed, lonely, and anxious. Dr. Twenge reveals how profoundly different today's young adults are - and makes controversial predictions about what the future holds for them and society as a whole.
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I mostly agree
- By David Hill on 05-25-20
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Weapons of Mass Instruction
- A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling
- By: John Taylor Gatto
- Narrated by: Michael Puttonen
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction focuses on mechanisms of traditional education which cripple imagination, discourage critical thinking, and create a false view of learning as a byproduct of rote-memorization drills. Gatto's earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, introduced the now-famous expression of the title into the common vernacular. Weapons of Mass Instruction adds another chilling metaphor to the brief against conventional schooling.
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I will never see school the same
- By Nicole on 05-21-15
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The Power of a Plant
- A Teacher's Odyssey to Grow Healthy Minds and Schools
- By: Stephen Ritz, Suzie Boss
- Narrated by: Stephen Ritz
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Power of a Plant, globally acclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) Stephen Ritz shows you how, in one of the nation's poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom.
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Thanks For The Power Of A Plant
- By Pedalingfree on 05-08-21
By: Stephen Ritz, and others
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Oddly Normal
- One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality
- By: John Schwartz
- Narrated by: John Schwartz, Joseph Schwartz
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Three years ago, John Schwartz, a national correspondent for the New York Times, got the call that every parent hopes never to receive: His 13-year-old son, Joe, was in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Mustering the courage to come out to his classmates, Joe had delivered a tirade about homophobic and sexist attitudes that was greeted with unease and confusion by his fellow students. Hours later, he took an overdose of pills.
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The Effect of Parental Caring
- By Wiliam on 01-16-13
By: John Schwartz
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Young China
- How the Restless Generation Will Change Their Country and the World
- By: Zak Dychtwald
- Narrated by: Zak Dychtwald
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
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A close-up look at the Chinese generation born after 1990, exploring through personal encounters how young Chinese feel about everything from money and sex to their government, the West, and China’s shifting role in the world - not to mention their love affair with food, karaoke, and travel. Set primarily in the Eastern 2nd tier city of Suzhou and the budding Western metropolis of Chengdu, the book charts the touchstone issues this young generation faces.
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Erudite, enthralling, and engaging!
- By Anonymous User on 03-22-19
By: Zak Dychtwald
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In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system - one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware.
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Thoughts on The Knowledge Gap
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What listeners say about The Smartest Kids in the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Matthew Turco
- 08-17-15
Worth a listen
This was a good book to listen to at 1.5 or 2x speed. There are legitimate nuggets buried in some overly detailed
stories.
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- J.S.
- 04-22-15
Very interesting!
All parents must read/listen. Rather u agree or not this text is very informative. My wife and I have a 2 and 5 year old. We have read many "how to" books. This is by far more valuable since it provides the "why" and history behind hot topics such as Common Core.
-two Engaged MD parents
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- Anonymous User
- 09-13-19
Good Information
Finland, South Korean and Poland. Education Superpowers with Rigor and Cultures with High Value on Education as differentiating factors
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- Kindle Customer
- 02-23-16
Revelatory and Thoughtful
A look at how the best school systems worldwide got that way. Riveting and moving.
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- Andrew
- 11-10-14
A lot of Great Info
Any additional comments?
This was quite good. It was very well researched and really opened my eyes the fact that the U.S. education system has pretty much degenerated into mediocrity. Which I can support with own experiences in high school.
Highly recommended to anyone that cares about the future.
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- Ephemerella
- 12-28-22
narrator has robotic affectation
I couldn't get over it. this book's message was muddled as a result. still it was a good message though about expecting more of kids, not robbing them of their problems, and prioritizing education as a norm
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- scott
- 09-29-13
A clear look at education
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
A must read for parents of young children. This book cuts through the education and learning hype.
Any additional comments?
The book examines the pros and cons of four educational systems Korea, Finland, Poland and the United States and comes up with some interesting observations and recommendations.
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4 people found this helpful
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- TM
- 02-28-14
Easy Read with Some Valuable "Lessons"
Any additional comments?
Sorry about the bad pun :-)
I got this book on sale, with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I inhaled it in two days since it was such an enjoyable listen.
The book's points are largely made through the narrative of a few case studies where American students attend schools in other countries. The author does still back everything up with statistics from scientific studies, but the use of the experiences of these young people makes the book more engaging and memorable.
It appealed to me as a parent and as someone who has experienced living in more than one country. I am fascinated by the differences between cultures and I got to indulge that fascination here.
I definitely think it has some important points to make regarding the seriousness or "rigor" required for successful education, especially with respect to having high standards for people wanting to get in to the profession of teaching and subsequently giving them the respect (and pay) they deserve. I have heard this concept tossed around in the political debate, but it gained more credibility with me after this book.
Light read/listen with some valuable points made. Recommended.
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Performance
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Story
- michael
- 07-24-17
great book!
Interesting to learn about the education systems in Poland, Finland and South Korea through the eyes of American exchange students.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Jon J
- 09-07-14
Terrible narration -- Content is OK but not great
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The author is reluctant to summarize, the biggest deficiency in the book. She conveys most ideas through the stories and case studies of foreign exchange students who travelled from America to Finland, Poland, and South Korea -- three countries whose students had high scores on international tests. For me, the biggest takeaways are:
(1) US students do not score well; the US ranks 27th, so many other countries score significantly better in terms of high school education, Finland ranks highest. Finland's education does not cost more than the US's, and students do not require a ton more study time either (in sharp contrast to South Korea). Their success is grounded in extremely high quality teachers, and in the fact that most every student seems to take their education seriously.
(2) teacher quality is way more important than facilities, technology, or class size (except class size may matter in the very early grades), and the US system is weak in terms of teacher quality. US teacher training programs are not selective, and we end up training a huge number of teachers relative to the small number of open teaching positions. Increasing the entrance requirement for teaching programs would improve candidates, so the programs could be more rigorous and beneficial, and reduce the oversupply of teachers at the same time.
(3) the majority of US students do not go through a rigorous high school program -- we do not challenge students, and students do not take their high school education seriously. This is a problem with teachers, schools, families, and culture in general. A high school diploma does not mean much.
(4) The most effective parents (in terms of securing a rigorous education for their kids) act as academic coaches for their kids. They may not volunteer to help with the school bake sale, they may not participate in the PTA, but they are working with their younger kids day-in-day-out on reading, math, and other subjects. As children get older, they get their kids to develop independence, working mostly on their own, but parents continue to maintain an active interest in how their kids progress.
Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Reading’s performances?
No -- Kate did a terrible job on this book. My wife and I were reading and listening to this together, but my wife had no stomach for Kate's reading and eventually stopped listening. Kate Reading finishes sentences with a slightly arrogant lilt, as if she is saying "most of you will probably not understand this point, but I suppose I have to read it to you anyway". Kate might be better suited to narrating a book entitled "Self Improvement for Dummies".
Was The Smartest Kids in the World worth the listening time?
For me, the answer is a borderline "yes". Would have been better either reading the book, or listening to a computer voice reading it in the car.
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