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EDUC 200 - SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENT

Task 1. Big Picture Questions

Question 1 – Name 4 countries that have a great educational system. Based on what you learned in this course, what are 3
similarities that these countries have in common? What are some factors that have helped these countries to excel in the area
of education?
China Singapore Poland Finland They all have free education however the way they approach how they teach their students
varies greatly China is much stricter than a country like Finland. I believe the biggest factor that has helped all these countries is
their commitment to education and the improvement and development of the students. Even though they have different
approaches they all show a government commitment to having well educated students. I think this is the biggest factor for any
country if you commit your country to the education of it’s youth they will learn and they will improve.

Question 2 – Based on what you’ve learned in this course, do you think the top performing countries are influencing other
countries? Describe how the countries, which are listed highest in terms of PISA scores, are having an affect on other
countries.
The influence of the top performing countries can be seen effecting many other countries. For example a lot of other countries
will send some of their student to these top performing countries to give them that top level experience but not all students will
work well in every environment. However I don’t think countries do the thing that really makes the difference. Like I said in my
previous answer the true difference between high performing and low performing countries is the government’s commitment to
education. We as Americans send top students to learn in foreign countries all the time but we refuse to increase our teaching
salaries to attract better teachers to our country.

Question 3 – Do you think that countries who pay little or no attention to educating its citizens can/will have a negative
impact on the world in the future? Support your answer.
I’m not sure if they will have a negative impact on the world as a whole however in their own countries they will have a massive
effect. If a country is uneducated they can be taken advantage of by other countries, They may align themselves with countries
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that don’t have the worlds best interest in mind. Uneducated people isn’t good for anyone except the people who want to
control those who are uneducated.

Question 4 - How does education in other countries compare to the system of education in the U.S. from your observations?
A lot of other countries provide free college and services beyond high school. Unlike in America where as soon as you have that
diploma they send you out to the wolves to accrue outrageous debt and overwhelming class loads. America also lies in a strange
middle ground when it comes to the discipline of their schools. They aren’t as disciplined as countries like china and Korea but
they are more strict then some European countries. I think America likes to pretend it cares about education however when you
look at the government involvement when compared to other countries it’s clear that America doesn’t give education the time it
deserves.

Question 5 - Name some populations that are denied a good education? For example, we all know based on experiences in
this class that women and girls are denied a good education in parts of the world (sadly). What are other groups of people
that are denied a good education?
I believe that the population that is mostly denied good education is the poor I say this because in ever country around the world
the largest difference in test scores didn’t come from boy against girls or white against black the largest indication of how a
student was going to perform in school was their financial situation even in our own state you walk into a school like Borah high
with a large number of refugees and single income households their school facilities are much less than that of say a Boise high
that has some of the wealthiest families in the state. These schools are less than 30 minutes from each other but the level of
education is vastly different.

Question 6 - Reflect on the topics we've discussed throughout EDUC 200 – name some things you could now do differently in
your future class because of the information learned in this course.
I want you to be self-reflective (think about your thinking) – tell me what you could do in your future class to make it better
based on items we've learned about with regard to different educational systems around the world?
It could be things like helping diverse learners, or perhaps being more aware of students who may live in rural areas of your
district and don’t have access to technology (these are just some ideas I had).
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I think what I’m going to take away most from this class and institute it into my own classroom is that every student is an
individual and should be treated as such. Too often today are students classified as numbers on screens and test scores. Well in
that system only the highest scorers are going to be made to feel important so what happens with the rest they fall through the
cracks and that doesn’t have to mean they flunk out it could just be severely rattled confidence or an unwillingness to try new
things. So in my future classroom I will try to accommodate my students within the rules laid out by the school. Some students
may love an approach like Korea super disciplined and very rigorous whereas some students may thrive in a finish style
classroom where it is more focused on individual thoughts and learning. No matter how I teach I want the focus to be on
independent thinking no more spewing facts that you read out of a book for 12 years but genuine well thought out original
ideas.

(Questions 7a through 7e) Let’s say that you are the ruler of your own country - think about some of the factors/conditions
that go into having a great educational system. And please have a little fun with these questions, too.

Question 7a - What would be the name of your very own country? What would be the name of the capital of your country?
Make something up! Have fun, be silly.
My country would be called the Peoples Independent Metropolis Provinces PIMP for short The capital would be Grail

Question 7b – What would the population of your country be? Big or small? Come up with a number. Why did you choose
that number? For example, would you want an incredibly large population, say over 1 billion or perhaps you want a very small
population, under 1 million? Tell me why you chose the population size you decided up.

The population of the nation would be about 50 million big enough to be respected but not so big it’s over crowded.

Question 7c - Do they have access to technology (very briefly tell us about technology in your country)?
Absolutely our tech programs are some of the top in the world we’ve attracted a lot of tech companies with our laws that avoid
censorship and allow tax breaks for services that benefit the community. All our schools provide students with a free laptop and
all of our classrooms have smart boards and ample other materials.
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Question 7d – Would your country be mostly rural? Urban? Suburban? A combination? Why?
We have a good combination lots of farm land that is worked by a large portion of our population but we do have a few very
large cities if that is more your speed.

Question 7e- Come up with at least 4 more facts/factors that would have an impact on your country’s educational system.
Think about conditions/factors that have led to the creation of great educational systems around the world. Now, what
condition/factors would you like to see in your very own country?
Well to start all education is free in this country however once you graduate high school in order to get free education you have
to perform at least 10 hours a month of community service that in some why applies to your area of study for example if you are
working on a education degree you have to volunteer at a school for at least 10 hours a month. Another factor that influences
our education is our 75,000 dollar minimum teaching salary we’ve attracted some of the worlds top teachers with our salaries.
Our schools are also not funded based off their performance and all funding is handled federally so every school has the same
resources no matter if it’s in the middle of the city or the middle of nowhere. A final factor that influences our education system
is our vast programs we offer from the age of 13 students are allowed to explore a variety of different classes with a wide range
of topics for some of the classes include trade type classes mechanics welding things like that or other classes like programming
and robotics.
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OPTIONAL – If you would like to draw an outline of the country in Word (using tools found in Word), include some clipart
and/or freehand then insert that picture of your country and place it here, please do so. This is optional of course, but I love
seeing how creative students can get! Only do this if you have some free time.

Grail
State owned
Farm land
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