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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? 
Finland, South Korea, Poland, and the United States have a great educational system. 3 similarities these countries have in
common is they all have primary, secondary grades even though the age groups are different per country, and they have
opportunities for students to get a higher education. Teachers in these countries have to get some type of degree to be able to
teach whether it’s a bachelors, or masters. Most classes have around 24 to 35 students per class making the ratio from student
to teacher more manageable compared to teacher who have over 50 students in class per period.
 
 
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. 
I do think top performing countries are influencing other countries in certain ways. I think it is a race to see which country is
going to be the top performing country for that year. I think the countries that stay near the top look at what the other countries
are doing in terms of how they teach, manage their classrooms, and the steps they take towards a student succeeding. I also
think countries see what is working for them and get stuck in a routine and other countries can help influence change.
 
 
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 think that countries who pay little or no attention to education its citizens can have a negative impact on the future. If a country
doesn’t care about the success rate or graduation rate, then the students aren’t going to find it important either and they won’t
care about giving up. When that happens less, and less people go to get higher education, and some don’t even find jobs. I think
about the Oklahoma high school that was brought up in the book, the students weren’t pushed to succeed, they could graduate
with the bare minimum and highly impacted the students and the economy.
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Question 4 - How does education in other countries compare to the system of education in the U.S. from your observations?
Education in other countries compares the system of education in the United States because most other countries have early
education options, students are in school until the ages of 17-18, teachers have to get a higher level of education and pass an
exam to be eligible to teach. Some countries have classes that are smaller which makes it easier for students to get one on one
time with a teacher and can enhance the learning experience.

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?
Poor populations are denied good education, many races are also denied a good education, students that live in rural areas or
live far from a school are denied good education. I also think third world countries are denied a good education due to
resources.

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).

I think in my future class I would like to have educational freedom; I know that I have to follow the curriculum and the schools’
rules, but I think it would be beneficial to not send the students home with tons of homework or try to cram every subject in a
day. I know some schools do a block schedule and it might be confusing to elementary students but I believe that students need
rest and time to relax at home, I don’t think they should go to school for 8+ hours and then have to go home and do more school
work, this also relates to the students that live in rural areas, since technology is advancing it would be difficult to send students
home with homework they had to complete online if they didn’t have internet. I ran into this issue when I was school and my
teachers told me it wasn’t a good excuse, I think I want to have more leniency in my classroom but also make sure students are
succeeding.
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(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 named Brussel. The capital of my country is Sprout.

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 my country would be small, there is only 2,397,482 people. I chose this number because the geographics of
my country only has enough room to fit 6,000,000 people, and it is also easier to keep track of everyone in my country and listen
to their concerns.

Question 7c - Do they have access to technology (very briefly tell us about technology in your country)?
They do have access to technology, but only for certain things, like they can use it for school, news, and to learn new things, but
social media doesn’t exist in my country.

Question 7d – Would your country be mostly rural? Urban? Suburban? A combination? Why?
My country is a combination for many reasons. I like cities, but I’m also very fond of trees and mountains. I wouldn’t want to my
country to be secluded to only a rural area, they should be able to explore and not always be surrounded by other people, city
lights, or noise. If it is a combination that have the freedom to find out what they like the most.

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?
My country would have an education system that revolved around the students and what they wanted to pursue, meaning
students would be able to shadow jobs they wanted before and after they got into high school, that way when they graduated,
they would have experience and knowledge about that career. My country would have early education systems for all students
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starting at the age of 2, it would be optional for parents. Teachers in my country would have strenuous training each year to
ensure students are getting the best education possible. There wouldn’t be any standardized testing that was mandatory, if
students wanted to expand their knowledge, they had the option to.

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.

(If you chose to, draw, insert and/or paste in an outline of your newly formed country with your silly country name and capital
and please place it right here. Once again, this part is optional, but it can be fun. You can do whatever you like right here. Please
delete these words in red)