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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?
Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Switzerland have some of the greatest educational systems in the world. In these countries
teachers are highly respected and treated well, teachers in these countries are happy and satisfied with their jobs most of them
are glad about the profession they picked. Finally, teachers in these four countries are paid a good wage. All these factors are
what causes the educational system in these countries to be so great.

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.
According to the book we read Finland has one of the highest PISA scores in the world and this influences other countries such as
South Korea. South Korea also has very high PISA scores, but their educational system is very cruel to their students. Students
are forced to study a ridiculous amount of time where no student has a life outside of school. The ministry of Koreas educational
system has stated that he wishes to change that and that he looks at different countries such as Finland who has high PISA
Scores and wants to model their educational system like theirs so the students in Korea don’t have to suffer so much to achieve
success in school.

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.
Yes, to keep the world together citizens need to be educated because history tends to repeat itself. If citizens become
uneducated, we would be doomed to repeat our mistakes this would lead to a negative impact on the world and future
generations.

Question 4 - How does education in other countries compare to the system of education in the U.S. from your observations?
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The educational system in the U.S. is not the greatest but it is no where near the worst when you compare it to other countries.
Other countries put a lot of emphasis on the importance of education while the U.S we don’t put that much emphasis on
education.

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?
Places that have constant war and conflict deny their people of a proper education. Places such as Afghanistan where schools
are destroyed to stop individuals from going to schools such as girls. Girls are the main group of people who are denied a good
education, other groups of people who don’t have access to a good education are refugees, children living in places that are in
conflict, and people living in poverty.

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).

In the future I would like my students to know the importance of getting an education and that everyone is equal and has a right
to a proper education. Simple things like encouraging girls to participate in men driven careers such as a STEM career.
Throughout the course I learned that you don’t need all the fancy high tech gadgets to teach students like in south Korea most of
the time a classroom just has a teacher and a blackboard and that all they need to give their students an education.

(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.
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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 Topaz and the capital would be Percy

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 would be 20 million. I wanted the population to be a decent size nothing to big but nothing too small. If the
population is too big there would be more challenges in trying to support the needs of the citizens of the country.

Question 7c - Do they have access to technology (very briefly tell us about technology in your country)?
My country will be technologically advanced. If a citizen can’t afford to by technology, there would be places that would be
integrated in my country that would allow that person to have access to the technology such as a public library or other
establishments.

Question 7d – Would your country be mostly rural? Urban? Suburban? A combination? Why?
A combination of all three, because this would make the country more diverse even though it would be more difficult to educate
a rural population due to rural places being more secluded, It’s important to have differences within the country.

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?
1. The Country will be at peace. No wars/Conflicts
2. Emphasis on the importance of education
3. Teachers will be highly respected, and they will be compensated well
4. High expectations of what is expected of the students