What makes a great competitor: precision, creativity -- or both?

Okay -- I take it back. If you read only one article this month, make it "Are We Fixing the Wrong Things?" by Yong Zhao, in Education Leadership (the monthly publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, or ASCD).

Yong Zhao, Distinguished Professor of Education and director of the U.S.—China Center for Research on Educational Excellence at Michigan State University, discusses the panic caused by the 1983 report, A Nation At Risk, which still reverberates today. That report questioned the United States ability to compete against countries like South Korea and Japan because of its educational shortcomings in science and technology.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, and the hand-wringing over America's ranking in the education world continues, despite the fact that it has survived -- even thrived -- as an economic powerhouse. The worries are spurred on by reports such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and even day-time talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who featured Bill Gates in a recent discussion about how the American education system's failures are hurting the nation's competitiveness.

Yong Zhao wonders, "Is it possible that U.S. schools were not in trouble after all? Or were they in a different kind of trouble? Did reforms overlook the real problem and try to fix something that wasn't really broken?"

He speculates that "the secret weapon that has helped the United States remain an economic leader and innovation powerhouse is the creative, risk-taking, can-do spirit of its people. This spirit is not normally measured in standardized tests or compared in international studies."

Hmmm, interesting. Yong Zhao goes on to note:

Whereas U.S. schools are now encouraged, even forced, to chase after test scores, China, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan—all named as major competitors—have started education reforms aimed at fostering more creativity and innovative thinking among their citizens. China, for example, has taken drastic measures to reform its curriculum. As the United States raised the status of standardized testing to a record high in 2001 with No Child Left Behind, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued an executive order to significantly minimize the consequences of testing (2002). As the United States pushes for more centralized curriculum standards, China is abandoning its one nation—one syllabus tradition. As the United States moves toward a required program of study for high schools, China is working hard to implement a flexible system with more electives and choices for students. As the United States calls for more homework and more study time, China has launched a battle to reduce such burdens on its students.

So we're not alone here in Jakarta trying to figure out what works. In his blog Learning is Messy, 6th-grade math teacher Brian Crosby talks about an interesting visit to his Nevada classroom by two principals and two superintendents from Singapore (worth a look).

Learning is messy, indeed -- but it's worth the struggle to get it right.