Monday Video: Keys to solving the U.S. education crisis.

This marks the first post in the Monday Video series. The purpose is to help you guys start your week off with with some meaningful and thought-provoking stimulus.

Where the U.S. education system has failed us and what to do about it. 

Whether the term "education crisis" is appropriate or not, the data is clear. US teens rank among the bottom of developed countries on performance on the PISA. (Program for international student assessment). The percentage of kids from low-income families who graduate from college is 9%. 

What's the solution?

It's not about higher spending per pupil, smaller class sizes, or more teachers with masters degrees says Seth Andrew, the founder of Democracy Prep Charter School, the highest performing school in the City of New York consistently over the past five years. The answer according to Seth lies in the elements of South Korea's culture shift. (South Korea has the best educated population in the world). Here's a snippet of South Korea's transformation in the words of Seth Andrew:

"...they went from being Afghanistan to richer than the EU, from a OECD and UN aid recipient to a donor, from an agricultural economy to the leading knowledge economy in the world... They went from an autocratic system to having the head of the UN, IMF, a female president, all through democratic transition, from the 200th largest economy in the world to the 12th largest economy in the world with no natural resources, with no oil, no, you know, special trick. They did it through Grit." 

The three factors that Seth outlines for South Korea's successful shift? 

1. Grit -- overcoming adversity

2. Growth mindset. A deeply rooted, fundamental belief in their culture that hard work directly correlates with success, and that intelligence is not fixed but can be increased through effort. This mindset takes effect in the form of their "hagwan", private spending on supplemental education services like tutoring. South Korea has one of the highest spending rates on supplemental education services in the world. 

3. Korea has great teachers. Respect for teachers is rooted in their language and culture. The word for "Teacher" in Korean means "honored one"and "nation builder". It's like the equivalent of having the title of "Doctor" in the US. 

Skip to minute 6:50 in the video for Seth's explanation of each factor and how he implemented the South Korean model into Democracy Prep Charter School.  

If you are having trouble viewing the video, here is the original video link: https://vimeo.com/96055664