Dean's Lecture Series: Teru Clavel
Thursday, October 17, 2019
2:00 PM-3:30 PM
World Class: One Mother’s Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for her Children
Author and Drexel University School of Education alumna Teru Clavel will share her insight in comparative international education during a special Dean’s Lecture Series event on
Thursday, October 17th, 2019 at 2:00 pm. Mrs. Clavel’s presentation is based on her new book,
World Class: One Mother’s Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for her Children. The book explores reasons why Asian students are outpacing their American counterparts in their education outcomes and key takeaways on how to bring the best of Asia’s education and parenting philosophies to American schools and homes.
Clavel’s book provides a 10-year account of her experience with public schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. In Hong Kong, her children’s school was nicknamed The Prison for its foreboding, austere facilities, yet her three-year-old loved his teachers and his nightly homework. In Shanghai, in a school without flush toilets, the students were kept late not out of punishment but to master the day’s lesson. In Tokyo, her children and their classmates were responsible for school chores, like preparing and serving school lunches—lunches that featured grilled fish, stewed vegetables, and miso soup, not hot dogs and french fries.
These schools were low-tech and bare-bones, with teachers who demanded obedience and order. Yet Teru was shocked to discover that her children thrived in these foreign and academically competitive cultures; they learned to be independent, self-confident, and resilient, and, above all, they developed a deep and abiding love of learning. The true culture shock came when Teru returned to the States and found their top-rated California school woefully ill-prepared to challenge her children. Her kids were passing, but the schools were failing them.
Seating is limited. Please RSVP at the link below to reserve your seat. The presentation will also be available online via zoom at
https://zoom.us/j/3483637058.
Contact Information
Anthony Hopkins
215-895-0900
ajh357@drexel.edu