Click here to listen to an interview with the author, Amanda Ripley.
The Smartest Kids in the World
While reading the first part of this novel, I found it very interesting to read about education in different countries. Though each country has the common goal of preparing their students for their next big step in life, they have their own way of doing so. So far, I think this is a great novel which helps us understand how different we are from other various cultures around the world.
Out of the three students, I most relate to Eric. Eric is the graduated senior whom went to study in Korea, and is the only one of the three whom enjoys math. Just like Eric, math is not only my favorite subject, yet it is also my best subject. As I was reading, this grabbed my attention right away. Since I have always loved math, and even sometimes look forward to taking a test because it is "fun", I have never fully understood why some people think math is awful... or even impossible. This immediately connected me to Eric because Kim and Tom both loathe math, yet Eric actually enjoys it. Throughout the novel so far, Eric is very empathetic and positive about his amazing opportunity that he got to travel to Korea. This was very significant to me, because I, too, always try to stay positive and look forward to see what opportunities may arise, even in the scariest of situations.
After reading about the three schools in the various countries, I was extremely surprised to see how different each and every one of them were. Even though I obviously knew that each school wouldn't have the exact same education system that we do, I was not expecting the dramatic changes that appear when comparing schools in America to those in Finland, Korea, and Poland. Even though each school has it's pros and cons, I think Kim's school in Finland would be the best in the United States. Since schools in Finland stray from using technology, and use classic chalkboards instead, I think the students would be forced to actually pay attention in class, rather than procrastinating on iPads or phones. Also, it is noted in the novel that the teachers are talented, creative, and actually love their jobs. I think this would greatly impact American students because having teachers that are actually excited to teach would encourage students to participate and engage them in learning. Having more satisfied teachers, like those in Finland, would greatly impact the education in America.
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