> The American school is striking in its emphasis on externally managed curricula, state-wide tests, etc. It feels like the teachers are competent but nobody trusts them.
One of the most important things to understand how America works, I think, is to appreciate that blame-avoidance is the #1 priority of basically all actors who matter—which itself isn't that unusual—and also that we also have a bizarre cultural blindness to same, such that we'll give people a pass when they plainly are responsible just because they set something up in advance to shift the blame (to e.g. a system of rules or a committee).
The flip side of this is that we crucify people who can have mistakes pinned on them, or admit to a mistake.
"No-one got fired for buying IBM" is practically a national motto for us.
We'll tolerate a chronically-broken and ineffective system far, far longer than we will an individual making one bad choice for every ten good ones they make.
Keeping this in mind makes a lot of how our institutions and "decision-makers" operate much clearer.
Way off topic for a discussion about schools, but your comment reminds and enrages me about Abu Graib and how they court marshaled a few low level enlisted soldiers and nothing happened to the colonels, generals, and high level DoD officials who were responsible for, and well aware of, the conditions at that prison.
One of the most important things to understand how America works, I think, is to appreciate that blame-avoidance is the #1 priority of basically all actors who matter—which itself isn't that unusual—and also that we also have a bizarre cultural blindness to same, such that we'll give people a pass when they plainly are responsible just because they set something up in advance to shift the blame (to e.g. a system of rules or a committee).
The flip side of this is that we crucify people who can have mistakes pinned on them, or admit to a mistake.
"No-one got fired for buying IBM" is practically a national motto for us.
We'll tolerate a chronically-broken and ineffective system far, far longer than we will an individual making one bad choice for every ten good ones they make.
Keeping this in mind makes a lot of how our institutions and "decision-makers" operate much clearer.