Author: Cornelius N. Grove

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

ISBN: 978-1-4758-4460-3

One of the great sociological questions of our age—of any age, really—is whether or not we have the capacity to make sweeping changes in the way we live. What, one might ask, could possibly compel us to want to change the way we live? The coronavirus pandemic, for one thing. The pandemic has made various transformations necessary throughout most of 2020, and we have indeed changed because of social distancing requirements and all the related economic challenges.

But the Covid-19 scourge will one day subside, and then disappear, and much of American society will return to its old preferences, behaviors and habits. And that’s why we can’t consider what we’ve been going through a sweeping change. First of all, it won’t last. Secondly, millions have already voiced their displeasure with all the temporary adjustments.

So let’s try another scenario. What if it were discovered that we can increase the average lifespan by thirty healthy years if we ate only vegetables and nothing else? Would we do that? Or that having dogs and cats as pets decreased our mental capacity? Would we give them up? 

As Americans, do we have the ability or even the desire to make sweeping changes, even when deemed entirely practical? I am not aware of any such sociological studies, but I’ve thought about it often, particularly with regard to education. For years I have held the opinion that the way we educate our children in this country is not conducive to effective learning.

We wake them up before they are physically equipped to arise. We compel them to open and close books regardless of individual strengths and motivations. We oblige them to have what often turn into apprehensive and confusing bonds with their teachers. We force them to memorize dates. We encourage them to stay up late to do homework that usually proves to be entirely unengaging… 

There’s got to be a better way. 

Which is why when Cornelius N. Grove’s new book came along, I was particularly intrigued. A Mirror for Americans: What the East Asian Experience Tells Us about Teaching Students Who Excel is, as its name implies, an effort to explain why, when compared to our neighbors on the other side of the world, our education system is seriously flawed.

The basic conclusion behind Grove’s research is not especially startling; I believe we all instinctively knew it anyway. Though not implicitly stated, the overall inference is that we should make a sweeping change. What’s fascinating about his book is not necessarily the conclusion or the inference, but the unanswerable question of whether or not such a sweeping change is even possible in this country. I tend to doubt it. I fear that our society lacks the necessary fortitude and pliability.

But that, too, is why this book is so important. At the very least, it makes a compelling and comprehensive argument for why a change could work to our advantage. We may never get to say ‘I told you so’ simply because we’ll probably never have the chance to prove it. Still, just knowing there’s an effective option is enough to give educational system critics ammunition, food for thought, or simply a rock-solid license to argue the point. 

Grove has a master’s degree in teaching from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in education from Columbia. Among his previous books are The Aptitude Myth (2013) and The Drive to Learn (2017).

He is a tenacious researcher, having consulted more than 175 other books and many authoritative international studies for this latest work. To be certain, his new book is quite a commanding endeavor on its own merits.

Case in point: there are 20 pages of preface and introduction alone, and 15 pages of postscript and bibliography. These sections bookend 120 pages of text that is divided into nine chapters with at least 35 subheadings. Rarely does a general interest book get more serious than that. As such, one might never call it a fun read—but neither was it intended to be.

Being well and lucidly written is certainly a plus. Still, its gravity may prompt some readers to merely skim through to absorb the basic tenets and ideas. But skimmers may be shortchanged because here and there can be found little intriguing factual nuggets, some having to do with how various teaching methods in East Asia and America came to be, or which educational methods have been borrowed from one part of the world and adapted for another. 

Had he wanted, Grove could have added a few relatable and diverting side-by-side, ‘day-in-the-life’ comparisons between a specific East Asian and a specific American student studying the same exact topic. There could have been photos, quotes, anecdotes, teacher and parent comments. Such asides may have added an extra spotlight that would have been as absorbing as it was edifying. He chose not to, for that is neither his vision nor his style. Yet, one can hardly argue with the choices he did make, for his case is quite compellingly made.  

“If improving the academic performance of American children ever becomes extremely important to us,” the author writes, “then 1) parents will find new ways to instill in their children a drive to learn that emphasizes receptiveness to learning in classroom settings; and 2) teachers at the primary level will find new ways to plan and present knowledge-centered lessons that constantly and interactively immerse all of their pupils in reasoning and analysis about the knowledge to be learned, directively facilitated by the teacher.” This deduction is stated at the end of the book; what comes before are specific studies and examples to help illustrate Grove’s thesis, most having to do with the relationships between teachers and students, the differences in the culture of learning in East Asia and America, and the ways in which lessons are delivered to groups and individuals.

On the whole, A Mirror for Americans may not trigger the changes that some feel can vastly improve the quality and effectiveness of education in the United States. But it can certainly give individual superintendents, principals, teachers and, perhaps most importantly, parents a few good ideas on how to initiate some of the changes. We may have to settle for that, and Grove gets an A+ for allowing us to get that far. After all, for someone as concerned and well-intentioned as he, being able to say ‘I did what I could’ is much more morally sound than being able to say ‘I told you so.’