So says a Yale Law Professor who benefited from Meritocracy.
But he’s right – wealthy kids tend to be more meritorious than middle class and poor kids.
This is just as bad as trickle-down economics.
intercst
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So-called “assortive mating” – where higher-educated women select higher-educated men as husbands – has been increasing for decades as more and more women achieve higher educational goals.
These “assortive” marriages tend to be higher income and also understand the importance of encouraging their children to achieve success.
Planning the long-term goals is highly likely to produce success. It was precisely this reason that I mentored a 10-year old girl (with her mother and grandmother) weekly for almost a decade. From a solid working-class family, the three daughters became a Ph.D. physical therapist (my mentee), an engineer and a veterinarian.
Meritocracy is not a “trap.” It’s the way to leverage the highest-capability people in a competitive world.
Wendy
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And of course couldn’t possibly be anything else. Sure. Whatever you say.
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Basically, recognize the value in education, skills development and goal setting for child development.
Follow a strategy that favors success at the above.
I support the author’s statements about subsidy distribution. Everything else is founded upon cultural value for education, which, while valid, is not supported by anything he says.
The interview appears as divisive and counterproductive beyond the core concepts above.
Convince parents to universally value education, skills development and then FOLLOW THROUGH. This will change the game.
Government policy:
I suspect that tangible results (enablements provided with proper milestones met by student/parent groups) with rational criteria would be an excellent basis to improve USian performance.
Give a kid a goal. Support the kid through the attainment process. When the kid meets a goal, give them the reward with no questions asked.
Suggesting the following: (Section 4 p65)
- Learning poverty is unacceptable
- Progress on learning poverty will be pursued
along with overall reform of education systems. - Countries chart individual paths toward a global
goal.
How Far Behind? – reading poverty varies greatly by region and country
It varies by region and country. Although all countries face some degree of reading poverty, there is great variability in learning outcomes between regions and countries. For instance, learning poverty ranges from more than 75% in Sub-Saharan Africa to less than 15% in East and Central Asia. Basic reading skills also range widely, from less than 5% of children reading by age 10 in Niger and Chad to close to 100% doing so in Netherlands and Vietnam.
It also varies within countries. High variability within regions and countries makes learning poverty a concern for those with low national aggregate rates. For instance, in Europe and Central Asia—the region with the lowest aggregate learning poverty—results vary from 40% in North Macedonia to less than 2% in the Netherlands. This situation results in the fact that “across much of the EU, education is not acting as an engine of social mobility—children from poor background often fail to acquire basic cognitive skills.”
The World Bank will work with countries where they are. The Bank will work to support governments in increasing the learning outcomes of those that are falling behind wherever they are, be it the poorest of nations or thriving middle- or high-income countries. The components of the policy package are not a recipe. They are a sequence of actions that can be applied to different countries depending on their initial state. For instance, countries that have high levels of learning poverty should start by focusing on reducing the proportion of nonreaders and increasing the number of beginning and intermediate readers, instead of trying to get children into the advanced reader category. Once they reach this more realistic target, they can shift the emphasis into higher levels of attainment for all students. Additionally, detailed scripted lessons might be necessary for countries with high levels of learning poverty, while countries with more capacity might benefit from lesson plans with greater teacher autonomy to select curricular content and pedagogical approaches.
Sure if we had an honest “meritocracy”. Just like free market capitalism with effective antitrust enforcement and rule of law works pretty well. American-style, crony capitalism, not so much.
intercst
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