The Global Achievement Gap: Chapter 5

Chapter five answers the question, What does it take to bring out the best in young people today, both in school and in the workplace?

Some believe that young Americans lack work ethic and others believe that they are just differently motivated today. 

The first main point of the chapter has to do with young Americans growing up differently, otherwise known as "growing up digital". Therefore, young people who have grown up using the web relate to the world and to one other in ways that are very different from those of their parents' generation. So why are we still teaching these generations in the same way as older generations when the two worlds are so different?

The second main point of the chapter includes new learning styles. The use of the internet and other digital technology has transformed both what young people learn today and how they learn. It is confirmed that students are increasingly impatient with the lecture style of learning and the reliance on textbooks for information and crave more class discussions. Also, with the mass amounts of information available through the web, we find a new kind of learning assuming pre-eminence, learning that is discovery based. Today, kids want to experience and watch how other people are doing things, then try it for themselves.

 The third main point of the chapter includes tipping the balance to the positive side of the world wide web so that kids can use it in positive ways to be actively engaged learners. What is needed to tip the balance to the positive side is an older generation that better understands what drives the younger generation and has learned how best to harness and focus its energies.

The fourth main point is how to turn this generation of kids into producers. In order for young people to respect school and learning, we need to think more carefully about what we're asking them to learn--to ensure that schoolwork is not busy-work or make-work but real, adult work that requires both analysis and creativity.


The fifth main point includes positive mentors both in the workplace and within schools. This is very important! In both the workplace and in school kids want to engage as active learners and creators, and they long for adults to be coaches and mentors. Mentoring is a huge motivational tool. Kids need someone to show an interest in them and give them feedback. The way to bring out the best in young people is to give them the right mix of challenge and support, combined with thoughtful adult mentoring.