By Mayrene Bates
Doug Ford, my colleague on the Solano County Board of Education, loves to compare American education to that of other industrialized countries. Months ago, he shared a book, “The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way,” and passed out several copies but only recently have I had an opportunity to read my copy.
Several years ago, author Amanda Ripley of Time magazine followed three American teenagers for a year who went to live and study in three different countries: Finland, Poland and South Korea. Her book was published in 2013. The American Field Service and Rotary Clubs have been sponsoring such student exchange programs for many years.