Straight A students, top of the class and certified teachers' pets--- Singapore is officially the country with the smartest high-school kids in the world, according to CNN. The academic success of the country has helped its' economy and has developed an educational system that is compatible for the rest of the world.
Marc Tucker, the president of the U.S. National Center on Education and the Economy said "Singapore is a fascinating case, It was a major British port before the Second World War. When Britain got out and closed its base Singapore was in terrible shape. However, today they are one of the best performing economies in the entire world. They did it largely with education and training. Its' transition was built on education. The biggest secret to their great education system are their Teachers. "They get their teachers from among the best kids graduating from their high schools," explained Tucker.
Application of your education is emphasized and creative knowledge is revered as well in Singapore and other Asian countries.
After the war, Singapore had a low-cost and low-skill labor market which was enough for its education system to aim for universal literacy. In 1970, Singapore's economic needs changed. It moved quickly toward high tech, white collar jobs and naturally, the educational system needed to keep up with the demands. The aim was to provide world-class education for every single child. That meant moving on from classic memorizing learning to engaging and encouraging creativity in students.
Andreas Schleicher, the education director of OECD said, "They had a classic drilling system when that was the only option they had, and when they needed to expand education quickly, they were the first to think what is it that our children need to be successful in the future?"
One thing that's been clear to them is that the world economy no longer rewards people just for what they know. Google knows everything. The world economy rewards people for what they can do with what they know.
Schleicher added that it's part of the culture of many Asian countries for parents to prioritize their children's education.
"It starts with resources, the priority they assign to education," he explained. "In these countries, parents and grandparents are going to invest their last resources, their last money into ... the education of their children.
"This is sort of a question of priorities. You can see in all tiers of public policy, education comes first. That's your future." he explained.
