World Class: One Mother’s Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for Her Children

Education consultant and columnist Clavel catalogues her children’s educational experiences across two continents in this thoughtful combination memoir and manual. Wanting to raise her children as global citizens, Clavel leaves the expat bubble of Hong Kong; her recounting of the family’s journey through Asia to California, with stops in four cities and several schools, highlights vivid differences in philosophy, method, and results between Asian countries and the U.S. In Shanghai, Clavel marvels at the insistence on mastery and high expectations that press students to excel. In Tokyo, she enjoys how her children learn independence, cooperation, and citizenship. In both countries, she finds, “education [is] a national priority, meant to serve the public good” and governments invest in teachers in terms of both salary and training. The top-rated school district in the U.S., Palo Alto, Calif., on the other hand, dismays her with its emphasis on technology; careless approach to curriculum, instruction, and grades; and the general U.S. education funding model, in which the best education is reserved for the privileged. The personal narrative is studded with lists of useful tips about choosing schools and hiring tutors, for parents who must advocate for their children and supplement gaps in their educations. Clavel’s hard-won lessons will be appreciated most by those who share her optimism that the U.S. system can change. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Ross Yoon Agency. (Sept.)