Yong Zhao spoke to a general session at the annual conference of the Network for Public Education. His speech was spectacular! He was witty, informative, actually hilarious. The audience loved him.
I will not try to summarize what he said. You must watch yourself. Julian Vasquez Heilig introduces Yong Zhao.
This is one of the best presentations I have ever seen about education today. Don’t take my word for it. Judge for yourself.
Sit back and prepare to laugh out loud. If you don’t have time now, save it for when you have 45 minutes for sheer fun and intellectual pleasure. Then show it to your friends and colleagues. Show it to your local school board, your state board, your legislators. Share it with all who care about our kids and our society.
Thanks to videographer Vincent Precht.

He’s fabulous. I interviewed him for BAM Radio and was absolutely delighted with him!
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Im always amazed by Dr. Zhao’s ability to keep each presentation fresh (I’ve seen him live 3 times and a number of times on video). Rather than lock himself into a linear presentation, he accesses individual slides, charts, etc. on the fly – all the while, maintaining a coherent message. I’m pleased to report that Yong Zhao will be a provocateur at this summer’s Camp Snowball in Portland, Oregon. http://www.campsnowball.org/provocateurs-general-session-facilitators-and-hosts/
Gary
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He’s hilarious.
“Reformers’ Ultimate Goal”
Simply “college-ready”
Is really just all right
But “Mainland China-ready”
Is what we have in sight
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btw, I forgot to mention… I was disappointed that the video didn’t capture what was happening in the screen during Dr. Zhao’s talk, except during the Rudolph bit.
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Excellent. I shared it with our state superintendent, local supe and several school board members. And I posted it on Facebook. Very inspiring.
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Thanks Diane for making this available to those who couldn’t be there. I have heard Yong Zhao speak before and I am memorized by his astute comments on education.
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Love, love, love this!
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Dear Dr. Ravitch:
Thank you very much for posting this video. Hopefully, both AFT and NEA presidents will watch it and they will be more confident in their decision making in protecting TENURE RIGHT for teaching profession WITHOUT any excuse of economy or jealousy from other workers (TSA?)
To reinforce and emphasize THE IMPORTANCE of diversity and creativity, Dr. Yong Zhao’s examples of STEVE JOB and 12 years FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION (K-12) are worth to remind us daily to be proud of BEING AMERICAN WITH HUMANITY and CIVILITY = true CIVILIZATION.
I risked my life twice in the ocean in order to stay away communism and to live in humane society. I cannot speak on behalf of other immigrants who could have economic survival reason.
Like Dr. Zhao, I would go any distance to promote, to support and to preserve the SPIRIT of LIBERTY = DEMOCRACY= PUBLIC EDUCATION. May King
I hope that you and NPE staff would sign on NPE t-shirt (size L) and send it to me as a gift. Please accept my heartfelt thank in advance for your approval. Lots of love. May.
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Fantastic! His analogies are incredibly spot-on. Every educator should see this.
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LG, glad to see you back again!
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Thanks, Diane. I’ve been a bit pre-occupied with this pregnancy, but I’m coming down the home stretch. Still lurking, though. Four more weeks to the due date, and then the fun starts. 😀
Thank you for all you continuously do on behalf of children, parents, and teachers everywhere. I plan on following continuously while on maternity leave. 🙂
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