Comment Re:pessimism (Score 1) 1141
I think that the trend towards more focused learning in K-12 is not limited to Asia. I went to school in Europe (Italy, Germany mostly)in the 70's and was always astonished at just how little the kids attending the American high schools were knowlegeable about.
The interesting point I found was that like in Asia, the American kids were always busy memorizing things - how absurd, I felt then as now. Our schools focused on teaching us methods of thinking. In other words, being able to recite from wrote memorization like a monkey merely in order to be able to pass a multiple choice exam was ludicrous. I never even saw a multiple choice exam until I joined the Navy and later when I took the SATs before going to UC Berkeley.
The concepts of discipline, respect for teachers, respect for learning, applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, and striving for academic excellence are long gone in the U.S. Save perhaps for the elite who send their kids to Andover, Execter, CPS and other pricey preparatory schools, and where the system is geared toward producing well educated pupils, the public school system has lowered its standards so as to become all-inclusive. There are no poor performers because whenever they are found out, the standard is lowered.
Finally, with 4 kids in the public school system, I am painfully aware and continuously engaging my kids to learn more, study more, and forget asking about TV, video games, gameboys, or any of that other garbage that masks for toys for youth these days - don't have them, don't use them, books, they have lots of books ;-)
The interesting point I found was that like in Asia, the American kids were always busy memorizing things - how absurd, I felt then as now. Our schools focused on teaching us methods of thinking. In other words, being able to recite from wrote memorization like a monkey merely in order to be able to pass a multiple choice exam was ludicrous. I never even saw a multiple choice exam until I joined the Navy and later when I took the SATs before going to UC Berkeley.
The concepts of discipline, respect for teachers, respect for learning, applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, and striving for academic excellence are long gone in the U.S. Save perhaps for the elite who send their kids to Andover, Execter, CPS and other pricey preparatory schools, and where the system is geared toward producing well educated pupils, the public school system has lowered its standards so as to become all-inclusive. There are no poor performers because whenever they are found out, the standard is lowered.
Finally, with 4 kids in the public school system, I am painfully aware and continuously engaging my kids to learn more, study more, and forget asking about TV, video games, gameboys, or any of that other garbage that masks for toys for youth these days - don't have them, don't use them, books, they have lots of books
