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^lol, many admissions boards have deemed that there are too many Asians going to their schools. I'm of the opinion that the race and name of applicants shouldn't even be made available to admissions officers.
NJGOAT is right. Forget about China, India, and Japan having these prodigies coming of their countries and such. We have prodigies too, just don't limit the term "prodigy" to academia. Beyond this point, knowledge and experience is what separated us from the world, and in my opinion, still does. We have an immense amount of self-made billionaires who never finished their formal, professional education (or even had one) and managed to get along more than fine, simply because of their instincts, inspired by experience. I see people like they groom in China and India everyday, and they are referred to as "booksmart". They can tell you what something is, but can they evaluate its meaning or apply it to real life? certainly not. There is no aptitude assessment for "street smart(s)" as they are referred to, but they should not be belittled. But getting back to the original statement made by the forum creator, neither intelligence is accompanied by laziness, and that's what kids today need to realize. I know kids who think that the CEO's of companies, these billionaires and captains of industry, just sit around in their mansions all day doing nothing, when its quite the opposite. They represent their firm, and pretty much critique the hell out of it, because one mistake get scrutinized, and they get sued, or fired, and then the dream is over. There are very few people who happen to have hundreds of millions of dollars and do nothing, and generally they can be identified as old money or athletes who burned out with a huge signing bonus, and the second party had to work to get that. People need to get this ideology out of their heads that money can come with no work. Unless you play the lottery, and honestly, with those odds, I would rather work hard and win my own damn lottery. This is why people are talking about other nations passing us up. Theyre not beating us, we're beating ourselves.
I really can't believe parents would want a 'time limit' on school homework and ban it completely over weekends, holidays and school vacations. Look at schools in China and India and you will know who we are competing against. Middle school students there spend 2-3 hours on an average on their homework; high school students put in as much as 4-5 hours each weekday and about 12-15 hours over the weekend.
US schools used to have less homework than now and were doing better than now. Then at some point there was a big scare about the Japanese getting ahead (and then later the Chinese and the Asian Indians), and the schools started to pile it on. They didn't get any better as a result.
Banning the assigning of homework over holidays and school vacations is entirely appropriate. It's not much of a vacation if you're slaving away at schoolwork. I know if I'm on vacation from work and I get a call from the office which requires me to do significant work, that day will not be recorded as a vacation day.
Education in India is heavily focused on memorization as well but what makes it different is the focus and prioritization of education in the society. Parents push their kids to study at all cost and never complain about them having 'too much' homework. Everything else (like play time, sports, movies, etc) comes next. I am sure this is the same for Chinese society as well. It is this focus and heavy participation from the parents that makes a difference in their kid's level of education, irrespective of they being schooled in Asia or US.
Take an average 15 year old from China/India and compare his/her math and science skills with an average 15 year old from USA and i bet you will be hugely disappointed. Limiting homework can only make matters worse.
From NY Magazine "What Happens to All the Asian-Americans When the Test-taking Ends" basically says that the cram schools and teaching to the test only gets you so far. Many lack the social skills (American friends have to remind them to smile) to get into upper management. It's called the Bamboo Ceiling. Basically in American business, it pays to be well-rounded and not an automaton who can only put one's head down and crunch numbers. Believe me, I work with Asian (both Americans and from Asia) who will NEVER EVER get into management because that is exactly how they are.
Maybe it is simply the case that a traditionally Asian upbringing is the problem. As Allyn points out, in order to be a leader, you must have followers. Associates at PricewaterhouseCoopers are initially judged on how well they do the work they are assigned. “You have to be a doer,” as she puts it. They are expected to distinguish themselves with their diligence, at which point they become “super-doers.” But being a leader requires different skill sets. “The traits that got you to where you are won’t necessarily take you to the next level,” says the diversity consultant Jane Hyun, who wrote a book called Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling. To become a leader requires taking personal initiative and thinking about how an organization can work differently. It also requires networking, self-promotion, and self-assertion. It’s racist to think that any given Asian individual is unlikely to be creative or risk-taking. It’s simple cultural observation to say that a group whose education has historically focused on rote memorization and “pumping the iron of math” is, on aggregate, unlikely to yield many people inclined to challenge authority or break with inherited ways of doing things.
I mean, when you are younger, the need to have homework over breaks isnt as important, but in hs uve got curriculums and topics to cover for a whole year. That's just a matter of getting older, you can't just do nothing unless you do the work in anticipation.
^lol, many admissions boards have deemed that there are too many Asians going to their schools. I'm of the opinion that the race and name of applicants shouldn't even be made available to admissions officers.
lol...so the asians are kinda punished for being smarter (or "book smart" as some here would call them)
Fine, don't do homework, but let's just turn school into a year round affair instead of 9 months out of the year. Summer vacation is a joke, and where most kids end up getting into trouble.
Fine, don't do homework, but let's just turn school into a year round affair instead of 9 months out of the year. Summer vacation is a joke, and where most kids end up getting into trouble.
I strongly agree with extending the school the year. What I would do is give off a 4 week chunk in August and then extend winter break to 2 weeks and spring break to 2 weeks. Right now kids have off around 12-13 weeks out of the year for vacation time, this would reduce it to 8 weeks, but still leave flexiblity for doing something like going to camp over the longer summer break.
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