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Education: Americans vs Asians part 2

This is a follow-up article to my last article .... in which I commented that America's belief and practice of educating ALL is a wonderful thing, but also a great weakness.

Asians, Europeans, and many other countries and continents of countries do not practice the art of Educating "ALL".   They might start out educating all, but at some point late in what we would call elementary or early in middle school a decision is made. Can this student learn? Is this student teachable? Does this student display a knack for Math or Science or whatever is valued at the time? Tests are given and records reviewed and often before the age of 12, a student's future is determined. Those who are evaluated to be teachable will go on with their education. Many others will be taught a trade, and many others will be totally out of luck at all.

Not in America! Your luck in America doesn't run out until you are 18 and can't pass some state mandated test required to earn your diploma. Up to that point, your education has been spoon fed to you and most the time you didn't want to eat it.

You bet Asian parents care about education. Education is NOT taken for granted by them. Their children have to earn their place in the education systems of their various countries. Meanwhile access to education is simply taken for granted by most Americans. Regardless of whether your child can, can't, or doesn't care, American public schools are required by law to try to teach him or her.    And try they do.  And try and try and try.

 

American public schools are amazing.  Nowhere else on Earth can a young person have access to so much knowledge given out for FREE.  Yet how do young Americans see this?  A burden on their freedom .... something they HAVE to do .... something that their parents and the law make them do.   What a pain!   Now ... not all students are this way .... but I promise you that a lot of them are.   And they are taking the minimum level of courses they can get away with and putting in the minimum amount of effort in order to make the minimum grade acceptable for passing.   Okay .... some don't even do that!    Some students get the pleasure of taking and re-taking the same course several times because they underestimated the minimum amount of effort required .... or they just didn't care.

 

Meanwhile, teachers' toes are being held to the fire to have an acceptable passing rate in their classes.   Students aren't putting in the effort, yet teachers have to accommodate this and basically lower their standards in order to keep from failing whole classes.   Standards get lowered, students aren't held accountable, parents demand more from the teachers and less from the students, and this vicious cycle continues on year after year.

 

Yikes .... I could go on and on .... but what it all comes down to is that Americans take education for granted and know that their children have a "right" to be educated.  They don't have to worry about their children being sent off to learn a trade after not doing well in 4th grade.  They don't have to worry about their child not making "the cut" to go on and study for University.    Their children march right along getting promoted on to the next grade.  And if any test or teacher tries to hold them back, the parents fight for the "right" for their student to "stay with their class".    And they often win.

 

America's education system believes in educating ALL.   That is our great weakness because people treat it like it is their "right" to be educated instead of treating it like the precious privilege that it is.   

 

In my 22 years as a classroom teacher, most spent teaching Geometry to sophomores who did not want to be there, ONE student stands out in my mind as truly understanding the value of the American education system.   She was from Kenya.    I do not know how or why she and her family came to be in America .... but I do know that she sat front and center and eagerly held onto every word I said like I was handing her jewels.   She would look around her and ask her fellow classmates how they could be so uncaring of this education being given out freely?  She didn't understand the attitudes of so many of her classmates, but she quickly bonded with the 1st generation Asian students in the school.   They also took nothing for granted and quietly took as many classes as they could to get as much education as they could during their time in school.    My student from Kenya was very outspoken about how wonderful her classes were and how silly the American students acted in these classes.  The Asian students kept their heads down and their mouths closed and aced the classes. 

 

American Public Education is FANTASTIC for those who truly want an education.   The problem is .... most American students don't.