In the article “Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackle Learning”, The author Alix Spiegel, opens the readers mind, showing how different each culture really is. Although we are all human and live on the same planet, it is surprising to learn how different we all really are. There are plenty of differences in the way everyone was raised and taught, and the way each individual puts forth effort. Back in the year 1979, a man named Jim Stigler, who at the time was a student at the University of Michigan, traveled to Japan to study another cultures teaching and learning strategies. A study he witnessed was in a classroom of young students. The test was to see if each student would give their best effort. Each student …show more content…
Li studied the difference in learning beliefs between Asian and American children. Jin Li has recordings of two different mothers and sons. One mother and son who were American had a conversation, the mother told her son that intelligence comes from the books he reads. He does not enjoy reading, and it seems as though he has a bad attitude toward books. From this, he is taught that even if he does not enjoy something he just needs to finish what he starts. The other conversation was between a Taiwanese mother and son. The son plays the piano, the more he practices, the more he improves. The mother tells her son that with great attitude and practice comes great achievement. The little boy practices hard and tries his best. Although he may mess up, he does not give up. This shows he likes what he does and he likes the outcome of it. The difference between mothers is that one tells her son he needs to learn what he is given, while the other tells her son he should love what he does in order to achieve the best possible outcome. I believe if a person loves what they do, they will work harder and give forth more effort and attitude. If someone is given something they may not understand , nor like, they will get frustrated and give up on it. It’s easier for a person that likes something to give positive attitudes toward it in order to figure out how to solve or practice for it. Another study was done with fifth grade students, the students were given an impossinks problem. The American students gave up on the problem within the first 30 seconds, while the Japanese worked on the problem for an hour, having to be stopped by their teacher. This shows a difference in how a child in each culture is taught. The American students gave up because they were not taught how to do the problem, in this culture they are told that their is always gonna be someone there to
“In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be ‘the best’ students, that ‘academic achievement reflects successful parenting,’ and that if children did not excel at school then there was ‘a problem’ and parents ‘were not doing their job.’ … Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams” (Chua 5). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua is an engulfing novel which clearly distinguishes the difference between Western style of parenting and the Chinese style of parenting. The quote stated above shows some of the statistics that we completed to write this book. The story is a breathless and emotional memoir of Amy Chua, consisting mostly her two daughters and husband. While the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother appears to be about the battle between a parent and a child and the relationship they share, the author, Amy Chua, has actually implied that it is important for the children to start developing skills early on to benefit in the future as well as be successful in their lives.
To conclude, this article is important because it discusses the Singularity University features, aims, and how the studies run there. And it talks about how this generation who will graduate from this university will create our future later. However, even though Cadwalladr is proud of having a university like the Singularity University. Cadwalladr, and Peter Diamandis, and the other futurist should think of the reasons of why there is a problems in this world not by creating an artificial intelligence that will get rid of these problems.
Sparks, B. &. Butterwick, S.(2004). Culture, Equity and Learning. In G. Foley, Dimensions of Adult Learning (p. 276-289). McGraw-Hill Education.
The article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua demonstrates the two different mind sets of parenting: Chinese parenting and Western approach to parenting. In my view, Chinese parenting is very strict about school work and extracurricular activities such as pianos and violins. For example, if we compare the two different sets of parenting; Chua says, for instance that Western parents believe that they are strict by forcing their kids practice their instruments for 30 minutes a day at most to an hour. This is nothing compared to the Chinese parents that would say the first hour of practice is easy it’s the second or third hour that gets tough (Chua 2011). This shows how forcefully strict the Chinese parents are compared to Western parents. The Chinese parents would say anything that really has to be said to their kid’s straight forward, but the Westerns would go about telling their kids, so it won’t hurt their feelings or their self-esteem. A few of these examples come to show that Chinese parents have intelligent kids, but are they intelligent enough for society? In other words are these Chinese children capable to work in group projects compared to an American kid that lives the usually life as a kid; like going to sleepovers and participating in different school activities. This is what David Brooks actually discusses about in his article “Amy Chua Is a Wimp”, says that Amy Chua’s way of parenting which is Chinese parenting isn’t effective enough. Well sure their kids are very intelligent and get high grades, but can they participate in well-functioning groups? One thing that Chinese parenting lacks in is a skill set that is not taught formally, but is imparted through strenuous experiences. This is exactly what Chua...
Amy Chua (2011) names off three reasons that support her argument in why Chinese children are more successful. First, she mentions that Westerners worry too much on how their child will accept failure, whereas Chinese parents assume only strength in their child and nothing less. For example, if a Western child comes home with a B on a test, some parents will praise the child on their success and some may be upset, while a Chinese parent would convince their child they are “worthless” and “a disgrace.” The Western parents hope to spare their children’s feelings and to be careful not to make their child feel insecure or inadequate, while Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe their children can get them (Chua, 2011). Secondly, Chinese parents believe their chil...
For years, people have always felt that the Japanese school system was superior or more effective than that of the United States. Although some feel this way, others feel that the Japanese system is too strict and not flexible enough for those who may need extra help along the way. Through researching two different case studies, and also reading other materials, I have found many similarities along with many differences between the two, including teaching methods, overall emphases, and student involvement. Both countries have developed very effective and intricate systems of teaching, which compliment, and clash against one another. The Japanese system is not in all ways superior to that of the United States; however, there are a few different reasons why people may feel that the Japanese are in fact “smarter” than us. To begin with though, one must have an understanding of both systems and a basic knowledge of how they work.
The idea of cultural context allows perspective to be placed on the subject of intelligence. We now can say that each culture puts its emphasis on a specific point in the scheme of intelligenc...
Her first point is that if the child gets a bad grade on a test, the Western parents would never actually blame their child. Instead, they would put the blame on the school, questioning the teacher’s abilities. If a Chinese child gets a bad grade, however, the parents would put the blame directly on the child, assuming that he or she did not work hard enough. Furthermore, they will punish the child and demand improvement.
In this paper, it will be looking at the culture and education practices of Finland, Canada, and China. Education varies from country to country as well as does one's culture, lifestyle of the people who live there. In doing so will review their culture and the role of their education policies that are used to motivate schools and teachers to improve student learning along with how their culture plays into learning. Furthermore, children should be taught with respect to their culture. However, we can also learn from one another. In addition, we have similar and different educational practices from one another. Such as when it comes to the Finnish, Canadians, to the Chinese as, we all learn in different environments because of our culture. Furthermore, and most importantly, thus educational practices vary from culture to culture. For instance, these counties are considered some of the best when it comes to education, Finland, Canada, China and it is because of their educational practices along with their culture government.
Christopher Wills has written a fascinating chronicle of human evolution in a style that will keep the reader glued to the book to find out what happened next. The Runaway Brain is organized into four sections. First Wills addresses The Dilemmas, the many problems that students of evolution encounter mainly from public perception of the subject and from the many prejudices of those involved with the work. The question of where our species first appeared is a particularly contentious one, although it is now widely accepted that the species originated out of Africa. There are, regardless, those who still disagree and especially at first, many dismissed an African origin out of hand. Wills' second main issue is that of the transition to actual "humanity" and if it occurred once or twice. As he discusses in the chapter entitled "An Obsession with Race", those who deride those of African descent often use the multiple origin theory as one that justifies racism. Wills decries this abuse of the science and firmly argues against those that would use evolution to further racist propaganda. He also takes issue with those who insist on believing that all of humanity came from one Eve and one Adam, instead putting forth the theory of the "mitochondrial Eve"; that we all descend from the mitochondrial DNA, but that we do not in fact descent from two individuals.
The Genius by Frank O’Connor The boy’s personality and his intelligence are swiftly established in the opening paragraph. His mother is presented as being a strong influence on him and appears as a kind of ‘ally’ against the rough children – ‘savages’ as she describes them – that live and play in the area. It is clear that she encourages him to regard himself as ‘different’ and separate from them, but it is equally obvious that he is not anxious to associate with them anyway. He describes himself as “a cissy by conviction” and says that he regarded the idea of fighting as both unattractive and ‘dangerous’.
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman goes to great lengths to explain the complex ways that humans think in the most simple and understandable fashion. Just as Kahneman’s title alludes, each person thinks in two distinct styles, one style is an automatic manner of thinking and the other is effortful, which he refers to as System 1 and System 2 throughout the book. Kahneman (2011) points out that when we perceive our own way of thinking “we identify with System 2, the conscious, reasoning self that has beliefs, makes choices, and decides what to think about and what to do” (p. 21), but he then immediately points out that that is not at all the case because System 1 is our dominate thinking process. We all rely heavily on System 1 because of it’s the easy and fast method, overlooking the fact that it is prone to errors and biases. System 1 and it’s short cuts are even used in important situations that we believe we have given adequate attention to, such as choosing who we will vote for in presidential elections, but even a decision such ...
It is appropriate to know that this teaching practice is “multidimensional” because it involves getting new knowledge, performance assessment, techniques of instructing, classroom climate, the content of curriculum, relationship between a teacher and student. There is need for teachers from different disciplines to cooperate in disseminating concepts of a single culture as students play an active role in evaluating their performance (Banks, 2006).
Merriam and Bierema (2014) stated, “Adult learning is a journey” (p.238). Within that journey culture and context affect learning and our globalizing world. Culture can be simply defined by the shared practices, values, and beliefs that are passed on and taught as the correct way to act and think. Culture deeply influences a vast amount of groups from regions to organizations and classroom environments (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 239). Culture has an effect on both formal and informal practices. Throughout adult education, culture is examined from several perspectives including one’s position, privilege, context, and power.
Learning is a universal concept; it is a part of daily life for every human being, no matter their age or location. Although education is standardized regionally, it can be ordinarily defined as the pursuit of knowledge, or it may be alternately described as a route to a culturally “well-rounded” adult. Aside from simply defining the term, there is a constant debate over the purpose of education. One Stanford University Graduate student argues that education should be recognized as “a multi-purpose enterprise that can be unified under one great aim: to produce better adults” (Noddings 232). Ultimately, however, there are many facets to education, each of them correlative to the ultimate social goal of producing “better