🚀 go-pugleaf

radcliff@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (David G Radcliffe) writes:
> There is an article in the January 1, 1993 issue of Science which
> compares the mathematics achievement of Chinese, Japanese, and 
> American children.  The article finds that American students continue
> to lag far behind their Asian peers.
[part deleted]
> 
> The teachers of eleventh graders were asked the same question.
> 93% of Japanese teachers chose "studying hard", and 7% chose "innate
> intelligence".  However, only 26% of American teachers thought that
> studying hard was the most important factor, while 41% selected
> innate intelligence.
[more deleted]

> 
> I think that these attitudes are very destructive.

[more deleted]

I completely agree with you.  As someone very much into Piagetian
psychology, it seems to me that, in some sense, everyone needs construct
mathematics for themselves.  I've always wished that there were no word
'teach' in the English language, and like Spanish, we would use a word
with the implication of 'show,' instead.  When people lack
the belief that they can understand mathematics, they simply won't.

By the way, for an outstanding article on the same general subject, see
the December 1992 Scientific American.  It presents results similar to the
Science article you cite, and it also explores the differences in teaching
style, societal support, school structure, etc., that account for the
differences in math/science learning. For me, it was amazingly clear and it
also exploded some stereotypes and mis-impressions I had had about Asian
schools.

Paul MacFarlane
Danville, California
pmacfar@eis.calstate.edu