Who Does It Better? Eastern vs Western Learners

Is the culture around learning in the Eastern world better than Western, and if so, is it possible to change how a culture learns to one that’s more effective?

Those are the questions proposed in a recent encore NPR story. Jin Li, professor at Brown University has spent the last decade studying conversations that American mothers and their children have about learning versus the conversations between Taiwanese mothers and their children. Two sound bites give great insight into how the two cultures have distinct views.

In the first clip, an American child tells his mother that he and his friends like to talk about books at recess. She responds, “Do you know that that’s what smart people do – smart grown-ups?…that’s a pretty smart thing to do, to talk about a book.” Professor Li explains the mother is reinforcing the idea that because her son is smart he is successful in school.

Compare that to the conversation recorded between a Taiwanese mother and her child who just won first place at a piano competition. She tells her son, “You practiced and practiced with lots of energy. It really got hard, but you made great effort. You insisted on practicing yourself.” In  Eastern cultures, success is thought to come from persistence when faced with a challenge, not necessarily inner intelligence.

Reporter Alix Spiegel makes the disclaimer that these comparisons don’t prove that one culture’s take on learning is superior to the other. In fact, professor Li makes the point that though Eastern students are scoring higher than their Western counterparts in STEM areas, Westerners are typically more creative because of how their culture nurtures individuality.

As a teacher or parent, how do you talk to your kids about the reasons behind their successes or failures? How did your parents or teachers talk to you about your success in school?

 

 

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Obsessed with “Success”: The Cost of Emphasizing Success at the Expense of Failure

Could failing be the key to success? Can we redefine our limited idea of “success”?

According to a new study by the American Psychological Association, children may perform better in school and feel more confident if told that failure is a normal part of learning. One researcher said that when students are “obsessed with success” their fear of failure keeps them from taking difficult steps necessary for mastering new material.  When students don’t have the confidence to explore, take risks, fail, and regroup in a healthy way, they aren’t preparing themselves for life’s more difficult and complex challenges.
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Competence and Confidence: You Can’t Have One Without the Other

Many parents and educators equate a student’s high self-esteem with high achievement. However, according in the article “In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise,” empty praise is out, and a new vocabulary that supports challenge is in. So, how can we work with students to hold them accountable to high expectations while helping them to believe in themselves to risk, to try, to grow, and to deliver quality work?
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Teens Who Learn Healthy Debate Skills More Likely to Resist Peer Pressure

If you’ve ever been in an argument with a teen, it might have felt like anything but productive. However, researchers found that if parents turn the argument from heated to healthy they are providing their kids with critical training they need for handling peer pressure, engaging in respectful confrontation, and offering solutions in reassuring ways, according to the NPR story “Why a Teen Who Talks Back May Have a Bright Future.”
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