Why Chinese Kids Are Smart But Not Creative

Posted by ivanwalsh under Self-Development
From http://www.ivanwalsh.com 4912 days ago

Ever wonder why Chinese kids are so good at math? DNA? Are they born smart or is it just practice? We moved to China in 2009 and were warned about how tough the schooling would be. Chinese parents, anxious to help, dropped a few hints. At farewell dinners the conversation would eventually turn to education: how hard the Chinese kids worked and/or how easy it was for western kids. I knew they were clever; what I didn’t grasp was the level of effort involved.

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Comments

Written by profit613
4912 days ago

Ivan,

As a student of Geo-Politics I also wonder if a lot of it is held over from Communism. Having studied Russia, China, and Cuba, it becomes clear that these countries that rubber-stamped programs and ideas so often did not allow for much creativity. They were systems where thinking outside of the box was not encouraged. People were encouraged to go the way of the Party and the Party was most often made up of old men who didn't like change.

Rochele Rochelle

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Written by saraib820
4912 days ago

Very good article Ivan. To be honest when I saw the title I thought how can you make such a sweeping generalization with a country of over a billion people. I'm sure there are many exceptions to the rule but the system you describe sounds like one which extinguishes the chance for a lot of creativity.

Rivkah

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Written by businessavante
4913 days ago

I don't think little kids should be forced into becoming robots. Quite a few business "Gurus" already call the Western school system (including college) a ticket to bland, robotic conformity. Imagine how that would be compounded if kids memorized poems, but didn't learn to compose. And, as I remember it, discussion was about the only time we were asked to think for ourselves. In the US, math & science were pushed by the "DEFENSE Education Act" of 1958 - a knee-jerk response to being bested by the Soviet's successful launch of "Sputnik" in 1957.

businessavante

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