Unconventionality may be US blessing

By Rong Xiaoqing Source:Global Times Published: 2013-10-27 17:58:01

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT



More and more Chinese have been sending their children to the US to study, hoping it will help their youngsters be better prepared for a cutthroat world.

The fever brought 194,000 Chinese students onto US campuses in 2012, making China the primary source for international students in the US.

No matter how firmly Chinese parents believe US education is more advanced, education surveys seem to be pointing another way.

The most recent one, released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  (OECD) earlier this month, showed 16-to-65 year-old Americans are trailing behind in math, reading and problem-solving using technology among their peers from 23 countries ranging from the developed Canada and Germany to the developing Czech Republic and Estonia (China was not included in the survey).

Indeed, the Americans are close to the bottom in some categories.

There have been similar results for US students. For example, a 2009 study - also by the OECD - found US students ranked 25th among 34 countries in math and science, behind China, Singapore and many others.

In 2010, the OECD found that students in Shanghai topped the 34 nations in math, reading and science in international exams, while US students ranked 25th, 14th, and 17th in these categories respectively.

Last year, reports from the Institute of Education Sciences found similar results among fourth and eighth graders, and researchers at Harvard found US students' academic progress was slower than many other countries, from Portugal to Colombia.

These studies unsettle many Americans. They never fail to make bold headlines and fuel national debates about the need for education reform. But Chinese parents don't seem to take much notice.

Whenever the education topic comes up with my friends who have enrolled their kids in schools in the US or plan to do so, they always nod about the statistics and then raise this question: "Why were most of global innovations born in this country then?"

The question is a natural one because innovation is what China needs the most now to further push its economic development, but it is also a rare commodity.

It is convenient to blame weak education for all the flaws that frustrate us in our adult life. And it is also true that the Chinese education system is not the best incubator for independent thought. In the US, students are encouraged to have their own opinions, while from an early age we are told to copy what we are told by adults.

But it is also worth noting that basic knowledge is indispensable for innovation. It is a mistake to think innovation can flow like tap water only by training the kids to think creatively. That is why Americans are unnerved by the findings of the research.

What is more important is to look at the entire culture rather than a piece of it when discussing the source for innovation.

Generally, US culture is much more open and tolerant to eccentricity than Chinese culture.

We often feel uncomfortable if we look or dress differently from the majority. Americans don't. We often frown on things that are unconventional. They don't. We like to have unanimity and try to avoid conflict. They don't mind debates and arguments.

Based on these traits, the US elected a black president, legalized same-sex marriage, and offer citizenship every year to more than 500,000 foreigners who look, speak, and behave differently.

The country produced not only Harvard dropouts-turned billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, but also former convicts-turned entrepreneurs like Larry Jay Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants and Rocco Castoro, editor-in-chief of Vice magazine.

Now imagine a Chinese student telling their parents they want to drop out of Peking University to start their own business or a former Chinese prisoner trying to convince an employer that they should get a job, and think how much support they would get from their family and society.

Of course, one can argue the root of a culture is based in the education system.

But it could also be the other way around. And this is an egg and chicken paradox.

Nonetheless, the original sin aside, it may not hurt if we can all think about how to contribute to an innovative society by trying to be more open to abnormality. 

The author is a New York-based journalist. rong_xiaoqing@hotmail.com

Posted in: Columnists, Viewpoint

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