After hearing the speaker from Vietnam, I was thinking how different Vietnamese culture is from American culture. Clearly familial relationships and educational success are very important to the Vietnamese, but not valued as much here in the U.S. I got to thinking how different classrooms in the U.S. could be if students actually wanted to be there, wanted to succeed, and wanted to be challenged. Would we even have to deal with students who don't bother to turn in their homework or students who goof off the whole class period? Would cheating be an issue?
I've found that many American students are satisfied with doing enough just to get by. They don't have a lot of motivation and don't really care what grades they get. Why is that? How is the American culture fostering this kind of behavior and mindset? One factor may be the lack of strong family relationships and the want to be independent and free. Kids and students want to do what they want to do. They don't want to have to listen to their parents, or teachers for that matter. They may be in the developmental stage where they are trying to figure our their identity and thus think that they need to push the limits placed on them.
I think that it's unrealistic to try to totally change our society into one that has the same values as Vietnam, but I think we should try to improve family relationships and respect so that kids will obey their parents and be open to their advice. As much as we all want to be independent and do our own thing, I think it is very important to listen to people who have more experience and expertise that we don't yet possess.
I've found that many American students are satisfied with doing enough just to get by. They don't have a lot of motivation and don't really care what grades they get. Why is that? How is the American culture fostering this kind of behavior and mindset? One factor may be the lack of strong family relationships and the want to be independent and free. Kids and students want to do what they want to do. They don't want to have to listen to their parents, or teachers for that matter. They may be in the developmental stage where they are trying to figure our their identity and thus think that they need to push the limits placed on them.
I think that it's unrealistic to try to totally change our society into one that has the same values as Vietnam, but I think we should try to improve family relationships and respect so that kids will obey their parents and be open to their advice. As much as we all want to be independent and do our own thing, I think it is very important to listen to people who have more experience and expertise that we don't yet possess.
I like where you went with this discussion. I never considered how the differences could be revealing why U.S. students lack motivation. If families can instill the value of education, I also think that problems would lessen in schools. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that society has gone too far in one direction to make a strong turn-around.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that American students are so lackadaisical. I hate to admit it, but I too just did the minimum to get by in some of my high school classes. In our American culture kids need to do everything starting from the age of 5: go to school, soccer practice, have music lessons, and participate in confirmation at church. At least that is what was expected of me (but you get what I mean when I say that children today have busy schedules). I wonder if this pattern is just experienced in the United States or if we were to see it everywhere in the world, and how those students deal with it.
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