The myth about Asian students and maths?

Question

There has been a big myth about why kids from Asian background is good at maths and the Caucasian kids aren't as good. Many people blame it on coaching industry and that parents force kids to work harder, ... But no one seems to care about the English problems of migrant kids.

The Asian kids are only good at maths because they have to work harder in maths to make up for their English disadvantages. In English speaking countries like the US, Canada and Australia, migrant kids always trail local kids in English due to the lack of a good English speaking home environment.

However I feel that Asian kids are still not quite matching white kids on the top level of abstract maths. That's why we still see that most top mathematicians at Universities are still Caucasians. or perhaps this is only because Asian kids are more interested in making money (there is not much money in being a mathematician)

Any ideas?

To explain my view, I am Asian too. I am not saying anything about race issue but about approaches. It's obvious that migrant kids trail local kids (regardless of races) in the first few years in English. My child is still trying to get to the top in English. I mean trailing the top local kids, not the average! This is due to the superior English speaking environment of middle class local kids.

Maths coaching (and other subjects) is big among migrant groups especially Asian. But the risk is clear. The coaching is not very wholesome, often overuse the memory faculty and underuse the logic and deep thinking abilities of the brain. Asian kids often become burnt out after entry into Universities.

Often Asian kids lead Caucasian kids 1-3 years in maths, but the gap does close by end of highschool where top white kids are just as competitive (don't talk about the average one!)

Answer 1

it's because of asian parents. for instance, if you go to korea, then you'll see almost every student going to several tutor places right after school and not returning home until past dinnertime. after they return home, they finish their homework and study more up until past midnight (only getting a few hours sleep). another reason why asians are not mathematicians at a university is because most of them tend to take after their family business or just go after a small business like a market. one more thing, asians are not good math because they want to make up for their english disadvantages. i'm very good at english and am not working harder at math to make up my disadvantages at speaking english. all i can say is that you heard some wrong information from wrong people.

Answer 2

Where's your proof? I can't see any evidence that it's that way (about the top mathematicians at Universities) Are you just referencing US universities?

More often than not, success is based on expectation. I kick butt at math (perfect score math GRE, I am asian) and for me I knew I was going to graduate from college from the time when I was 6, because that's what my parents expected. It wasn't a big celebration, high school graduation was a blow off.

Asians are probably expected to do well in school and then do something other than math with their life, like become a programmer or doctor, rather than a mathematician. The math is a side effect.

A lot of immgrant families still have kids that will be the first in their family to graduate from high school. They're parents would be happy with the c's passing standard graduation plan.

Answer 3

So what you are really trying to say? Are you trying to say that white people are in reality smarter than Asians because you guys are lazy? Are you trying to defend your insecurities because an asian person beat your math score? What are you trying to prove?

It's okay kid, first the asian kid will beat you in math, then a black man takes your wife(think carefully why), and then suddenly a bunch of spanish people laugh at you because you're a pale a** loser.Keep on crying kido, I hope you have a great time experiencing the real world. But you know what? I'll always be here to tell you I love you.

Answer 4

Speaking only what I find at my daughter's elementary school, the Asian kids - Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean - all seem to work harder. When we get the Academic Performance Index (API) score, the Asians score considerably higher than the rest of the population - the scores are broken out by ethnic groups.

I live in the US, so I am speaking of the children of immigrants. This group is self-selecting for high education and drive and encourages their kids to work hard.

Answer 5

I'm currently working in Asia and tend to agree. The students generally work hard at memorization and recitation. Little emphasis is placed on abstract thinking in the east. Thematic approaches would be of a great deal of assistance in educating the students.

Answer 6

"The Asian kids are only good at maths because they have to work harder in maths to make up for their English disadvantages"

My Asian friends are good at math AND other subjects, including English, so I don't agree with you.
And who isn't interested in making money????
Americans murder people for $1000!