Why do Asian kids outperform Western kids in math? | by Malcolm Gladwell

Students who believe that success depends on innate ability do poorly compared to those who believe that success depends on effort.

Now. As a 65 yo black male, retired. I remember in high school I put in as much effort in Math. Science and music. As my friends put in on the Bball court. As friends would tease me and say you can't dunk. I used to say. I can solve and graph any function. So at 61, sold my Interest in an engineering firm and now I'm designing guitar pickups. My race, nah. My effort yah!

grades according to Asian parents: A - average B - below average C - can't get dinner D - don't come home F - find a new family

I went to school in Indonesia until grade 4. When I went to a western-style international school in grade 5, I was suddenly considered a "gifted" math student and was always placed in the honors class until grade 12. Maybe it is the overall cultural attitude, but that also impacts the education system. Schools in many Asian countries just go through math curriculum faster, from grade 1. What is considered an "honors class" in the US is just the regular curriculum in many Asian countries. And yes, Indonesia is a rice-growing country. But I think our culture is a lot less workaholic than East Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China.

Fun video but the historical link to rice farming is only a small factor in performance differences. My son was one of very few non asians in his public HS class - the common characteristics of these families: 1) at least one parent was attached to their child and supervised STEM homework actively from grade 6 onward; 2) the families did not buy into currently trendy intersectional ideas of disadvantage; 3) the families instilled a work ethic almost to a fault because immigrant parents sacrifice so much get to NA and to put their kids in a position to succeed

I taught for over 30 years at a high school and then at a college. By far the best predictor of success in all areas of life is the students peer group. Nobody in the high achieving peer group wants to be the low scoring student. Nobody in the low acheiving peer group cares how they scored, so long as they pass. In certain female peer groups consider not using protection or birth control and getting pregnant to be stupid, while in other female peer groups becoming a single mother is almost a rite of passage. Family and teachers certainly can be an influence, but the standards of the peer group has by far the most profound effect.

The parental example of having a strong work ethic and parental involvement in their kids’ education is another factor.

I sincerely felt that "i didn't have what it takes" when taking math (calc) but i didn't apply myself. I gave up before I even tried.

I am an East Asian. Singaporean. I sucked at Math so Bad that you wouldn't believe. But as I grew older , I am much better at " Math " because I somehow got myself into the remittance industry and FX and exchange rates is a very important factor in my industry. And I am making a fair bit of money. I forced myself to be good at math because the income is just too sweet.

Excellent animation. Congrats!

One issue behind the lower scores in the US is the difference in emphasis. Primary school students in the US spend a lot of time learning to manipulate fractions eg. Divide five and three fourths by two and two thirds. Or adding fractions with mixed denominators. (also issues with constantly changing educational fads: common core curriculum, etc.) The metric-based world bypasses these fraction skills which hardly appear in the TIMSS tests. The US test results would improve if we matched the international math curriculum more closely.

Ok so... I am an Asian and I am an immigrant in America, now an American who is raising American born kids and yes 🤣when I see their maths.... I always hated maths but here's it's easy as hell.... I make fun of my girl 🤣which I shouldn't but I tell her learn the tricks we used to do in 90 s in Asia

I came here as a refugee from Vietnam and almost every friend I had in high school was a refugee from Asia. What I noticed is that the friends that sucked at reading comprehension and writing tend to work hard at math. The ones that sucked at everything went for sociology, communications or liberal arts degrees. I was in the same honors math courses, and except for my best friend (who was exceptionally gifted, so an outlier) no Asian I knew was exceptionally bright at math (i.e., they needed to do the homework--often spending a lot more time than prudent).

Effort vs Ability. Achievement vs. Self-Esteem. Value to others vs. Self-Worth. What you do vs. Who you are.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Places like Kumon really help. Practicing over, and over again until its engrained in your head.

I think it is that most Asian parents give a lot more importance in education for their children and push them to succeed academically that makes a lot of difference.

There is a bizzare situation in schools where those who do well in Maths and science get labelled as "geeks" , are looked down , social outcasts ....hence much lesser effort to be in that category...btw India is also in Asia , not sure why no data was shared around India

When I was in high school, I had a math teacher who gave us 100 problems a night for homework, and we reviewed them the next day. I was really good at math that year.

It's heartening to know that successful cultural traits can be emulated.

What I have noticed is that, Asian schools tend to be very competitive when it comes to academics. Even the students have a mindset of competitiveness so that even their slightest mistake in solving math problems make them think of themselves as failure or dishonor to their clan (Of course, not all Asian students are this way, but many are.). That is because whoever would score the lowest in a math test inside the classroom, that poor student would be left behind, and that is a shame. However I have noticed in the West that many young people (Again, I'm not saying all though) have a mindset of "who needs these math formulas in real life anyway?" so that they easily become frustrated and will no longer like to sit through the math problem they ought to solve. Just an observation though, I might be having a wrong conclusion.