Listen to the following article and write a 2-3 sentence response. Also, comment on one other person's response.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/12/164793058/struggle-for-smarts-how-eastern-and-western-cultures-tackle-learning
I found this article very interesting. I notice this in my classroom everyday with ALL my students - even my asian students. Students do not like to struggle, if they do not know something, within 20 second they give up and expect it to be explained or the answer given to them. Something could be learned from the Western ways, allow the students to struggle a litte. We have to teach our students and parents that it is okay for them to struggle a little to achieve greatly.
I agree with you about our students do not try enough and give up in that hope that a teacher will give them answers. I always tell my students that keep trying until you understand.
I thought the article was interesting, also. My students act the same as your students when it comes to not knowing the answer in sometimes less than 20 seconds then they ask me for help and when I tell them to try to figure it out themselves, then they shut down. I get the same reaction when they figure out the answer and then they want immediate feedback on that one problem. I think we need to learn from the Western school and allow our students to struggle and not give them hints to help them out. I think we have smart students and we need them to show themselves that they can figure out the problem themselves.
I think students learn more when they have to figure it out for themselves. I often have caught myself giving the answers when I should have allowed them to problem solve.
That's my philosophy also, but on days like I had today, I end up telling them. Even after telling them, they just didn't comprehend the concept I was trying to teach. One of the general ed teachers shared she had the same experience, so I guess I should be too hard on my kiddos! (what is 1/2 of 8)
I work in a Title I school and most of the students are below grade level in reading. Monday, I handed to my highest reading group, a book leveled at 5.3. Two of the students recoiled from the amount of text on the page and three were thrilled. One of the nervous and reticent boys was an ELL and I immediately felt guilty, but since even his reading level was extraordinarily high and I found the others so excited, I persisted. By today, Wednesday, I could tell he was relaxing into the new level of challenge, and proudly soldiering on.
I agree our students seem to be conditioned for immediate response. They push a button and something happens. Most of the time they have no idea why. This effects what happens in the classroom because not only do many students not want to try hard. When they make a mistake they don't want to think about what went wrong they just want the correct answer. We owe it to them to teach them how to solve problems and think for themselves.
I agree we really have a responsiblity to teach our students to solve problems. Solving problems give confidence to try. I complimented one of my students today who failed a test and it motivated her to get an A on the next test. This child has had a hardship of slowing losing her hearing. She had to struggle and has overcome her disability.
I liked the article and I think it is true that our students give up very quickly instead of trying. On one instance, one of my students asked me if I can do his work for him. When I said,"no" then he offered me a one dollar per question. I remember when I was in Pakistan, and I could not comprehend the concept of long division the first time. My dad told me that take the entire day to learn instead of giving up. He told me that he will not give me an answer to that problem till I learn how to do it. I tell the same thing to my students and some times they do like this.
Do you see this when you are asking your students to problem solve? Problem solving is a task that takes time and I think our students are trained early that if they can not figure out the answer to ask the teacher and she will help you. Our version of help varies and I think some teachers think that helping a student is giving them the answer. I am glad that your students respond even if it is only sometimes to working out the problem themselves. Kudos to you for pressing them and having those expectations and not giving in.
Wow, I have students ask me for answers and for me to do their work for them. However, I have never have had one be so bold to offer to pay me. My goodness. Your dad is a smart man. We need to train ourselves to not give in so easy to our students and make them try, really try to solve their problems before offering up answers and hints.
I really believe that my dad is a very smart man because he knew that struggling in early stages can make a child smart. One time my student asked me that how do I know my multiplication table so well. I told him about my dad that he did not give me an answer and let me tried again and again. That's why I remember the tables. He said, "you should have used a calculator. This is what I use when I can not do my math". It is very smart answer but a little scary because some of our students do not know basic math.
I also believe my dad was a very smart man! While listening to the article, I remember learning how to drive a "stick" car. At the time my parents lived in North Carolina in a very mountain area. In order to get to their house, I had to make a sharp right turn going up hill at the bottom of another hill. Of course, I stalled. I thought of walking the mile to their home to get help (before cell phones!), but could hear Dad's comment: Nancy it's your car and you need to learn how to drive it. So I did some self-talk and finally made it up that hill! I was so proud that I figured out how to navigate that curve all by myself! I try to apply that strategy when teaching. Yes, sometimes I have to wait a long time for the students to understand or figure out the concept, but once they figure it out they have it for life!
Hi, I am impressed with you and stick shift. I tried to learn with my husband but could not do it. I was able to go straight but not on top of the hill. I agree with you that trying can make you achieve your goals.
We live in a fast pace society here in USA. We want our food prepared fast so we go out and have fast food. We want our money out of the bank now so we go to ATM machines. We are training our children to want results immediately and not work so hard or struggle. Students in my class work on a problem then they immediately come up to me and want to know if the problem is correct. My response is always, "Please finish the rest of the problems and we will go over the answers tomorrow." My students do not like that answer at all. They need to learn that sometimes you don’t get immediate results and you have to be patient. This I think also gives them time to go home and check over their work. I think we should teach patience but since we have to cram all the common core plus fit time to standardize test in there that we sometimes encourage our students not to be patient and we don’t give them enough time to struggle through solving problems. We give hints instead of allowing the students to figure it out themselves. I am guilty of when we are close to the end of the 9 weeks but I am going to try not to do this at the end of this 9 weeks. I know we here in the East have more stress because of our fast pace society. I think we can learn from the West and strife to get the results they get from their students who struggle but finally figure out the answers without the teachers help.
I am glad you mentioned the common core. Isn't it ironic that the common core is said to be aimed at assessing students' learning at higher levels yet the students have to be crammed with information in such a way that they do not have enough time to think and problem solve and persevere? I believe teachers are torn between encouraging our students to think as against hurriedly preparing them to pass tests.
Very true!!! We have so much to teach and not enough time. I want my students to use higher level thinking skills more than they do, but then again I have to move on to the next AKS. It's almost like the students have to get it right the first time in order to have time to learn everything before the nine weeks is over.
I was quite intrigued by this article for several reasons.The most important of which is my long standing opinion that students nowadays(in the U.S.) are not allowed to think for themselves. I beleive that they are spoon fed in every area of learning.They are given calculators when instead they should be allowed to exercises their mental capacity to carry out computations. They are given graphic organizers to carry out a simple piece of writing and the list can goes on and on.In my classroom, I try to get my students to figure things out on their own and reward them for it. That element of perseverance in eastern cultures is effective in creating thinkers and problem solvers. It makes me think also about modification plans that are devised for ELL's. Are these plans really helping the student? or are they simply lowering standards and thereby encouraging low achievement in our ELL's? I do agree that students need to be given a certain amount of support but that does not mean that they should not be allowed to think and problem solve on their own. this is indeed food for thought.
Claudia, I agree. It does concern me that we are lowering the expectations for our ELL's. Language is a true barrier, but who are we to decide what they are not capable of without letting them try. I expose my ELLs to all aspects of learning in all subjects areas at all times. I give modifications for the ones that cannot succeed without them. Great point!
Very interesting article, and absolutely correct. Yes, we in American society are too quick to jump. We need to take the time needed to teach deep common core, and thankfully we are in that direction. With this being my second year in a Title 1 school, I have found that second language learners tend be pushed into learning as opposed to learning for themselves. This creates a very stressful atmosphere for our learners. They need to know that it is ok to to make mistakes, that trying is learning, and that they are in a safe learning environment to take risks. This is what I love about the common core, as everything is taught in a hands-on learning atmosphere where kids love to try and explore. Motivation is key and if the students feel successful, they are. Teachers need to give the students the problems, teach them how to break them down, and let the students do the rest. Always expect the most....never say this is too hard for them to understand. I guarantee if you give them a chance, they will surprise you.
I agree the we want results immediately. I think we sometimes need to focus on the what we learned along the way not just the end result. Last year when my son was trying to build a mousetrap racecar, he had a difficult time. I emailed the teacher and asked if they would be able to problem solve after the project and correct the mistakes. I was told no and I realized the students lost out on a huge learning opportunity because they could not go back and fix the mistakes. They never learned why one car worked better than others.
I agree. The students would have gotten so much more out of the project if they were given the time to correct their mistakes. I can't think of any profession that doesn't learn from their mistakes. Truly a teachable moment lost.
I believe that our students need to understand that struggling is part of learning. I often struggled with Math until I had a teacher that told me not to give up and created learning experiences that pushed me to work harder. He was Chinese and a great teacher. I never knew that was part of his culture. I think students should be taught that struggling is part of learning. You don't give up. You work harder and find a way.
I agree Josh. I told my students the other day about struggling with math when I was in fifth grade. They were surprised because they know that math is my favorite subject. I reassured them that struggling does not mean you are not smart area.
For me, the most intriguing idea in the article was contrasting the cultural assumptions about the source of academic success. In the USA, "people who are smart don't struggle. They just naturally get IT. IT is something inside you." In Asia, "It resides in what they do but not in who they are." In the USA, it is the smart one who is the "good" student, but in China and Japan, it is the persistent one who is "good". We need to guarantee all of our students daily opportunities for struggle.
Don't you just love the word "IT" in our language? Superstars have "IT" to become popular, people can be attracted to other people because they just have "IT" going on, and the smart kids are the ones who just get "IT". Yes, I understand that there are those students who learning just comes easier and more naturally to them, but the ones that have to work harder and try multiple times should not feel punished because of their repeated efforts.
You've got IT! That comment comes out of my mouth too quickly. Students who get IT quickly haven't experienced the struggle which in and of itself is where the real learning takes place. I will continue to push for the struggle . . . it takes lots of patience, but in the end they have learned a task for life.
This article is extremely interesting. After listening to the two conversations between the Asian mother and child and the American mother and child, I think back to conversations I have had with my own son. I need to take a different approach and not always tell my son how smart he is but encourage him that difficult tasks take time and effort even if it is a struggle. I also found it interesting that the "Western" approach produced more creative kids and not "robots" as was stated in the article. If we find a balance between the Eastern and Western cultures, we can provide great learning and teaching in our classrooms.
Wow! What an interesting article. I found this to be VERY informative and very ironic because I just had this conversation with my math class. I teach an average math class, and many of my math students have a weakness in math. They are strong readers and writers, but they must work a little more in math. Because of this, I see them give up all of the time. If they have even a slightly challenging assignment, they are saying, “It’s too hard” before they’ve had time to think about it. After reading this article a few days ago, I decided today to share with my math class the study that was performed. I decided this only after my students were begging for help while trying to complete an exemplar. I told them about the Japanese students that worked on a problem that was unable to be solved for an hour. They were shocked! They just couldn’t believe it. I stressed to them the importance of trying to work through a problem and trying to find different ways to solve problems. I explained to them that things might be hard, but it’s good for them to challenge themselves, and if they can’t get something right away, that is OKAY! :)
I liked this article very much. I aso saw this same behavior in my class last year. I worked hard to have my class accept that it is okay to get it wrong then try again until you get it right . They were very resistant at first but by the end of the year most had come around.
I agree Laura. I am still having the same issue as you in my class. As a science teacher, it's so hard to get the students to think and come up with their own hypotheses, conclusions and so forth. They are affraid of being wrong.
I have seen the resistance to keep trying when things get difficult in children every year within the classroom. I was so glad to see this article so I can get more information on why they are this way. With my young students, I also battle with getting them to try because they have always had a parent do things for them. They are not used to being independent. I push my students everyday to be problem solvers and to rely on their own brains to help them rather than the brains of others.
Megan, I really like your comment about the parents. In my opinion, parents get way too insecure in the school environment because they feel that they have failed if their child has failed. While that may be true in some situations, failure should not always be seen as a negative.
After listening to the NPR story, I can now understand why so many of our students don't try their best in school. If you are taught to view success as a result of hard work, then you will work hard to achieve goals. However, if you are taught that success is a result of something inside of you and you don't feel that you possess that "something" then you won't try because the thought process is, "I can't change who I am, so I'll never have what it takes to achieve this goal".
The NPR story makes perfect sense to me. I actually experience the different outlooks while in the classroom. I try to tell my kids that all the time. Just because a student got the answer correct doesn't necessarily mean that he/she is smarter. It just means that he/she is spending time doing what I asked him/her to do to prepare for class. I also believe like the Asians and always thought that being successful in school and in anything that you do in life does not mainly depend on how smart you are but also on how hard you work and your motivation to get there.
Elaine, I try to impress that being smart is nothing if you can't use/apply it. I have a 15 year old nephew and he feels superior to his brothers and his cousins because he gets straight As and this he is able to do because he can memorize and regurgitate. He belittles others and parades his perceived intelligence; however, he is simply a parrot. There is not an original idea in his head. He cannot take the facts and use them beyond the situation in which they were taught, BUT yet he is smart.
I see this everyday in my 1st grade classroom. The students give up almost immediately, or write something very quickly and are done. It is frustrating for me, they want help for everything even the simplest of tasks. I believe strongly in giving work that is slightly above their level, keep raising the expectation. In the past I have seen students rise to the level, but in recent years something is different. Students just don't seem to care, only wanting to finish quickly, right or wrong. I teach at a school with middle to upper class families and it is frustrating to watch so much potential sit stagnant.
This sounds like my students. I am not sure because children today are given everything they need and don't have to work for it? My team mates and I were iscussing how students don't want to keep trying and give up easily. I am reminded of the tortoise and hare. The tortoise was slow, but it kept trying and did not give up. i share with my students and children at home that struggle is a part of life. Struggling builds us up mentallly and physically.
I agree with you Ruelita but our students do not persevere, at least not at the high school level. Instead of tackling something difficult or new, they either give up or wait for the answer or copy from their neighbor. The goal is not the learning but simply getting a grade even if they have not earned it.
What Stigler and Li share in this article support what many teachers who have taught multi-cultural populations have observed for years in their classes. But it's been a taboo thing to discuss in public because it makes us sound like we are judging our own nation's children too harshly and speaking prejudiciously. But this article to me is a validation of what we have been trying to tell parents in conferences and phone calls - that challenge is good and necessary. That struggling and working hard is okay - that it develops perseverance and character. That it's not a sign their child lacks the intelligence or that the "teacher is too hard." As a gifted program Math teacher the last 15 years of my public school career, I observed that the first generation students from Asian coutries were never uncomfortable with challenge. They didn't complain - they never gave up on "impossible" problems. They set the standards high for the other students and created a healthy atmosphere of competition in the classroom. Today, as I volunteer work in a school for refugee girls, I see even more evidence of this drive and determination. Most of them have had little or no previous schooling. They have an amazing excitement about taking on challenge - they "yearn to learn." That spirit is with them all three years they are at the school. Most of them achieve in three years what children in public schools achieve in nine - and some have excel even beyond that. Their attitute comes from the lessons they have learned through their families's struggles getting to America - that challenges are not stopping blocks, that the greatest tests in the life bring great rewards.
I really enjoyed the listen but one thing that jumped out at me were Spiegel's words "better." Why is one system better than the other, instead of simply different. There are as she states advantages to both cultures, Western & Eastern. However, I find that Western culture is really limited by our new system of being politically correct whereby we are more concerned with a student's esteem and privacy than teaching them to struggle through the process. My students refuse to come to the board if they don't know something and I really don't have the authority to subject them to the "embarrassment". I would not be supported by my administration if the parent were to call complaining I had put little Johnny on the spot. To embrace the idea of struggling through the process is going to take a revolution of why American students are even in school, to learn...what a novel idea!
I found this article very interesting. I notice this in my classroom everyday with ALL my students - even my asian students. Students do not like to struggle, if they do not know something, within 20 second they give up and expect it to be explained or the answer given to them. Something could be learned from the Western ways, allow the students to struggle a litte. We have to teach our students and parents that it is okay for them to struggle a little to achieve greatly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about our students do not try enough and give up in that hope that a teacher will give them answers. I always tell my students that keep trying until you understand.
DeleteI thought the article was interesting, also. My students act the same as your students when it comes to not knowing the answer in sometimes less than 20 seconds then they ask me for help and when I tell them to try to figure it out themselves, then they shut down. I get the same reaction when they figure out the answer and then they want immediate feedback on that one problem. I think we need to learn from the Western school and allow our students to struggle and not give them hints to help them out. I think we have smart students and we need them to show themselves that they can figure out the problem themselves.
DeleteI think students learn more when they have to figure it out for themselves. I often have caught myself giving the answers when I should have allowed them to problem solve.
DeleteThat's my philosophy also, but on days like I had today, I end up telling them. Even after telling them, they just didn't comprehend the concept I was trying to teach. One of the general ed teachers shared she had the same experience, so I guess I should be too hard on my kiddos! (what is 1/2 of 8)
DeleteI work in a Title I school and most of the students are below grade level in reading. Monday, I handed to my highest reading group, a book leveled at 5.3. Two of the students recoiled from the amount of text on the page and three were thrilled. One of the nervous and reticent boys was an ELL and I immediately felt guilty, but since even his reading level was extraordinarily high and I found the others so excited, I persisted. By today, Wednesday, I could tell he was relaxing into the new level of challenge, and proudly soldiering on.
DeleteI agree our students seem to be conditioned for immediate response. They push a button and something happens. Most of the time they have no idea why.
DeleteThis effects what happens in the classroom because not only do many students not want to try hard. When they make a mistake they don't want to think about what went wrong they just want the correct answer.
We owe it to them to teach them how to solve problems and think for themselves.
I agree we really have a responsiblity to teach our students to solve problems. Solving problems give confidence to try. I complimented one of my students today who failed a test and it motivated her to get an A on the next test. This child has had a hardship of slowing losing her hearing. She had to struggle and has overcome her disability.
DeleteI liked the article and I think it is true that our students give up very quickly instead of trying. On one instance, one of my students asked me if I can do his work for him. When I said,"no" then he offered me a one dollar per question. I remember when I was in Pakistan, and I could not comprehend the concept of long division the first time. My dad told me that take the entire day to learn instead of giving up. He told me that he will not give me an answer to that problem till I learn how to do it. I tell the same thing to my students and some times they do like this.
ReplyDeleteDo you see this when you are asking your students to problem solve? Problem solving is a task that takes time and I think our students are trained early that if they can not figure out the answer to ask the teacher and she will help you. Our version of help varies and I think some teachers think that helping a student is giving them the answer. I am glad that your students respond even if it is only sometimes to working out the problem themselves. Kudos to you for pressing them and having those expectations and not giving in.
DeleteWow, I have students ask me for answers and for me to do their work for them. However, I have never have had one be so bold to offer to pay me. My goodness. Your dad is a smart man. We need to train ourselves to not give in so easy to our students and make them try, really try to solve their problems before offering up answers and hints.
DeleteI really believe that my dad is a very smart man because he knew that struggling in early stages can make a child smart. One time my student asked me that how do I know my multiplication table so well. I told him about my dad that he did not give me an answer and let me tried again and again. That's why I remember the tables. He said, "you should have used a calculator. This is what I use when I can not do my math". It is very smart answer but a little scary because some of our students do not know basic math.
DeleteI also believe my dad was a very smart man! While listening to the article, I remember learning how to drive a "stick" car. At the time my parents lived in North Carolina in a very mountain area. In order to get to their house, I had to make a sharp right turn going up hill at the bottom of another hill. Of course, I stalled. I thought of walking the mile to their home to get help (before cell phones!), but could hear Dad's comment: Nancy it's your car and you need to learn how to drive it. So I did some self-talk and finally made it up that hill! I was so proud that I figured out how to navigate that curve all by myself! I try to apply that strategy when teaching. Yes, sometimes I have to wait a long time for the students to understand or figure out the concept, but once they figure it out they have it for life!
DeleteHi, I am impressed with you and stick shift. I tried to learn with my husband but could not do it. I was able to go straight but not on top of the hill. I agree with you that trying can make you achieve your goals.
DeleteWe live in a fast pace society here in USA. We want our food prepared fast so we go out and have fast food. We want our money out of the bank now so we go to ATM machines. We are training our children to want results immediately and not work so hard or struggle. Students in my class work on a problem then they immediately come up to me and want to know if the problem is correct. My response is always, "Please finish the rest of the problems and we will go over the answers tomorrow." My students do not like that answer at all. They need to learn that sometimes you don’t get immediate results and you have to be patient. This I think also gives them time to go home and check over their work. I think we should teach patience but since we have to cram all the common core plus fit time to standardize test in there that we sometimes encourage our students not to be patient and we don’t give them enough time to struggle through solving problems. We give hints instead of allowing the students to figure it out themselves. I am guilty of when we are close to the end of the 9 weeks but I am going to try not to do this at the end of this 9 weeks. I know we here in the East have more stress because of our fast pace society. I think we can learn from the West and strife to get the results they get from their students who struggle but finally figure out the answers without the teachers help.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you mentioned the common core. Isn't it ironic that the common core is said to be aimed at assessing students' learning at higher levels yet the students have to be crammed with information in such a way that they do not have enough time to think and problem solve and persevere? I believe teachers are torn between encouraging our students to think as against hurriedly preparing them to pass tests.
DeleteVery true!!! We have so much to teach and not enough time. I want my students to use higher level thinking skills more than they do, but then again I have to move on to the next AKS. It's almost like the students have to get it right the first time in order to have time to learn everything before the nine weeks is over.
DeleteI was quite intrigued by this article for several reasons.The most important of which is my long standing opinion that students nowadays(in the U.S.) are not allowed to think for themselves. I beleive that they are spoon fed in every area of learning.They are given calculators when instead they should be allowed to exercises their mental capacity to carry out computations. They are given graphic organizers to carry out a simple piece of writing and the list can goes on and on.In my classroom, I try to get my students to figure things out on their own and reward them for it. That element of perseverance in eastern cultures is effective in creating thinkers and problem solvers. It makes me think also about modification plans that are devised for ELL's. Are these plans really helping the student? or are they simply lowering standards and thereby encouraging low achievement in our ELL's? I do agree that students need to be given a certain amount of support but that does not mean that they should not be allowed to think and problem solve on their own. this is indeed food for thought.
ReplyDeleteClaudia, I agree. It does concern me that we are lowering the expectations for our ELL's. Language is a true barrier, but who are we to decide what they are not capable of without letting them try. I expose my ELLs to all aspects of learning in all subjects areas at all times. I give modifications for the ones that cannot succeed without them. Great point!
DeleteVery interesting article, and absolutely correct. Yes, we in American society are too quick to jump. We need to take the time needed to teach deep common core, and thankfully we are in that direction. With this being my second year in a Title 1 school, I have found that second language learners tend be pushed into learning as opposed to learning for themselves. This creates a very stressful atmosphere for our learners. They need to know that it is ok to to make mistakes, that trying is learning, and that they are in a safe learning environment to take risks. This is what I love about the common core, as everything is taught in a hands-on learning atmosphere where kids love to try and explore. Motivation is key and if the students feel successful, they are. Teachers need to give the students the problems, teach them how to break them down, and let the students do the rest. Always expect the most....never say this is too hard for them to understand. I guarantee if you give them a chance, they will surprise you.
ReplyDeleteI agree the we want results immediately. I think we sometimes need to focus on the what we learned along the way not just the end result. Last year when my son was trying to build a mousetrap racecar, he had a difficult time. I emailed the teacher and asked if they would be able to problem solve after the project and correct the mistakes. I was told no and I realized the students lost out on a huge learning opportunity because they could not go back and fix the mistakes. They never learned why one car worked better than others.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The students would have gotten so much more out of the project if they were given the time to correct their mistakes. I can't think of any profession that doesn't learn from their mistakes. Truly a teachable moment lost.
DeleteI believe that our students need to understand that struggling is part of learning. I often struggled with Math until I had a teacher that told me not to give up and created learning experiences that pushed me to work harder. He was Chinese and a great teacher. I never knew that was part of his culture. I think students should be taught that struggling is part of learning. You don't give up. You work harder and find a way.
ReplyDeleteI agree Josh. I told my students the other day about struggling with math when I was in fifth grade. They were surprised because they know that math is my favorite subject. I reassured them that struggling does not mean you are not smart area.
DeleteFor me, the most intriguing idea in the article was contrasting the cultural assumptions about the source of academic success. In the USA, "people who are smart don't struggle. They just naturally get IT. IT is something inside you." In Asia, "It resides in what they do but not in who they are." In the USA, it is the smart one who is the "good" student, but in China and Japan, it is the persistent one who is "good". We need to guarantee all of our students daily opportunities for struggle.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love the word "IT" in our language? Superstars have "IT" to become popular, people can be attracted to other people because they just have "IT" going on, and the smart kids are the ones who just get "IT". Yes, I understand that there are those students who learning just comes easier and more naturally to them, but the ones that have to work harder and try multiple times should not feel punished because of their repeated efforts.
DeleteYou've got IT! That comment comes out of my mouth too quickly. Students who get IT quickly haven't experienced the struggle which in and of itself is where the real learning takes place. I will continue to push for the struggle . . . it takes lots of patience, but in the end they have learned a task for life.
DeleteThis article is extremely interesting. After listening to the two conversations between the Asian mother and child and the American mother and child, I think back to conversations I have had with my own son. I need to take a different approach and not always tell my son how smart he is but encourage him that difficult tasks take time and effort even if it is a struggle. I also found it interesting that the "Western" approach produced more creative kids and not "robots" as was stated in the article. If we find a balance between the Eastern and Western cultures, we can provide great learning and teaching in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an interesting article. I found this to be VERY informative and very ironic because I just had this conversation with my math class. I teach an average math class, and many of my math students have a weakness in math. They are strong readers and writers, but they must work a little more in math. Because of this, I see them give up all of the time. If they have even a slightly challenging assignment, they are saying, “It’s too hard” before they’ve had time to think about it. After reading this article a few days ago, I decided today to share with my math class the study that was performed. I decided this only after my students were begging for help while trying to complete an exemplar. I told them about the Japanese students that worked on a problem that was unable to be solved for an hour. They were shocked! They just couldn’t believe it. I stressed to them the importance of trying to work through a problem and trying to find different ways to solve problems. I explained to them that things might be hard, but it’s good for them to challenge themselves, and if they can’t get something right away, that is OKAY! :)
ReplyDeleteI liked this article very much. I aso saw this same behavior in my class last year. I worked hard to have my class accept that it is okay to get it wrong then try again until you get it right . They were very resistant at first but by the end of the year most had come around.
ReplyDeleteI agree Laura. I am still having the same issue as you in my class. As a science teacher, it's so hard to get the students to think and come up with their own hypotheses, conclusions and so forth. They are affraid of being wrong.
DeleteI have seen the resistance to keep trying when things get difficult in children every year within the classroom. I was so glad to see this article so I can get more information on why they are this way. With my young students, I also battle with getting them to try because they have always had a parent do things for them. They are not used to being independent. I push my students everyday to be problem solvers and to rely on their own brains to help them rather than the brains of others.
ReplyDeleteMegan, I really like your comment about the parents. In my opinion, parents get way too insecure in the school environment because they feel that they have failed if their child has failed. While that may be true in some situations, failure should not always be seen as a negative.
DeleteAfter listening to the NPR story, I can now understand why so many of our students don't try their best in school. If you are taught to view success as a result of hard work, then you will work hard to achieve goals. However, if you are taught that success is a result of something inside of you and you don't feel that you possess that "something" then you won't try because the thought process is, "I can't change who I am, so I'll never have what it takes to achieve this goal".
ReplyDeleteThe NPR story makes perfect sense to me. I actually experience the different outlooks while in the classroom. I try to tell my kids that all the time. Just because a student got the answer correct doesn't necessarily mean that he/she is smarter. It just means that he/she is spending time doing what I asked him/her to do to prepare for class. I also believe like the Asians and always thought that being successful in school and in anything that you do in life does not mainly depend on how smart you are but also on how hard you work and your motivation to get there.
ReplyDeleteElaine, I try to impress that being smart is nothing if you can't use/apply it. I have a 15 year old nephew and he feels superior to his brothers and his cousins because he gets straight As and this he is able to do because he can memorize and regurgitate. He belittles others and parades his perceived intelligence; however, he is simply a parrot. There is not an original idea in his head. He cannot take the facts and use them beyond the situation in which they were taught, BUT yet he is smart.
DeleteI see this everyday in my 1st grade classroom. The students give up almost immediately, or write something very quickly and are done. It is frustrating for me, they want help for everything even the simplest of tasks. I believe strongly in giving work that is slightly above their level, keep raising the expectation. In the past I have seen students rise to the level, but in recent years something is different. Students just don't seem to care, only wanting to finish quickly, right or wrong. I teach at a school with middle to upper class families and it is frustrating to watch so much potential sit stagnant.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like my students. I am not sure because children today are given everything they need and don't have to work for it? My team mates and I were iscussing how students don't want to keep trying and give up easily. I am reminded of the tortoise and hare. The tortoise was slow, but it kept trying and did not give up.
ReplyDeletei share with my students and children at home that struggle is a part of life. Struggling builds us up mentallly and physically.
I agree with you Ruelita but our students do not persevere, at least not at the high school level. Instead of tackling something difficult or new, they either give up or wait for the answer or copy from their neighbor. The goal is not the learning but simply getting a grade even if they have not earned it.
DeleteWhat Stigler and Li share in this article support what many teachers who have taught multi-cultural populations have observed for years in their classes. But it's been a taboo thing to discuss in public because it makes us sound like we are judging our own nation's children too harshly and speaking prejudiciously. But this article to me is a validation of what we have been trying to tell parents in conferences and phone calls - that challenge is good and necessary. That struggling and working hard is okay - that it develops perseverance and character. That it's not a sign their child lacks the intelligence or that the "teacher is too hard." As a gifted program Math teacher the last 15 years of my public school career, I observed that the first generation students from Asian coutries were never uncomfortable with challenge. They didn't complain - they never gave up on "impossible" problems. They set the standards high for the other students and created a healthy atmosphere of competition in the classroom. Today, as I volunteer work in a school for refugee girls, I see even more evidence of this drive and determination. Most of them have had little or no previous schooling. They have an amazing excitement about taking on challenge - they "yearn to learn." That spirit is with them all three years they are at the school. Most of them achieve in three years what children in public schools achieve in nine - and some have excel even beyond that. Their attitute comes from the lessons they have learned through their families's struggles getting to America - that challenges are not stopping blocks, that the greatest tests in the life bring great rewards.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the listen but one thing that jumped out at me were Spiegel's words "better." Why is one system better than the other, instead of simply different. There are as she states advantages to both cultures, Western & Eastern. However, I find that Western culture is really limited by our new system of being politically correct whereby we are more concerned with a student's esteem and privacy than teaching them to struggle through the process. My students refuse to come to the board if they don't know something and I really don't have the authority to subject them to the "embarrassment". I would not be supported by my administration if the parent were to call complaining I had put little Johnny on the spot. To embrace the idea of struggling through the process is going to take a revolution of why American students are even in school, to learn...what a novel idea!
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