Comparing American Students With Those In India & China

Hi IL,

A few weeks ago, there was an interview in "Good Morning America" where Diane Sawyer interviewed a venture capitalist named Bob Compton. He had produced a controversial documentary called "Two Million Minutes".

This is the time calculated during high school right from 9th grade till 12th grade.
In this documentary, there is a comparison between students from India and China to that of America. They have chosen 6 students (2 from each country) and drawn out comparisons with their way of life, studying, the minutes each of them spend in studying,extracurricular activities etc.

We bought this DVD recently and also showed to my children (so that they have an idea of the schools and education system in India)

I am providing the links below

ABC News: Documentary: U.S. Students Can't Compete

Comparing American Students With Those in China and India - US News and World Report

2 MILLION MINUTES :: A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON GLOBAL EDUCATION

2 MILLION MINUTES :: A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON GLOBAL EDUCATION


Please take time to go through the links and share your thoughts here!!

I know many IL out there with kids in USA and INDIA can relate to this.

You can also check out the responses from other parents in the first link (you need to click on the comments) . I was really amazed not only by the number of comments but by the difference and diversity in their views/opinions/beliefs

So all ILites out there....give all that you've got and let's have a healthy and eye opening discussion here!!!

Cheers
Krithika

Hi IL Moderators/Champions

Will the New ILites be able to open the links that I sent.
Or because of the recent changes, wont they be able to open them till they reach >50 posts?

Let me know, so that I can atlease copy&paste the contents so that everybody can see.

Thanks
Krithika

Hi IL,

I started this thread to initiate a healthy discussion on the EDUCATION SYSTEM BETWEEN INDIA, CHINA AND THE US.

The discussion can focuss on the following

1. Standards of Education- Public schools, Private schools,comments,syllabus
2. Competitive Spirit of Students
3. Importance of Education as a stepping stone to career
4. Role of Parents
5. System of Examination and Grading

List goes on....

Put on your thinking caps to have a lively discussion without prejudice!

Thanks
Krithika ( Jithiks)

Thanks so much for the links.Its very interesting.

Frankly,i am so proud to have been educated in India.I agree that we dont have the right set up during our formative years that the kids here have.
However,those educated there seem to be more equipped to withstand circumstances anywhere in the world.With globalization things are changing fast.There is competition everywhere.But kids here are more used to the comfort zone and to one way of doing things,which they willl find it hard to give up and adjust elsewhere.

This is a very good topic to debate on.

India is surely producing many engineers, but is it not necessary to dwell on the quality rather than the quantity? Compared to the US we have very few entrepreneurs which shows that we really lack the skills that are needed to be a leader. The Indian education system needs to change to help students think analytically rather than just reproduce the syllabus word to word on answer sheets.
Such a change would help us produce the likes of Bill Gates & Steve Jobs and push India to the forefront in the world rather than just be a land of engineers who service American companies.

-Deepa

Hi eternalbliss,

Thanks for your inputs and glad you liked the links.

The education system here, especially in elementary schools is not as competitive as in India. Children are not given much homework in the fear of putting too much pressure on them.

On the whole, the foundation needs to be more rigorous and geared up here, to prepare the kids for their middle & high school.

On the contrary, there is sudden increase or should I say, the curriculum is taken up a notch from 6th grade onwards...when the kids are not used to studying much in their elementary schools...they find it tough...and we see many dropouts.

If there is consistency in the education system right from early years, this problem can be overcome.

Keep posting your thoughts all of you!!

Cheers
Krithika ( Jithiks)

Originally Posted by eternalbliss

Thanks so much for the links.Its very interesting.

Frankly,i am so proud to have been educated in India.I agree that we dont have the right set up during our formative years that the kids here have.
However,those educated there seem to be more equipped to withstand circumstances anywhere in the world.With globalization things are changing fast.There is competition everywhere.But kids here are more used to the comfort zone and to one way of doing things,which they willl find it hard to give up and adjust elsewhere.

I agree! There has to be a good combination of competitiveness and more incentives towards acheiving through our education system.We need to understand and re-define what success in life really means.We also need to realize that there are other fields that can be explored .As a society we need more confident and most importantly "happy" people.

Originally Posted by Deepae

This is a very good topic to debate on.

India is surely producing many engineers, but is not necessary to dwell on the quality rather than the quantity? Compared to the US we have very few entrepreneurs which shows that we really lack the skills that are needed to be a leader. The Indian education system needs to change to help students think analytically rather than just reproduce the syllabus word to word on answer sheets.
Such a change would help us produce the likes of Bill Gates & Steve Jobs and push India to the forefront in the world rather than just be a land of engineers who service American companies.

-Deepa

Hi Deepae,

Thanks for your opinion.

You are absolutely right and I endorse your view. Leadership qualities are lacking in many Indians because of the lack of exposure. Right from an young age, here the children are exposed to the real world and allowed to make mistakes.

But in india, the kids are protected when they are young, that makes them hesitate to speak out or take a lead.

Having said that, in India, the education is more to do with scoring high grades, coming first in the class. But here in US, the kids are given more hands on approach in all subjects and their science/social knowledge is not restricted to books.

We will continue this healthy exchange of views.....

Cheers
Krithika ( Jithiks)

Originally Posted by Deepae

This is a very good topic to debate on.

India is surely producing many engineers, but is not necessary to dwell on the quality rather than the quantity? Compared to the US we have very few entrepreneurs which shows that we really lack the skills that are needed to be a leader. The Indian education system needs to change to help students think analytically rather than just reproduce the syllabus word to word on answer sheets.
Such a change would help us produce the likes of Bill Gates & Steve Jobs and push India to the forefront in the world rather than just be a land of engineers who service American companies.

-Deepa

Thank you Krithika & Eternalbliss for adding some great points to the discussion. Both the Indian as well as the American system have some strong points which when combined can contribute to growth. Hope future India picks up the right things from the western world & makes good progress.
This I think would be the wish of all Indians no matter where they live.

-Deepa

Hi Deepa,

You are most welcome ! Thank you once again for making a contribution to this thread.

As you rightly said, our kids studying here have the advantage of studying in American schools, combined with our mentoring (since we had studied in India) they can come up in flying colors!

They have the best of both worlds and if they use it to their advantage, they can build a very strong foundation for their future.

Cheers
Krithika ( Jithiks)

Originally Posted by Deepae

Thank you Krithika & Eternalbliss for adding some great points to the discussion. Both the Indian as well as the American system have some strong points which when combined can contribute to growth. Hope future India picks up the right things from the western world & makes good progress.
This I think would be the wish of all Indians no matter where they live.

-Deepa