Before anyone says anything about stereotypes and predjudice - just stop. Let's face it - by the average guy's standards, Asians are better at maths. And although this is not always the case, we cannot deny the fact that we've all been trumped by an Asian in a maths test sometime in our life. Before I continue analyzing possible reasons for this strange phenomena, take a look at the following comparison:
It is clearly evident that the average Asian is better able to manage complex mathematics sums than non-Asians. Of course, this cannot simply be assumed by looking at the above example, but I base my opinion on facts as many studies have been done on the matter (including one by the BBC). After much consideration, I have outlined the following as the most likely reasons for this strange phenomenon (call it "x"...)
1) Societal Pressures -
In most Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, there is immense societal pressure on students
to perform well. Many generations of hard working people have created an "acceptable standard" at
which students are expected to perform. The educational systems in these countries supports these ideals
and pushes students hard (often too hard to allow decent freedom in one's life). The time that a child
spends at school varies, but can often be from ten to twelve hours a day. In addition, weekends are not
resting periods - most Asian schools require pupils to attend school six days a week. Scary stuff. In a
nutshell, the standard of Asian schools is far higher than Western countries, and in addition the
expectations that parents place on students is remarkably high.
2) Population -
Currently China has a population of 1,325,639,982 people, South Korea is sitting at roughly 48,607,000.
In today's world, one must either sink or swim. Students must work as hard as they possibly can in order
to ensure that they have a job and can feed themselves. This of course, is no different to any other
country - except that the huge populations in these countries results in students pushing themselves even
harder than they would have otherwise. This reason should really be reffered to as "competition" as that
is the fundamental idea here.
In conclusion: adaptation -
Due to the above two reasons, the Asian community is pressured into being clever. Now I know this sounds wrong, but get what I am saying here. Many years of dedication and hard work, and a good mental attitude can result in people's thought being "moulded" into an ideal way. I believe this is exactly what is happening here - they are just so damn clever! I would like to say that no-one should feel offended by this post, I have been talking about the Asian community as a seperate unit to everyone else. This was only to make things easier - in reality it does not matter where you are from or what skin colour you have because we are all different in our own ways, and should feel united because of that.
1) Societal Pressures -
In most Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, there is immense societal pressure on students
to perform well. Many generations of hard working people have created an "acceptable standard" at
which students are expected to perform. The educational systems in these countries supports these ideals
and pushes students hard (often too hard to allow decent freedom in one's life). The time that a child
spends at school varies, but can often be from ten to twelve hours a day. In addition, weekends are not
resting periods - most Asian schools require pupils to attend school six days a week. Scary stuff. In a
nutshell, the standard of Asian schools is far higher than Western countries, and in addition the
expectations that parents place on students is remarkably high.
2) Population -
Currently China has a population of 1,325,639,982 people, South Korea is sitting at roughly 48,607,000.
In today's world, one must either sink or swim. Students must work as hard as they possibly can in order
to ensure that they have a job and can feed themselves. This of course, is no different to any other
country - except that the huge populations in these countries results in students pushing themselves even
harder than they would have otherwise. This reason should really be reffered to as "competition" as that
is the fundamental idea here.
In conclusion: adaptation -
Due to the above two reasons, the Asian community is pressured into being clever. Now I know this sounds wrong, but get what I am saying here. Many years of dedication and hard work, and a good mental attitude can result in people's thought being "moulded" into an ideal way. I believe this is exactly what is happening here - they are just so damn clever! I would like to say that no-one should feel offended by this post, I have been talking about the Asian community as a seperate unit to everyone else. This was only to make things easier - in reality it does not matter where you are from or what skin colour you have because we are all different in our own ways, and should feel united because of that.
