I feel so sorry for Korean students

[NikolaeVarius]

You're absolutely correct. Learning in Korea is all rote memorization. They can't critically think and it's not encouraged.

Thats bullshit in multiple ways. That assumes that USA students are somehow great at critical thinking, of which most are not.

Secondly, it also assumes that USA schooling isn't also memorization, which it is.

Thirdly, it assumes that Asian students can't think critically, which they can. You don't think there is a reason Asian countries are acclaimed for their technology and design?

 

[Mai72]

Nah. Its actually the other way around. Tons of korean parents send their kids to America because its damn easy here compared to Korea.

Korean schools are retardedly competitive and if you don't do well on exams,you will NEVER get into school or get a job.

US schools are a cakewalk.

There is a reason there is a multibillion dollar mens makeup industry in korea. There is so much competition for jobs from tons of heavily overqualified applicants that people resort to self beautification to get them an edge.

There are also the beatings when you don't do what you are supposed to do. Man, I got my ass beat alot. Broke many a wooden stick on me.

So true. Korea leads the world in plastic surgery and is second in suicide. I've read that to take it to the next level young people are getting plastic surgery so they can hopefully land a job . The pressure is insane.

BTW, what's up with guys and lip stick? I've seen quite a few young 20 something males with lipstick.

 

[TecHNooB]

You're absolutely correct. Learning in Korea is all rote memorization. They can't critically think and it's not encouraged.

i find this hard to believe.

 

[Aikouka]

Man, you guys make my high school schedule feel rather lackadaisical in comparison...

6-6:30: Wake up
7: Leave for school
7:45-2:45: School
3:00-5:00: Any extracurricular activities
5:30-6:30: Homework

I didn't have that many reasons to stay after school, but I never had to spend much time with homework or studying. I might have been lucky as I never really had to study for tests. I've noticed that as long as I am diligent in taking notes in class, I have a far, far greater chance of simply being able to recall the knowledge during the test without any studying/refreshing. If I needed to be able to recall a lot of information, I usually just read over my notes once, which was only a 15 minute process. For example, when I was in college, I had a European History course where I took about 3 pages (front and back) of notes per class. For a test, I would normally just read over the notes again. I also have a decent photographic memory that let me recall pages in books. The pages normally had to have something to differentiate them to make them stand out though... like a certain picture or whatever as that picture would be the focal point of my memory that let me recall the page.

 

[Train]

Thats bullshit in multiple ways. That assumes that USA students are somehow great at critical thinking, of which most are not.

Secondly, it also assumes that USA schooling isn't also memorization, which it is.

Thirdly, it assumes that Asian students can't think critically, which they can. You don't think there is a reason Asian countries are acclaimed for their technology and design?

This. It always looks like such a cop out when defenders of our shitty education system say things like "but we want to teach them life skills, not have to teach to a test" which is teacher union speak for "don't make us teach something we can be tested against, we hate it when we have to be held accountable"

If you can't get them to pay attention enough to learn basic shit, how the hell are you gonna give them life lessons or any type of engagement to grow creativity or thinking skills?

 

[brainhulk]

High School sucked ass schedule wise for me

0700-0800 extra ap exam prep
0800-1500 normal class
1500-1600 extra ap exam prep (our teachers were hell bent on getting everyone at least a 4)
1600-1700 basketball practice
Then go home and do homework for 4 ap classes

 

[Udgnim]

that schedule creates some uber Starcraft players

 

[Vdubchaos]

High School sucked ass schedule wise for me

0700-0800 extra ap exam prep
0800-1500 normal class
1500-1600 extra ap exam prep (our teachers were hell bent on getting everyone at least a 4)
1600-1700 basketball practice
Then go home and do homework for 4 ap classes

But if it didn't suck, you wouldn't be where you are in life today.

And those that had fun and BSed thru high school have a LIFETIME of suck.

😉

 

[brainhulk]

But if it didn't suck, you wouldn't be where you are in life today.

And those that had fun and BSed thru high school have a LIFETIME of suck.

😉

Maybe it prepared for college by getting us used to hours of studying. but then again in college, sitting right next to me were people that took normal classes and had normal social lives. I thought to myself why did I ever put up with that bullshit?

 

[Udgnim]

So true. Korea leads the world in plastic surgery and is second in suicide. I've read that to take it to the next level young people are getting plastic surgery so they can hopefully land a job . The pressure is insane.

BTW, what's up with guys and lip stick? I've seen quite a few young 20 something males with lipstick.

Asian culture

Asian girls find effeminate guys attractive so there's a subset of guys that are willing to appeal to that demographic because it's more culturally acceptable

 

[Aikouka]

Maybe it prepared for college by getting us used to hours of studying. but then again in college, sitting right next to me were people that took normal classes and had normal social lives. I thought to myself why did I ever put up with that bullshit?

Do you think that your teachers may have assigned too much homework? I only had three AP courses at once (Calc AB, Chem and English), and I never had that much homework. I think Calculus was the only class that consistently gave us homework, but it was maybe 30-45 minutes worth. Chemistry was about the same duration, but not as frequent, and English was just books to read.

 

[zinfamous]

Leaders lead because that's their nature, and while our higher educational system offers opportunity some of the best were complete misfits. Bill Gates wasn't an MIT grad.

He also wasn't raised as a child in a culture that demanded such absurdly fascist educational bombardment.

He grew up and was educated in a culture that fostered independent, critical thinking. The ability to simply drop out and do his own thing exists for him, because the culture tolerates it.

I love the people that think we need to be like Asia, especially with math education. It's a patently naive rejection of the benefits of a system that is allowed to create effective application, and adaptation of skills--not rote memorization driven by rigorous regurgitation of protocol.

Yeah, there's plenty of people in government, in the corporate world, in all walks of life that make the whole seem useless, but you have to throw out all that we have built as a nation if you choose to believe that is the norm.

Personally, I like where we stand. Our math scores have never fallen in regards to international comparison--we are always seemingly "woeful" in that regard, and this has been true for decades.

Yet, we built NASA in that same time.

again, we're doing fine.

 

[brainhulk]

Do you think that your teachers may have assigned too much homework? I only had three AP courses at once (Calc AB, Chem and English), and I never had that much homework. I think Calculus was the only class that consistently gave us homework, but it was maybe 30-45 minutes worth. Chemistry was about the same duration, but not as frequent, and English was just books to read.

I had chemistry, calculus, English, and government. Too much homework.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm inclined to agree. Further, at least automata get shit done. It takes serious skill to say that with a straight face about our leadership in general, and our Congress in particular.

Our country, and all countries have done nothing but bitch about the ineffectiveness of our government since the time they have existed.

To think that this era is somehow unique in terms of ineffectiveness of legislators, or our general opinion of their incompetence, is very naive.

 

[Train]

Yet, we built NASA in that same time.

No, a bunch of defected Nazi scientists built NASA. US rocket tech was decades behind until we stole all the German scientists before/during/after WWII

We had no idea how to get a Jet engine to work was until long after Germany put up a jet fighter.

US machine gun designs? Basically copies of German designs.

 

[Train]

He grew up and was educated in a culture that fostered independent, critical thinking. The ability to simply drop out and do his own thing exists for him, because the culture tolerates it.

No he didn't. He went to the same study your ass off and ace placement exam minded schools you deplore. He scored perfect on the math section of his SAT's

his introduction to computers actually came through his church youth group. All of the early learning he did around the concepts of computer programming were done in his spare time, with no one but his pal Paul Allen. His computer knowledge was essentially self taught. When his HS did finally get computers, they hired him to write the class scheduling program, because he knew more than any of the teachers.

 

[Agent11]

Note to self, threaten kids with Korean boarding school.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i think the only real difference there is the extra-curriculars are still academic related, americans tend to value other stuff like sports and clubs.

 

[dyna]

The US education system while lacking does allow the best to shine. The critical thinkers rise to the top because they have to adapt to a system that is imperfect. If you study all day and lack critical thinking you certainly may look good on paper but you lack the elite thinking skills that lead to innovation and technological advancement.

 

[zinfamous]

No he didn't. He went to the same study your ass off and ace placement exam minded schools you deplore. He scored perfect on the math section of his SAT's

his introduction to computers actually came through his church youth group. All of the early learning he did around the concepts of computer programming were done in his spare time, with no one but his pal Paul Allen. His computer knowledge was essentially self taught. When his HS did finally get computers, they hired him to write the class scheduling program, because he knew more than any of the teachers.

granted, I don't know his Biography as well as you do, but would you say much of his learning came through fostering his hobbies--self-taught computer nerd, as you say--and a general brightness that for some, is actually quite easy, or did he have domineering parents that forced him through programs at all ages?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

i think the only real difference there is the extra-curriculars are still academic related, americans tend to value other stuff like sports and clubs.

Also lies. Sports are huge in Korea. In my cousins school, every morning when you came in, you had to run laps on the track before you were allowed to enter the school. 1 lap for every grade level above 6 or so. So seniors had to run mile half runs every single morning at a decent pace.

If you were late, you had to do the run even faster to not be late to class.

Also, tons of soccer, basketball, shit like kendo, tae kwon do, and crap is common along with cram schools.

My cram school used exercise as a punishment. For every point below an 80, you had to go and run on the track. So if you got a 60, had to run for 20 minutes on the track during lunch break.

This also along with the fact that military service is mandatory, so you couldn't exactly be a fatass.

 

[Ruptga]

Our country, and all countries have done nothing but bitch about the ineffectiveness of our government since the time they have existed.

To think that this era is somehow unique in terms of ineffectiveness of legislators, or our general opinion of their incompetence, is very naive.

I never said it was a new thing

But since you think the current batch is no better or worse than the usual, you should agree that our educational system has had a neutral effect on the quality of our government.

 

[Oric]

Korea has made 4 international giantsin consumer products by good engineering and marketing and Korean workers: Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia . Those schedules help the nation in general

 

[tcsenter]

Youth culture sucks, anyhow. Childhood stops around seven or eight, then its time to start learning how to become an adult and function in an adult world. That's the way its always been before, none of this extended childhood into the teens, and then throwing your kid into the shark tank of life. They need to learn how to become adults. That doesn't happen by giving them $20 and letting them do whatever they want up until the age of 18 and then saying "OK, off into the world you go!"

 

[Bryf50]

Here was my schedule back in high school

6:30 - wake up, eat, play video games
7:30 - 3:00 - school
3:00 - 10:00 - homework, video games

I turned out fine.

Same. Maybe an hour or two of homework/studying if that. Towards my senior year I slacked a bit and didn't do my homework a lot. But I did damn good on my SATs and got a full scholarship to a decent tech school. Now I'm 2 months away from graduating with my engineering bs and an above average GPA. And even through all that I've never had a day to day schedule as strict as the girl above.