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mercury
Joined: 05 Dec 2004
Location: Pusan
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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 Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 4:13 am Post subject: |
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Yes, this article is a good summary of what many have been saying for some time. Worth your time.
I am most concerned with this aspect:
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"For Americans, this means a renewed focus on the core skills that have propelled the American economy so far: science and technology. The United States has been slipping badly in all global rankings of these fields. Its research facilities are dominated by foreign students and immigrants�but a growing number of them are staying home or going home. Without a massive new focus in these areas, America will find itself unable to produce the core of scientists, engineers and technicians who make up the base of an advanced industrial economy. China and India already produce many more engineers than does the United States. In five years, China will produce more Ph.D.s than the United States. They may not be as good as American Ph.D.s, but numbers do matter."
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I'm not concerned that India and China produce more scientists, engineers and technicians than the US. Their larger populations make that inevitable as they develop economically. My concern is that the US schools don't really focus on science. Even in biology class, Darwinism is down-played because of conservative religious pressure groups. Actually, 'down-played' is a weak phrase. 'Avoided' would be more accurate. Without it, without a central organizing principle, biology is just a bunch of interesting, but unorganized random facts. The end result is that a lot of kids lose interest.
The second problem, as I see it, is that American schools are more concerned with socialization. Athletics is more important than academics. The attitude has improved marginally in the last few decades, but not enough. Ask for donations for new football uniforms and the community rallies around. Ask for donations for new microscopes and no one even notices.
Another aspect of the same focus on socialization is 'inclusion'. It's more important that everyone develop a positive self-image than that each student develop to his/her maximum potential. The result is that students with learning and/or emotional problems attend the mainstream classes.
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Last edited by Ya-ta Boy on Tue May 03, 2005 6:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Wrench
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 5:36 am Post subject: |
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The PHD students I know back home told me that they felt like Asia is at least 30-40 years behind in reaserch and development. Sure China and India produce more BA's then a rat can have offspring in a year but how many PHD's and MBA's does it produce.
As far as the creationism theory being taught in school I find this absurd and very gay. I think in some aspect america is falling behind with its conservative views.. I guess Canada will have to make up for the shortcomings. |
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gmat
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 7:13 am Post subject: |
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A pretty superficial article which fails to address the serious problems within China.
From teaching at a university in China I can safely say that (outside the few top universities in China) the post-grad students' "research" certainly is not up to the standards in the West. Masters and PhDs are often awarded for plagerized or copied work from research conducted at non-Chinese universities. Many higher degrees are simply undeserved. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Wrench wrote: |
The PHD students I know back home told me that they felt like Asia is at least 30-40 years behind in reaserch and development. Sure China and India produce more BA's then a rat can have offspring in a year but how many PHD's and MBA's does it produce.
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In 1970, Korea was 30 years behind the G7 economies in terms of development. Look what they did in a decade. China might be behind today, but Asian nations of a way of catching up quickly. |
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Moldy Rutabaga
Joined: 01 Jul 2003
Location: Ansan, Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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When we talk about Chinese expansion, I think of some of the utopian novels of the early 20th century. The Time Machine assumes that the class system of Victorian England will just go on forever. Maybe we do the same in assuming that because China has double-digit growth now, it always will.
I think that China will have the same cycle of rapid expansion and then doldrums that Japan is now facing. China has people power, but it lacks protection of property, business, and intellectual property. It has growing stresses from unequal distribution of wealth. It is an environmental nightmare waiting to explode from 1.2 billion people with zero awareness of and hostility to conservation (not that the west is a lot better, but we have less pressure from population). Its Confucian mindset is hostile to globalization unless it has an immediate economic benefit to we Chinese people, screw everyone else.
As to PhDs and higher degrees, numbers mean little. Western graduate programs tend to have seminar-style research approaches. My friends who have done MAs in Korea say that you go to class and listen to the prof, end of story. Plagiarism is winked at. This lack of knowledge expansion means that Nobel prizes and innovation continues to happen in other countries.
Ken:> |
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Len8
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Location: Kyungju
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Chinese students are flocking to foreign universities for graduate programs, and rumour has it that the GRE has had to revamp it's testing procedure, because they have all figured out how to pass it without the grind. |
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