America's Cult of Ignorance Is No Match for Asia's Cult of Intelligence

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

I have a complaint that I think fits into this thread since it involves the education of math and sciences in the United States versus Asia. It is one that I have heard many times and my understanding it is a quite common complaint across many universities in our country.

That complaint is that at the collegiate level at least, and I found this to be true at Auburn, that instructors and teaching assistants (those running labs) have a tendency to be from foreign countries. Many of them are Asian and many of them are not very good at teaching in the English language. I myself had a physics lab instructor that could not explain a problem to me cause under his own admittance he could not translate how he wanted to answer my question into English. Thus he referred me to the book, which was not sufficient for me.

I've found it interesting that we discuss our countries weakness in mathematics/sciences versus the world and how academically we wish to strengthen these subjects. Yet we hinder, or totally turn off, intelligent individuals that are capable of learning (and even excelling at) these subjects with proper instruction by introducing a language barrier in our classrooms. At least at the college level. I know many individuals that changed their major because they simple got tired of trying to learn how to understand and communicate with the instructors/lab techs as well as attempting to learn the material.

LOL! Don't know what year you are referring to, but that was a problem in the early 70's.

But I would characterize that as more of a symptom than a cause.

I was doing accounting homework at the same time, lol I thought the article was about education and its culture in the United States versus that of the Asians. Dangit do I need to reread, Im guilty of reading the bold highlighted on this one.

Seemed like a great place to complain about GTA's that cant speak English in the math and science department at Auburn!

[alexava 6,974]

is this thread the appropriate place to discuss "common core"?

[homersapien 12,172]

is this thread the appropriate place to discuss "common core"?

Why not?

Frankly I don't understand the (emotional) resistance to it, but I don't know much about it. The tea-partiers have really taken it up.

(I say emotional because I haven't heard anyone specify any details about what is so bad.)

[alexava 6,974]

I dont know much about the law myself of even if it is in effect in alabama. I have a son between 3rd and 4th grade. in helping him with his homework i see why people are complaining. especially math. they are teaching math by ways of shortcuts. some of it is clever and is how i do math myself but way too confusing to teach it that way. i am new to the common core debate and dont know if these methods i dont like are to blame or not.

[Kassc22 0]

I dont know much about the law myself of even if it is in effect in alabama. I have a son between 3rd and 4th grade. in helping him with his homework i see why people are complaining. especially math. they are teaching math by ways of shortcuts. some of it is clever and is how i do math myself but way too confusing to teach it that way. i am new to the common core debate and dont know if these methods i dont like are to blame or not.

It is being used in Alabama. I don't have any experience with anything common core other than the math, but my third grade niece has asked for my help with her math homework several times. It is the most FRUSTRATING way of trying to teach something. You are right, they are using shortcuts rather than good solid fundamentals. They don't teach "borrowing" in subtraction anymore, or at least her lessons didn't. They used "regrouping" which was not borrowing at all. I had to read her lesson in her book and teach myself before I could help her...and I think I probably just confused her. I could teach her how to get the right answer the "old fashioned" way but it would have been wrong because it wasn't done the new way. I still had hair then and I wanted to pull it out before we were done.