Why do Asian kids outperform Western kids in math? | by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell in his book "The Outliers" states that the reason Asian kids consistently outperform western kids in international math tests is because of the cultural attitude these kids have towards solving a math problem, or any task that requires patience and effort for a long period of time.

In China and other Asian cultures, there is a logical pattern to learning math based on a confidence and expectation that if we apply enough effort the problem is solvable while in the West, kids believe their ability is innate and can't be changed or influenced.

Malcolm's theory is that the reason for this difference in attitude has to do with the historical agriculture practices in both cultures, where the rice growing Asian culture had a different lifestyle for thousands of years that required consistent hard work which translates in the today's attitude of their kids when trying to solve a math problem.

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The audio of this video is from the talk given by Malcolm Gladwell at Microsoft Research

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[elsenored]

Students who believe that success depends on innate ability do poorly compared to those who believe that success depends on effort.

[wileynicholson]

Now. As a 65 yo black male, retired. I remember in high school I put in as much effort in Math. Science and music. As my friends put in on the Bball court. As friends would tease me and say you can't dunk. I used to say. I can solve and graph any function. So at 61, sold my Interest in an engineering firm and now I'm designing guitar pickups. My race, nah. My effort yah!

[dinarap]

grades according to Asian parents:
A - average
B - below average
C - can't get dinner
D - don't come home
F - find a new family

[writereducator]

My bro has worked in Taiwan for forty years. They spend way more time studying Math than Americans do. That's the reason.

[dootscat]

The parental example of having a strong work ethic and parental involvement in their kids’ education is another factor.

[johnkessler]

I taught for over 30 years at a high school and then at a college. By far the best predictor of success in all areas of life is the students peer group. Nobody in the high achieving peer group wants to be the low scoring student. Nobody in the low acheiving peer group cares how they scored, so long as they pass. In certain female peer groups consider not using protection or birth control and getting pregnant to be stupid, while in other female peer groups becoming a single mother is almost a rite of passage. Family and teachers certainly can be an influence, but the standards of the peer group has by far the most profound effect.

[lalakuma]

I went to school in Indonesia until grade 4. When I went to a western-style international school in grade 5, I was suddenly considered a "gifted" math student and was always placed in the honors class until grade 12. Maybe it is the overall cultural attitude, but that also impacts the education system. Schools in many Asian countries just go through math curriculum faster, from grade 1. What is considered an "honors class" in the US is just the regular curriculum in many Asian countries.

And yes, Indonesia is a rice-growing country. But I think our culture is a lot less workaholic than East Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China.

[artscience]

When I was in elementary school, the schools in Colorado were switching from one curriculum called “Old math” to “New Math.” I started out at a school with the New Math curriculum, then switched to a school with the Old Math, then that school switched to the new Math. I was messed up for years in math. What made the difference for me was my eighth grade algebra teacher, Mr. White. Everyday he would put up problems on the overhead projector and work through them line by line. Somehow that systematic approach worked for me and I started to “get” math. I went on to take lots of math in college and graduate school for electrical engineering. Amazing the difference one teacher can make.

[johnjaro]

I think it is that most Asian parents give a lot more importance in education for their children and push them to succeed academically that makes a lot of difference.

[arnbrandy]

This rice-farming argument sounds quite simplistic, I'm not going to lie.

[benchan]

I think it's all driven by what a country values. Countries like the US want to push kids to have extracurricular interests like sports, music, art, drama, etc. This is great if you want more well-rounded kids but not so wonderful if you want them to perform highly in math. This diversity of interest is less prized in Asian culture, and therefore, they can put more emphasis on math. If a country's economic growth is driven by graduates with STEM degrees, then that's where it's going to put its emphasis. The US has always had the allure to import that talent from other countries so there is not a strong desire to produce their own. Moreover, in recent years the emphasis on STEM education decreased even more since the US education system, overly worried about kid's feeling bad if they are behind, are doing things like "dumbing" down math and science, getting rid of homework, or getting rid of algebra in 8th grade. What it boils down to is expectations. I think the reason US kids aren't doing so good in math is simply because the nation doesn't expect them to be.

[ladyinpink]

I’m from the Philippines, I’m not that good in Math, hence I have a major in Science, but my niece passed her 4 semesters of calculus, and I’m so proud of her, she’s taking BS chemistry and hopefully she can graduate! You are so right it’s the attitude and the effort she puts into it.❤

[frankteunissen]

I taught maths at an international school for a while. At teacher parent meetings I’d often hear parents, mostly mother, say that they weren’t good at maths when they were in school. I would tell them in no uncertain terms never to say that again, ever. It is giving your kid an excuse to underperform. “My Mom couldn’t do it either, so I’m alright.”
Anyone, literally anyone, can learn secondary school maths. No excuses.

[mgmartin]

When I was in high school, I had a math teacher who gave us 100 problems a night for homework, and we reviewed them the next day. I was really good at math that year.

[AllenAndersonTaylor]

I sincerely felt that "i didn't have what it takes" when taking math (calc) but i didn't apply myself. I gave up before I even tried.

[chosk]

I am an East Asian. Singaporean. I sucked at Math so Bad that you wouldn't believe. But as I grew older, I am much better at " Math " because I somehow got myself into the remittance industry and FX and exchange rates is a very important factor in my industry. And I am making a fair bit of money. I forced myself to be good at math because the income is just too sweet.

[williamtell]

I'm an American, ivy League educated and a lawyer. I now teach at a university in SE Asia. So there's quite a bit wrong here. First, it's absurd to generalize about Asians. That should be self explanatory. Second, are we talking about Asian students here or Asian American? Two different things. Third, if we are going to generalize, across much of east and SE Asia, many of the educational systems are sort of intellectually impoverished. Student willingness is good, but rote memorization is emphasized and critical thinking skills are often poor. Gladwell is an interesting guy, but this video essay goes sideways from the start

[shardoolmishra]

I think there are more factors at play. Not sure about other countries but in India parents are very involved in kid’s studies. They sit down with them and give them time to understand what they are doing. This creates massive impact

[dougmedbery]

I'm a retired public school math teacher in California. I've worked in the inner city and in the suburb. Early in my career, I came to the same conclusion as this video. Culture (family and close society expectations) is the predominant factor in a students desire to succeed in math.

[richanigam]

There is a bizzare situation in schools where those who do well in Maths and science get labelled as "geeks", are looked down, social outcasts ....hence much lesser effort to be in that category...btw India is also in Asia, not sure why no data was shared around India