Comments on: India’s Culture of Education http://blog.craigdossantos.com/2007/12/08/indias-culture-of-education/ Blog of Craig dos Santos Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:45:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Cheryl http://blog.craigdossantos.com/2007/12/08/indias-culture-of-education/#comment-46233 Cheryl Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:22:20 +0000 http://blog.craigdossantos.com/2007/12/08/indias-culture-of-education/#comment-46233 It's very interesting to see what kind of "personal" information is considered appropriate to be "public" in India versus the US...when I forwarded an email from a sick aunt to one of my best friends (from Bombay), he was totally dumbstruck that I would share personal information like that, but (like your friends) he's totally comfortable rattling off personal test score/salary statistics about all his friends, which in the US are considered more private. I don't think there is an objective way to define what's right or wrong when considering what "should" be considered public or private; I can see justifiable reaons for arguing any of these personal details to be public or private, so for me it's just a matter of understanding the values of the people with whom i'm sharing information. For me, the bigger question is not "what's appropriate to share" but "what conclusions are we drawing from these metrics." I've always been curious about people who hold these test results so high...I definitely think they are relevant and tell us some useful information relating to a person's ability to reason, but (like Kalid) I'm acutely aware that the kinds of skills that are measurable on tests are some of the many skills required to succeed in life. Of course, it depends on one's particular job and field (being emotionally intelligent is more important as, say, a doctor as opposed to a structural engineer, one could argue), but there are plenty of studies that show things like EQ (emotional intelligence) are just as important, if not more so, than the more standard metrics such as IQ. I do think it's commendable that there is such a high premium placed on education there...when i see how many teenagers here just waste away the amazing educational opportunities given to them, it makes me wish we had a bigger cultural emphasis on education. My guess is that we lost that emphasis in the 80s with the self-esteem movement, where parents were taught to tell their kids they were special and "we're all winners," which I think helped take away that drive to succeed in many kids (if you're already a winner with a B grade, why strive for an A?). Just my 2 cents :) It’s very interesting to see what kind of “personal” information is considered appropriate to be “public” in India versus the US…when I forwarded an email from a sick aunt to one of my best friends (from Bombay), he was totally dumbstruck that I would share personal information like that, but (like your friends) he’s totally comfortable rattling off personal test score/salary statistics about all his friends, which in the US are considered more private. I don’t think there is an objective way to define what’s right or wrong when considering what “should” be considered public or private; I can see justifiable reaons for arguing any of these personal details to be public or private, so for me it’s just a matter of understanding the values of the people with whom i’m sharing information.

For me, the bigger question is not “what’s appropriate to share” but “what conclusions are we drawing from these metrics.” I’ve always been curious about people who hold these test results so high…I definitely think they are relevant and tell us some useful information relating to a person’s ability to reason, but (like Kalid) I’m acutely aware that the kinds of skills that are measurable on tests are some of the many skills required to succeed in life. Of course, it depends on one’s particular job and field (being emotionally intelligent is more important as, say, a doctor as opposed to a structural engineer, one could argue), but there are plenty of studies that show things like EQ (emotional intelligence) are just as important, if not more so, than the more standard metrics such as IQ.

I do think it’s commendable that there is such a high premium placed on education there…when i see how many teenagers here just waste away the amazing educational opportunities given to them, it makes me wish we had a bigger cultural emphasis on education. My guess is that we lost that emphasis in the 80s with the self-esteem movement, where parents were taught to tell their kids they were special and “we’re all winners,” which I think helped take away that drive to succeed in many kids (if you’re already a winner with a B grade, why strive for an A?). Just my 2 cents :)

]]> By: Kalid http://blog.craigdossantos.com/2007/12/08/indias-culture-of-education/#comment-44097 Kalid Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:22:31 +0000 http://blog.craigdossantos.com/2007/12/08/indias-culture-of-education/#comment-44097 Cool post. From my experience many other countries (Sri Lanka, China) are like that as well. Part of this culture is fed by the super-limited resources: University is free -- if you can get in. The cultural differences and stigmas are pretty interesting too -- asking someone's test score here is a bit like asking someone's salary. Unfortunately, having a supposedly "quantitative" metric can lead to rewarding the wrong behavior. From experiences interacting with people on my blog, what's needed to memorize something for a test is very, very different from the knowledge that lets you use something in a productive way. Cool post. From my experience many other countries (Sri Lanka, China) are like that as well. Part of this culture is fed by the super-limited resources: University is free — if you can get in.

The cultural differences and stigmas are pretty interesting too — asking someone’s test score here is a bit like asking someone’s salary. Unfortunately, having a supposedly “quantitative” metric can lead to rewarding the wrong behavior. From experiences interacting with people on my blog, what’s needed to memorize something for a test is very, very different from the knowledge that lets you use something in a productive way.

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