[L.M.]

Exchange students and others who travel from countries in Asia are always known for being more intelligent than those from other countries, and I wonder of the curriculum found in American schools is ridiculously simple, or if these students are just way ahead?

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Name : L.M., City : Gray, State : TN Country : United States, 

[Ann L. Lowenstein]

The answer to both your questions is 'Yes'. Now let me clarify: In most Asian countries, grade school kids are expected to bust their butts from pre-school through the equivalent of about 14th grade (i.e. the second year of an Associate's Degree at a Community College), so they have a work ethic and study habits you generally don't see elsewhere. That said, The American Public School system, given it's obsession with mediocrity and 'norming'; and pandering to the lowest common denominator; is one of the worst in the Western world. Those Asian school kids probably knew more about American History by the 5th grade than most American 10th graders do, and they are light-years ahead in math and the hard sciences because here in the U.S., it's infinitely more important that children 'feel good about themselves' than that they know how to add, subtract, divide, multiply, or think critically and logically.

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Name : Ann L. Lowenstein, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : K.C., State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Chibi20815]

It's very misleading to say that Asian students are more 'intelligent' when achievement and intelligence are two different things. If you weren't taught certain things, or your school is behind, it doesn't make you dumber than the kid who was already exposed to the concept. Consider this. I teach in Houston, and we have had a large number of students coming in from New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana thanks to the hurricane. My students from LA are perfectly capable of doing their work, but they did come to us behind because, to quote a coworker who is also from NOLA, 'the schools there SUCK.' So it's a different system that create different results. I've been to a Japanese school, and the behavior of students between classes is appalling. But they are essentially trained in how to be successful students, and there is much more shame in failure. Also consider that schools in Japan, at least, do not get a full summer off. They have about a month off in the spring, I believe. So they are getting ahead of other 9th graders, for example, who are going to fewer months of school.

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Name : Chibi20815, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 28, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[SadhbhDC]

Yes. Very. Schools in the USA tend not to be as regulated as schools in other countries (eg. the vast majority of countries have a nationally standardised curriculum). Everything seems to be hit-and-miss; there aren't major national exams so knowledge is not revisited or drilled into students as much. Also schools in the USA are graded on a curve whereas in most other countries they are not, so an American can do extremely well but only compared to others. Students from other countries rely on actual percentages. One major difference i've noticed is that American schools try to teach methods of learning whereas other nations teach information. I also think there is a lot of emphasis on individual opinion, even on topics where a student may have no knowledge they are allowed to argue.

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Name : SadhbhDC, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 15, City : Dublin, State : NA Country : Ireland, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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