Basing this statement on an argument of genes is completely untrue. This stereotype is statistically valid as many but not all Asians fare better than other races and communities in mathematics and science. Universities and schools in Asia have proven their scientific prowess time and again by being amongst the top when it comes to mathematics and science. Here are 5 reasons that justify their scientific capabilities.
Teaching techniques
Teaching methods used in Asia are quite different from those used in the West. Schools follow a rigid, streamlined curriculum that gives more importance to sciences and quantitative mastery.
Students are expected to do well in all subjects but if they were to score low in a subject, it must only be a non-science subject such as English or History. Punishments are a normal means of shaping students into excellent students.
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Cultural differences
Asian communities are more collectivistic than those in the West. Children are brought up with a mentality of upholding the name of the family by excelling academically and career-wise. Asians are also brought up with a different mentality regarding hard work. If you aren’t good at science, whether you enjoy it or not, you must put in time and study until you top your class.
Complete dedication to academics is taught to children till it becomes ingrained. In Western communities, parents are more concerned with hard work than hard work put in specifically to excel at math and science. These differences in culture have continued to fuel the excellence of most Asian kids in math and sciences.
Competition
Competition plays a key element in the Asians’ prowess in math and science. With almost all children being pushed to do well academically and pursue careers in sciences, most children face tough competition in competitive exams and school exams alike. Being intellectually gifted is, for Asian communities, the only dependent on how much time and effort children give to their studies.
Life apart from academics is overlooked and families continue to push their children to follow a school life dedicated to academics. These practices have continued for a time sufficient enough to make it a norm. Competition pushes children to do better and continue improving until they are part of the cream of the crop of their community.
Family pressure
The degree of family pressure also varies between Asian and Western communities. As mentioned before, children are brought up with a mentality to excel at their academics and study to be at the top of their class in maths and science.
Families put a huge responsibility on their students by asking them to uphold their family’s reputation. If the child fails or scores lower than average in maths and science, parents tend to harder on them and push them to give more time to studies. Encouraging children to put in hard work is healthy and can lead to more successful futures. But an unhealthy version of such pressure includes a lack of empathy towards the child’s struggles.
Creative restriction to sciences
Creativity is an essential element of development for children. Asians, with their inclination to see their children prosper in the field of maths and science, encourage them to use their creativity in just those fields. Mathematics and Science require creativity and the curiosity to explore new subjects, experiment with new ideas and find different solutions to the same problem.
This method of limiting creativity to these two fields is arguably one of the biggest reasons why Asians do well in math and science. Unlike Asian families, western families accept creativity beyond maths and science, allowing their children to explore new fields and subjects. This difference between the outlook of Asians and other races towards creativity is crucial in understanding why they are so good at maths and science.
Conclusion
The statement is certainly not applicable to all Asians and Asian communities as a whole but stands true to characterize a significant portion of Asians. The factors mentioned above have shown most reason to make Asians good at maths and science when compared to other students.
Author’s Bio
Michael Turner does one thing better than anybody else, and that’s writing. He’s a professional writer who has written numerous college and school course books, academic papers to help students who struggle in academic work and contributes high-quality content to high-authority blogs and social media platforms.
