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It's probably two things: a) The foreign students and their families have had to sacrifice more and faced more uncertainty to get an education in America. Whe

by philk 17y ago

It's probably two things: a) The foreign students and their families have had to sacrifice more and faced more uncertainty to get an education in America. When people have to suffer and struggle for something they value it much more than if it's just given to them. b) There's a selection bias too, deadbeats overseas are less likely to have their families spend the time and money necessary to get them a foreign education.

rdtsc 17y ago
Well said. It is amazing how much motivation the danger of a bleak future could be. That is basically my story. In my country (in Easter Europe) there were plenty of dead beats in the school, but they never left the country. Some of them are now in jail, many are living in the proverbial "van down by the river". I made it out not because I was the smartest but because I was persistent. What made the most difference for me personally was: 1. I saw my parents lose their jobs and strugle trying to make ends meet. 2. My parents encouraged me to learn from at very young age. For example: When my father would take the back cover of our old vacuum tube TV to clean it from dust, he would call me over and tell me what each of the components did and how electrons flowed and so on. I thought it was the best thing in the world. Another example: When I was 12 my mom, spent a month of her salary on a ZX Spectrum computer. I didn't ask her to. She just saw the way I looked at it and she knew it would help me to have one. Well, I loved it and I learned English just so I can use my new computer and read all the docs and write BASIC and Z80 assembly. That in turn, helped me pass a series of english proficiency tests need to get a scholarship to come to US. Long story short, I've been living in US ever since, doing what I love --programming. I'll bring my parent over soon as well. Note: School wasn't in my 2 bullet points above. And that is because school is secondary. It will not teach anything if the student doesn't already want to learn. They will provide the tests and homeworks, students will get marks to show they know how to take the particular test or do the particular homework. That is all. To rise above, there has to be an internal motivation.

by philk 17y ago

rdtsc 17y ago

Well said. It is amazing how much motivation the danger of a bleak future could be. That is basically my story. In my country (in Easter Europe) there were plenty of dead beats in the school, but they never left the country. Some of them are now in jail, many are living in the proverbial "van down by the river". I made it out not because I was the smartest but because I was persistent. What made the most difference for me personally was: 1. I saw my parents lose their jobs and strugle trying to make ends meet. 2. My parents encouraged me to learn from at very young age. For example: When my father would take the back cover of our old vacuum tube TV to clean it from dust, he would call me over and tell me what each of the components did and how electrons flowed and so on. I thought it was the best thing in the world. Another example: When I was 12 my mom, spent a month of her salary on a ZX Spectrum computer. I didn't ask her to. She just saw the way I looked at it and she knew it would help me to have one. Well, I loved it and I learned English just so I can use my new computer and read all the docs and write BASIC and Z80 assembly. That in turn, helped me pass a series of english proficiency tests need to get a scholarship to come to US. Long story short, I've been living in US ever since, doing what I love --programming. I'll bring my parent over soon as well. Note: School wasn't in my 2 bullet points above. And that is because school is secondary. It will not teach anything if the student doesn't already want to learn. They will provide the tests and homeworks, students will get marks to show they know how to take the particular test or do the particular homework. That is all. To rise above, there has to be an internal motivation.