5 ms·

Coercion is irrelevant. The differentiator is valuing education and viewing it as the sole way for social mobility. Once a child internalizes this world view as

Coercion is irrelevant. The differentiator is valuing education and viewing it as the sole way for social mobility. Once a child internalizes this world view as fair and implacable, she will chose to do well in school, just as easily as she will breathe. The endlessly adaptable blank mind of the young Homo Sapiens will have latched on to the rules of the tribe in which they have been born, and remain set for life.

asfasgasg 8y ago
Well . . . some kids find other reasons to do the work. Competitiveness, simple affinity, or the reasonable observation that there's no reason to not do well in school.
Avshalom 8y ago
Rebellion against the status quo has an equally rich academic tradition. "Education" in the abstract doesn't prefer one view over the other. Further education is in no way a guaranteed path to success: I have two BS degrees Physics and Geology with math and CS minors, and yet I am a stock boy at Target. Nothing is a path to anything. We of course hear from the successful children of "tiger moms" but how many stories in the last 50 years do you remember with the headline "my mother demanded everything and I am a fork lift operator at an industrial door warehouse" and yet https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58ff7f40e4b0c46f0782a5b6 https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58ff7f40e4b0c46f0782a5b6 Asian Americans are statistically poorer than most...
- cornholio 8y ago
  > Rebellion against the status quo has an equally rich academic tradition. "Education" in the abstract doesn't prefer one view over the other. Before you can rebel academically, a decade of conformism is required. So few nonconformists survive that such traits are immediately valuable - but do not mistake that for neutrality, modern education is conformist above all else. > Further education is in no way a guaranteed path to success. Sure, and I made no such claim, the article author is concerned about educational achievement in and of itself.
  - Avshalom 8y ago
    granted I'm white AF but I managed to get through college twice with a "conformism" of swearing at teachers, not doing homework, letting others blatantly copy my work and about once every year telling a teacher "fuck you" since 8th grade when I punched a teacher for insulting me.
- learc83 8y ago
  >Asian Americans are statistically poorer than most... Not only is that untrue, it's the exact opposite of the truth. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States_by_household_income https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the...
  - Avshalom 8y ago
    Sorry "Asians Americans in the largest city in the country".
    - learc83 8y ago
      Percent living below the povery line in 1 city has more to do with the geographical distribution of immigrants from poor countries than it does with anything else. Poor Asian immigrants are just more likely to settle in NYC.
      - Avshalom 8y ago
        Oh yeah sure because NYC is definitely the cheapest city to immigrate to...
        learc83 8y ago
        Poor immigrants in NYC often share housing with far more people than native born Americans would tolerate. How do you think all those people making below the poverty line afford to live there? They move there because of the existing immigrant communities already in place. 3/4 of Asian Americans in NYC are immigrants.
        Avshalom 8y ago
        which part of what you just said makes you feel comfortable arguing against immigrant poverty?
        8y ago
ams6110 8y ago
It's not quite that simple. I have three kids who were all raised with the same emphasis on the importance of education. They all have different levels of motivation at school, different interests, different passions. Most of the people I know with more than one kid say the same thing. Same with my brother and me. We were both raised by the same parents, in the same house, yet he was much more motivated to go farther with formal education than I was.
- dbcurtis 8y ago
  Yes, indeed. As one of my friends puts it: "I have four children. Three grown, and one that got older."

asfasgasg 8y ago

Well . . . some kids find other reasons to do the work. Competitiveness, simple affinity, or the reasonable observation that there's no reason to not do well in school.

Avshalom 8y ago

Rebellion against the status quo has an equally rich academic tradition. "Education" in the abstract doesn't prefer one view over the other. Further education is in no way a guaranteed path to success: I have two BS degrees Physics and Geology with math and CS minors, and yet I am a stock boy at Target. Nothing is a path to anything. We of course hear from the successful children of "tiger moms" but how many stories in the last 50 years do you remember with the headline "my mother demanded everything and I am a fork lift operator at an industrial door warehouse" and yet https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58ff7f40e4b0c46f0782a5b6 https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58ff7f40e4b0c46f0782a5b6 Asian Americans are statistically poorer than most...

cornholio 8y ago
> Rebellion against the status quo has an equally rich academic tradition. "Education" in the abstract doesn't prefer one view over the other. Before you can rebel academically, a decade of conformism is required. So few nonconformists survive that such traits are immediately valuable - but do not mistake that for neutrality, modern education is conformist above all else. > Further education is in no way a guaranteed path to success. Sure, and I made no such claim, the article author is concerned about educational achievement in and of itself.
- Avshalom 8y ago
  granted I'm white AF but I managed to get through college twice with a "conformism" of swearing at teachers, not doing homework, letting others blatantly copy my work and about once every year telling a teacher "fuck you" since 8th grade when I punched a teacher for insulting me.
learc83 8y ago
>Asian Americans are statistically poorer than most... Not only is that untrue, it's the exact opposite of the truth. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States_by_household_income https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the...
- Avshalom 8y ago
  Sorry "Asians Americans in the largest city in the country".
  - learc83 8y ago
    Percent living below the povery line in 1 city has more to do with the geographical distribution of immigrants from poor countries than it does with anything else. Poor Asian immigrants are just more likely to settle in NYC.
    - Avshalom 8y ago
      Oh yeah sure because NYC is definitely the cheapest city to immigrate to...
      - learc83 8y ago
        Poor immigrants in NYC often share housing with far more people than native born Americans would tolerate. How do you think all those people making below the poverty line afford to live there? They move there because of the existing immigrant communities already in place. 3/4 of Asian Americans in NYC are immigrants.
        Avshalom 8y ago
        which part of what you just said makes you feel comfortable arguing against immigrant poverty?
        8y ago

ams6110 8y ago

It's not quite that simple. I have three kids who were all raised with the same emphasis on the importance of education. They all have different levels of motivation at school, different interests, different passions. Most of the people I know with more than one kid say the same thing. Same with my brother and me. We were both raised by the same parents, in the same house, yet he was much more motivated to go farther with formal education than I was.

dbcurtis 8y ago
Yes, indeed. As one of my friends puts it: "I have four children. Three grown, and one that got older."