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The whole prestige issue is a tough one. From what I've seen in Chinese schools it's just completely different from what I remember from American schools. The
by xiaoma 16y ago
The whole prestige issue is a tough one. From what I've seen in Chinese schools it's just completely different from what I remember from American schools. The girls tend to like really smart guys. Testing into a top high school or college means you're a winner and you're going somewhere. In the US, being a somewhat dense football player bound for a blue-collar life will get far more respect than just about any level of academic achievement.
Of course some remarkable people get into the sciences later, like Craig Venter did. It's still a huge loss to lose all those who would have gotten a solid foundation in their teen years if only it were valued in high school, though.
Edit: This is a lot of downmods... and it's a little hard to understand. Any of you care to voice counter-arguments?
- api 16y agoWatch Rocky II, the one with Rocky fighting the almost-robotic Russian. That movie explains a lot about the American myth-of-itself. (And it is rubbish, of course. During the cold war the USA was far more high-tech-- far closer to the robot-Russian-- than the Russians were.)
- adestefan 16y agoThat's Rocky IV. Dolph Lundgren who plays the robotic Russian in that film has a MSc in chemical engineering and had a Fullbright Scholarship to MIT. He dropped out of the program to pursue acting.
- xiaoma 16y agoIf he were Chinese instead of a westerner and had a full scholarship to Qinghua, he'd be a chemical engineer now! :)
- reddot 16y agoWasn't that Rocky IV?
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]