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I've been reading about the use of Singaporean math curricula in the US, there are a few articles out there about the differences between the US and Singaporean

I've been reading about the use of Singaporean math curricula in the US, there are a few articles out there about the differences between the US and Singaporean style of math education. The US has been embroiled in the "math wars" since the '90s, over constructivist textbooks that have proven woefully ineffective in raising objective test scores. Have a read: http://educationnext.org/miracle-math/ http://educationnext.org/miracle-math/ ----- It was another body blow to education. In December of 2004, media outlets across the country were abuzz with news of the just-released results of the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests. Once again despite highly publicized efforts to reform American math education (some might say because of the reform efforts) over the past two decades, the United States did little better than average (see Figure 1). ... And in three consecutive TIMSS test rounds (in 1995, 1999, and 2003), 4th- and 8th-grade students in the former British trading colony of Singapore beat all contenders, including math powerhouses Japan and Taiwan. United States 8th graders did not even make the top ten in the 2003 round; they ranked 16th. Worse, scores for American students were, as one Department of Education study put it, “among the lowest of all industrialized countries.” ----- Further reading: http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/jason.frand/math_enrichment/SingaporeMath.html http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/jason.frand/math_enrichmen... It sounds like the way math is taught in many public US classrooms is killing students' confidence and interest in math. There were a few news articles talking about how many students became interested in math again after the Singapore program was introduced in their school (see here: http://singaporemathsource.com/curriculum/schools-in-the-news/ http://singaporemathsource.com/curriculum/schools-in-the-new... ). A common refrain was that the kids simply weren't understanding what was going on in math - as if they were stumbling around in the dark with no idea what the computations they were doing meant. I've also read good things about other foreign curricula (e.g. "Russian math") being used in American schools and by homeschoolers, but none are as common as Singapore Math. Here's some praise about SM from American mothers, including sample word problems: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/singapore.htm http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/singapore.htm - where you'll see simple algebra problems that are not solved by traditional algebra at all. I can tell you as a Singaporean that I think the curriculum gave me a solid base and understanding of school math, and really stretched me at its harder portions. I hope more people will give it a try, especially if you have kids who aren't "getting" math or are bored of their current math curricula. Get the additional 'tougher' practice books (IP and CWP) for your bright kids to experience the full brain training of the Singaporean system.

Permit 14y ago
I can't help but wonder if some of the difference in performance can be attributed to the culture of each country, especially regarding its attitude toward education. In particular, the attitude towards test taking in Korea just blows me away: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/zakaria-why-all-of-south-korea-went-silent/ http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/zakaria-w... Apparently planes are grounded, late children are driven to school by police officers and people actually gather at the schools to cheer on their relatives/peers on their way into school. What these events convey to me is a deep, cultural understanding of the importance of education. In my high school, it seemed as though respect was garnered among students for (Excuse my language) "Not giving a fuck". The ability not to care seemed to be something to aspire to. Of course, this is entirely anecdotal, but a point of interest for me after seeing the incredible dedication students in other countries have. Can you tell me a little about the culture surrounding education in Singapore? Is it at all similar to that of South Korea?
- creamyhorror 14y ago
  Glad you asked. To us in Singapore, the South Koreans and Japanese actually look a tad excessive (what with their headbands and everything in that article). But it's more likely just a function of how they display their emphasis on school testing. We probably care as much about test results, but don't display it in the same way. Test results matter when a majority of successful people got where they were because of their results. They did well in school and got good jobs (often in foreign MNCs); not many started their own businesses. Add to this the cultural motivation of wanting to keep up with the Joneses (being 'kiasu', in our lingo) and you have a strong incentive for parents to be all "responsible" for their kid by making sure she gets tutoring in whatever subjects she's weak in and she does additional practice outside of homework, often at a harder level than in school. And of course, in the good schools, the ones that take in a higher-scoring crop of students, the teachers create harder test papers for their students to keep them motivated (we can't have everyone getting As now, can we?), and so parents go to tutoring companies with "challenging" or "enriching" programmes to make sure their kids keep up. The problems at this end of the pool get a bit ridiculous, and people end up complaining: http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2011/09/10/primary-6-maths-exam-question-too-tough/ http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2011/09/10/primary-6-maths... The tide is turning slightly as new parents, freshly emerged from the competitive sea of schooling, take a less intense view of the importance of academic performance, and recognise that there are other paths that their kids can take in life that don't rely on test scores. We've opened specialist schools in arts, music, sports and design in recent years. But there's still a heavy economic pressure to do well and get good jobs in finance, medicine, law and so on, so I don't expect the culture of focus on education will weaken significantly in the near future. I think the fundamentally different culture of American schools means that many Asian approaches will never transfer well; but there are still improvements that can be made, e.g. in the area of curriculum, in teacher training and ongoing development, etc. American schools are incredibly diverse in populations and practices; they have big weaknesses and big strengths. I think it would be good to have a unified tough-but-capable program for the struggling schools in poorer neighbourhoods, while letting strong/specialised schools do their thing. That would be something like the best of both worlds.

Permit 14y ago

I can't help but wonder if some of the difference in performance can be attributed to the culture of each country, especially regarding its attitude toward education. In particular, the attitude towards test taking in Korea just blows me away: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/zakaria-why-all-of-south-korea-went-silent/ http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/zakaria-w... Apparently planes are grounded, late children are driven to school by police officers and people actually gather at the schools to cheer on their relatives/peers on their way into school. What these events convey to me is a deep, cultural understanding of the importance of education. In my high school, it seemed as though respect was garnered among students for (Excuse my language) "Not giving a fuck". The ability not to care seemed to be something to aspire to. Of course, this is entirely anecdotal, but a point of interest for me after seeing the incredible dedication students in other countries have. Can you tell me a little about the culture surrounding education in Singapore? Is it at all similar to that of South Korea?

creamyhorror 14y ago
Glad you asked. To us in Singapore, the South Koreans and Japanese actually look a tad excessive (what with their headbands and everything in that article). But it's more likely just a function of how they display their emphasis on school testing. We probably care as much about test results, but don't display it in the same way. Test results matter when a majority of successful people got where they were because of their results. They did well in school and got good jobs (often in foreign MNCs); not many started their own businesses. Add to this the cultural motivation of wanting to keep up with the Joneses (being 'kiasu', in our lingo) and you have a strong incentive for parents to be all "responsible" for their kid by making sure she gets tutoring in whatever subjects she's weak in and she does additional practice outside of homework, often at a harder level than in school. And of course, in the good schools, the ones that take in a higher-scoring crop of students, the teachers create harder test papers for their students to keep them motivated (we can't have everyone getting As now, can we?), and so parents go to tutoring companies with "challenging" or "enriching" programmes to make sure their kids keep up. The problems at this end of the pool get a bit ridiculous, and people end up complaining: http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2011/09/10/primary-6-maths-exam-question-too-tough/ http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2011/09/10/primary-6-maths... The tide is turning slightly as new parents, freshly emerged from the competitive sea of schooling, take a less intense view of the importance of academic performance, and recognise that there are other paths that their kids can take in life that don't rely on test scores. We've opened specialist schools in arts, music, sports and design in recent years. But there's still a heavy economic pressure to do well and get good jobs in finance, medicine, law and so on, so I don't expect the culture of focus on education will weaken significantly in the near future. I think the fundamentally different culture of American schools means that many Asian approaches will never transfer well; but there are still improvements that can be made, e.g. in the area of curriculum, in teacher training and ongoing development, etc. American schools are incredibly diverse in populations and practices; they have big weaknesses and big strengths. I think it would be good to have a unified tough-but-capable program for the struggling schools in poorer neighbourhoods, while letting strong/specialised schools do their thing. That would be something like the best of both worlds.