The real difference in the US is the presence of a substantial number of schools that are instead on the school-to-prison-or-army pipeline. The "high-potential"

The real difference in the US is the presence of a substantial number of schools that are instead on the school-to-prison-or-army pipeline. The "high-potential" students are encouraged to join the armed forces, while the kids who have caused trouble are piped into our for-profit incarceration system. I don't see that so much in Asia. As for education vs training, that's a great question. A lot of my students want training initially because they are concerned about their economic futures.