Struggle For Smarts By Alx Spiegel Summary

In the article “Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackle Learning”, The author Alix Spiegel, opens the readers mind, showing how different each culture really is. Although we are all human and live on the same planet, it is surprising to learn how different we all really are. There are plenty of differences in the way everyone was raised and taught, and the way each individual puts forth effort. Back in the year 1979, a man named Jim Stigler, who at the time was a student at the University of Michigan, traveled to Japan to study another cultures teaching and learning strategies. A study he witnessed was in a classroom of young students. The test was to see if each student would give their best effort. Each student …show more content…
Li studied the difference in learning beliefs between Asian and American children. Jin Li has recordings of two different mothers and sons. One mother and son who were American had a conversation, the mother told her son that intelligence comes from the books he reads. He does not enjoy reading, and it seems as though he has a bad attitude toward books. From this, he is taught that even if he does not enjoy something he just needs to finish what he starts. The other conversation was between a Taiwanese mother and son. The son plays the piano, the more he practices, the more he improves. The mother tells her son that with great attitude and practice comes great achievement. The little boy practices hard and tries his best. Although he may mess up, he does not give up. This shows he likes what he does and he likes the outcome of it. The difference between mothers is that one tells her son he needs to learn what he is given, while the other tells her son he should love what he does in order to achieve the best possible outcome. I believe if a person loves what they do, they will work harder and give forth more effort and attitude. If someone is given something they may not understand , nor like, they will get frustrated and give up on it. It’s easier for a person that likes something to give positive attitudes toward it in order to figure out how to solve or practice for it. Another study was done with fifth grade students, the students were given an impossinks problem. The American students gave up on the problem within the first 30 seconds, while the Japanese worked on the problem for an hour, having to be stopped by their teacher. This shows a difference in how a child in each culture is taught. The American students gave up because they were not taught how to do the problem, in this culture they are told that their is always gonna be someone there to