My Essay
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There is a stereotype that most people know of and it is that Asians are better than everyone else in math. Many people believe that this is just a stereotype and nothing more. Others believe that this is more than just a theory. In fact, these people have taken it one step further. They’ve gone out and researched what factors make this true. Malcolm Gladwell is one of them. Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book “Outliers” why he believes Asians are good at math. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of why Asians are good at math is flawed. This is because there are many other factors that would suggest that an Asian is good at math other than their number system. For example, the involvement of parents, the view on the importance of math, and the competitiveness of high school students.
In the book “Outliers,” the author Malcolm Gladwell writes about how Asians are good at math mainly because of the number system in their language. He tries to prove that because the numbers in Asian languages (like Chinese or Japanese) is easier to understand, it allows mathematics to come easier for Asian students. He states,
“Ask an English-speaking seven-year-old to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two in her head, and she has to convert the words to numbers (37+22). Only then can she do the math: 2 plus 7 is 9 and 30 and 20 is 50, which makes 59. Ask an Asian child to add three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and then the necessary equation is right there, embedded in the sentence. No number translation is necessary: it’s five-tens-nine.” (229.)
He also states, “But the differences between the number systems in the East and the West suggest something very different- that being good at math may also be rooted in a group’s culture” (231). These two quotes show that Malcolm Gladwell believes that the main reason why Asians are good at math is because of their linguistic cultures which I will prove is flawed.
A big factor in why Asians are better at math than other countries (like the U.S.A) is the involvement of parents. Especially at a young age, even though school is for the student himself to get smarter, the student instead tries to impress their parents with their high grades. In North America, for example, if a student comes home with 3 D’s and 3 C’s, the parents of this student will be somewhat disappointed but won’t get angry telling them to just try harder next time or it could’ve been worse. The student recognizes this and doesn’t try as hard to prevent their parents from getting angry because they know they won’t get mad. If an Asian child comes home with a bad grade, the student would be disciplined by his/her parents. Even if the student came home with 4 A’s and 2 B’s, the parents will still tell them, “You could have done better.” A common Asian story is that when you bring home a report card with 5 A's and 1 A-, your parents will ask you "Why didn't you get that 6th A?" Then next semester, bring home 6 A's, and your parents will ask you "Why didn't you get all A's last semester?” This strictness from the parents forces the students to work harder, to work longer, and to strive to become perfect which gives them an advantage at getting better grades to Western countries like Canada.
Another reason why Asians are good at math is because of the views they have on the importance of math. In North America, if someone is “not good” at math, people would encourage this person to stop stressing too much on math and find a profession that comes naturally to him. Also, in North America, there are more opportunities to pursue a career in art or music. In Asia, if someone is not good at math, people would tell them to try harder because math and maybe science are the two most important subjects by a long shot. There are very few, if any, opportunities to pursue a future in art. Because of the fact that Asians see math and science as being way more important than art or music, Asians feel like they must do better in the “more important” subject. This makes them spend more time and effort on math, therefore increasing mathematical knowledge.
The final reason Asian kids are good at maths is because their school systems are very competitive. Every year, around nine million high school students in China take entrance exams to compete for only three million university places. Only one in three high school students can get into university. This makes high school really competitive because in order to get into a university a student must do better than at least 6 million other students. This competitiveness in high school forces students to work harder resulting in higher grades.
The involvement of parents, the view on the importance of math, and the competitiveness of high school students are key factors in why Asians are better mathematically than many other students from other countries. Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the language difference between East Asia and other areas like North America determines how smart a person is in terms of mathematics. Maybe Asians being great at math is more than just a theory, but the reason why cannot be narrowed down to their language or number system. It is much more than that. That is why Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of why Asians are good at math is flawed.
There is a stereotype that most people know of and it is that Asians are better than everyone else in math. Many people believe that this is just a stereotype and nothing more. Others believe that this is more than just a theory. In fact, these people have taken it one step further. They’ve gone out and researched what factors make this true. Malcolm Gladwell is one of them. Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book “Outliers” why he believes Asians are good at math. Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of why Asians are good at math is flawed. This is because there are many other factors that would suggest that an Asian is good at math other than their number system. For example, the involvement of parents, the view on the importance of math, and the competitiveness of high school students.
In the book “Outliers,” the author Malcolm Gladwell writes about how Asians are good at math mainly because of the number system in their language. He tries to prove that because the numbers in Asian languages (like Chinese or Japanese) is easier to understand, it allows mathematics to come easier for Asian students. He states,
“Ask an English-speaking seven-year-old to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two in her head, and she has to convert the words to numbers (37+22). Only then can she do the math: 2 plus 7 is 9 and 30 and 20 is 50, which makes 59. Ask an Asian child to add three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and then the necessary equation is right there, embedded in the sentence. No number translation is necessary: it’s five-tens-nine.” (229.)
He also states, “But the differences between the number systems in the East and the West suggest something very different- that being good at math may also be rooted in a group’s culture” (231). These two quotes show that Malcolm Gladwell believes that the main reason why Asians are good at math is because of their linguistic cultures which I will prove is flawed.
A big factor in why Asians are better at math than other countries (like the U.S.A) is the involvement of parents. Especially at a young age, even though school is for the student himself to get smarter, the student instead tries to impress their parents with their high grades. In North America, for example, if a student comes home with 3 D’s and 3 C’s, the parents of this student will be somewhat disappointed but won’t get angry telling them to just try harder next time or it could’ve been worse. The student recognizes this and doesn’t try as hard to prevent their parents from getting angry because they know they won’t get mad. If an Asian child comes home with a bad grade, the student would be disciplined by his/her parents. Even if the student came home with 4 A’s and 2 B’s, the parents will still tell them, “You could have done better.” A common Asian story is that when you bring home a report card with 5 A's and 1 A-, your parents will ask you "Why didn't you get that 6th A?" Then next semester, bring home 6 A's, and your parents will ask you "Why didn't you get all A's last semester?” This strictness from the parents forces the students to work harder, to work longer, and to strive to become perfect which gives them an advantage at getting better grades to Western countries like Canada.
Another reason why Asians are good at math is because of the views they have on the importance of math. In North America, if someone is “not good” at math, people would encourage this person to stop stressing too much on math and find a profession that comes naturally to him. Also, in North America, there are more opportunities to pursue a career in art or music. In Asia, if someone is not good at math, people would tell them to try harder because math and maybe science are the two most important subjects by a long shot. There are very few, if any, opportunities to pursue a future in art. Because of the fact that Asians see math and science as being way more important than art or music, Asians feel like they must do better in the “more important” subject. This makes them spend more time and effort on math, therefore increasing mathematical knowledge.
The final reason Asian kids are good at maths is because their school systems are very competitive. Every year, around nine million high school students in China take entrance exams to compete for only three million university places. Only one in three high school students can get into university. This makes high school really competitive because in order to get into a university a student must do better than at least 6 million other students. This competitiveness in high school forces students to work harder resulting in higher grades.
The involvement of parents, the view on the importance of math, and the competitiveness of high school students are key factors in why Asians are better mathematically than many other students from other countries. Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the language difference between East Asia and other areas like North America determines how smart a person is in terms of mathematics. Maybe Asians being great at math is more than just a theory, but the reason why cannot be narrowed down to their language or number system. It is much more than that. That is why Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of why Asians are good at math is flawed.