I hate math and science. A lot of my Chinese friends also prefer social over hard sciences. I think Chinese math and science skills are just a product of our parent's culture--in that most Chinese youth in America are 1st generation Americans. I'm sure we'll get dumber as fobby parents who ride our asses to do well in school diminish.
Just part of the upbringing process. My parents always bought these huge math practice books for me to do. x_x;; but math isn't my best subject, science&history are.
I think some do well in math because it is nothing like grammar, creative writing, etc. Numbers can be found in just about any language and math is very mechanical and discrete. Your results are either correct or incorrect and there's no gray area like you may find in English. English itself does have mechanics and rules similar to how math does, but I think some of us lack development in these skills and struggle through this phase that creativity in language and arts goes along with it. On another thought, I think in some cultures, many people just don't express themselves or their thoughts/emotions like you may find in some other cultures, so when a child is raised among this type of social atmosphere, language and the arts don't really appeal to them. I didn't have a whole lot of parental influence in much of my schooling other than to 'keep up with the work'. I wasn't very good in much of my school work but during one summer of my middle school years, I took Algebra at a community college nearby to try to improve my understanding of math and the instructor did a good job at showing us how to solve problems that I began to enjoy it and I went all the way up to Calculus II before I had to stop. I have to say that I'm glad to have been able to find math and enjoy it while I was learning it. I still use algebra on occasion, I would like to use trigonometry but I haven't had any reason to have to use it yet. I was pretty good at science as well and I was enjoying it because it was pretty mechanical and I also had a personal interest in the field. Of course, my English was terrible because I never developed proper grammar skills and just never made enough effort to improve it. Reading comprehension can be difficult for me if I'm not entertained from what I'm trying to read. I will space out and just aimlessly look at words. After remedial English in college, my grammar skills have improved a whole lot but I still lack some writing ability.
stronger competition and math level in China? My little sis is born here in Denmark and her school didn't start to teach her division until her 4th grade. I remember my class needed to do it in 2nd grade in China.
more of how we were brought up? and what we were taught at a very young age... and which is now incorporated into out day to day lives.
I think it's just a sterotype. I believe that if anyone puts efforts into their study. The outcome would be postive.
sure the result will be positiv (learning makes people stupid makes no sense) but some have more potential to something (like math) then other and can also learn it to a (potential) higher level then other.
Definitely their culture; how they're taught in school. Chinese childrens were beaten all the time if they didn't know how to solve a math problem!
Complete rubbish. Being good at maths doesn't come from some inherent superatmathsorientalgene, it comes from the fear of a vicious beating at the hands of a strict asian mum or dad from a young age thats spurs you on to study hard and do your homework. This stereotype that all Chinese are good at maths thing comes from jealous non-oriental people too lazy to put in the effort to study hard for their goals and looking for an excuse for their own inadequacies.
yeah that's true, and its comes down to self fulfilled prophesy, if your one of the many who aint good at maths and people go stereotyping you as a person who must be good at maths then i could see it getting annoying
hahaha that's me!! i study maths for A level..and its the only subject thats pulling me back... biggest worrying subject to achieve my A to get into university. and im literally bottom of the class with maths...no joke... it's rly bad.. haha... but most of the chinese in my yr are the typical furthermaths naturals at maths lolz..... damn.. *siighz*.
It's hard for a Chinese person to learn a second language as fluently as other people. We therefore have to succeed at other things - like math. I've got friends who have been speaking english as a first language and he is an english major...it's just playing to your strengths and what you're good at.
