Reflection: Battleground School

One segment that let me stop to think is the part where social conventions think those who are interested in math are eggheads, nerds, etc. It is a very interesting discussion because obviously, this article is talking about North American school cultures. In China, those who are interested in and good at math is widely praised by peers, teachers, and society in general. But that was not always the case in history, the Chinese respect for high achievers in an education system came from the imperial test system and it was toward different subjects. 

In imperial China, every several years, there was a nationwide test on history, philosophy, policies, etc. Those who scored high rankings in these tests are anointed as government officials at different levels of the imperial system, the best ones often eventually achieve high ranks in courts. One can quickly see that this system provides a path to class ascension, wealth, and power through studying and test-taking, where scores are immediately rewarded with materials. But during that age, the respected subjects are history, politics, etc. In modern China, the cultural respect obviously continued for the high achievers in the education system, but the subjects shifted to STEM majors. Observing the system, we can see that many of the top leaders of modern China had backgrounds in STEM fields, and that obviously tells society where power and wealth would flow. 

In North America, power and wealth are hoarded by political families and corporate conglomerations, which often consist of wealthy families, their lawyers and partners, and the doctors or other people serving these groups. Therefore, we see respect in their subjects like lawyers and doctors, and the media often makes fun of other subjects for entertainment. These social values will impact the school system, and it is not within the school system's ability to influence society in reverse. So I'm not optimistic about outcomes of promoting respect in certain subjects in the school system alone, it is a reflection of the broader social value.

Another segment is the "New Math curriculum" movement, which I think could include more geometry in there. I think geometric proofs as practice are great methods to train logical thinking and deductions, which are great personality traits even outside of their school years. 

One final segment is how the media portrays schools, which again I think requires a societal shift in values to truly help improve. The media corporations will naturally seek ways to maximize their profits, and what gets views is based on social values. Unless there are non-profit, non-agenda media outlets that solely care about effective education, we will continue to see more Pawn Stars and Ancient Aliens in the History Channel.