

In Math and Science, the Best Fend for Themselves - tokenadult
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/in-math-and-science-the-best-fend-for-themselves.html

======
daveslash
First off, I have no idea what I'm talking about here - I have no idea how
other countries run their educational institutions and my understanding of
international (non-U.S.) cultures is limited.

I know that here in the U.S. there's been a great deal of effort put into
providing equal opportunities for people of all
races/ethnicities/gender/backgrounds. We've also been trying very hard to
prevent our educational system from instilling a sense of failure or
inadequacy in our children. The motivations for these initiatives are complex,
and effectiveness is subject for debate. However, I would assert that they do
exist and that effort has been put towards those ends. I wonder how much that
does or does-not detract from the objective of boosting our math and science
scores against other countries. Do other countries have these same struggles -
and how have they dealt with them? Do other countries sacrifice children of
immigrants, lower economics, etc... at the expense of the children with the
abilities to nudge the math/science scores? Do other countries even have
challenges comparable to ours? I don't know but would be curious to hear.

