Globalization is an amazing thing. Especially with the internet, the new age is one in which other cultures are just a click and a pageview away.
Just saw this story: Start-Up Teaches Math to Americans, Indian-Style. Bob Compton, producer of Two Million Minutes, has co-founded a site called Indian Math Online, which uses an Indian approach to the teaching of mathematics to kids. He co-founded the site with Suresh Murthy, who grew up in India. Mr. Murthy has a personal investment in the company, since he has daughters who study math. So far, it looks like most of Indian Math Online’s clients have been Indian and Chinese immigrants:
Two-thirds of the students using it are children of Indian and Chinese immigrants. Mr. Murthy’s children are an example. “He grew up in India, and he worried about his daughters falling behind in the global competition to be educated for the 21st century,” Mr. Compton said.
The reason for looking to India is the culture around education:
The site’s curriculum is based on some crucial differences between math education in India and the United States, Mr. Compton said. Math homework in India consists of math problems that students work through, as opposed to the United States, where homework is heavy on reading about math topics in a textbook. Math teachers in India have college or graduate degrees in the topic, he said. Meanwhile, most American students in grades five through eight learn math and science from teachers without degrees or certification in these topics, according to a National Academies report.
I’d be interested in seeing how and if this catches on. Education is going to be a huge deal with the incoming intellectual U.S. president. As of right now, as Compton mentions, “American children” (Does he mean white people? Or black people? I’m Chinese, but I consider myself “American”…) get bored after a while. Maybe that will change if Obama can inspire kids to value education.
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