Thanks for sharing this comment! IT reminded me of Nisbett’s book “The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why” (2003). Here, he discussed the core cognitive and cultural differences between the East and the West whose roots lie in ancient China and Greece and which have developed over time and continue to exist today. And I think this translates to education as well. Through various studies, Nisbett concludes that Easterners have a more holistic view of the world, one in which all aspects are interrelated and interdependent, emphasizing the importance of relationships, whereas Westerners take a more analytic approach to life and view the world via categorization and rules, emphasizing the importance of independence. His thesis is that the modern differences in cognition and intellect between the East and the West lie in the ecologies of ancient China and Greece, which “were drastically different—in ways that led to different economic, political, and social arrangements” Do you think this applies to other cultures? How about when the same course is taught to multiple cultures?
Comment on Educated Mind and Heart by Yang liu
I agree that education is one of the remarkable methods to find or recognize the true dream works in mind. It is not easy, and lot so challenge both students and educators faced during the process. The responsibility of education is not only transferred the dream ideas in real-world individually but also helps students to meet and conquer the challenges in 21st century.
Comment on Seventeen years of reducing pressure for students in China by Vanessa Guerra
Thank you for this post. It is so interesting to read your perspectives based to the experiences you were exposed to. I like the idea that easy should not be goal, but it shouldn’t be hard either. I believe that promoting inclusiveness will definitely make the learning process more encouraging.
Comment on Higher Ed for Human Development? by abramds
I agree that we need to educate people in a way that exposes the injustices in the world as well as gives people tools to address them. I believe that exposure is such an important factor in this however. Students can learn about different people and places and the injustices that they face, but I don’t think that it really makes the same impression as actually experiencing the situations first hand. I do understand that travel can be expensive, but I think that these types of exercises can often happen very close to the places that people live. You certainly do not need to travel outside the United States to learn first hand about injustice and develop tools to address it.
Comment on Future of Higher Education by alexpfp17
Excellent post. I just wanted to touch on the global outreach.
Clearly that is one of the core missions of a university, and is generally a good thing. Especially programs like the one NYU runs to find brilliant talented kids in developing nations and give them full scholarships to study in New York City. But I question the motives of some of those schools building fancy new campuses on the other side of the world.
For example, the ones which build new campuses in the UAE; are they really concerned about helping the cause of educating the world, or is it a good way to bring in a little extra revenue for their main campus? You see the same with some schools and their online programs, which are clearly all about the money. Don’t get me wrong, some schools do a great job and really are doing it to improve access. But some are using these programs to fund their main campus, and that isn’t at all fair to the other students.
I guess I am a bit jaded because traditionally such schools were a product of elitism, and the idea of cultural exceptionalism. If you look at the university system of Saudi Arabia or UAE, they certainly do not need help building exceptional universities. Some of their schools are at the very top the Shanghai Rankings. So what do these new American schools offer besides being able to say “we’re American”?
My parent’s went to such schools in their home countries, it was considered a great honor to be taught by American or British teachers instead of locals – and the idea that said teachers would naturally be better, simply because they’re American / British, smells a bit of colonialism. I mean VCU just opened a campus in Qatar, VCU is the 4-5th best school in Virginia, not even in the top 100 in the US, what does a nation like Qatar, with the incredible Qatar University, gain from hosting VCU of all things?
Comment on Empathy is the new black by Vanessa Guerra
Thank you for this post. Including empathy in educational systems is such an interesting concept. I like the idea of promoting collectivistic values, but I struggle to find a strategy to apply in in a class whit diverse values and political beliefs. Have you applied this concept in any of your previous classes?
Comment on Empathy is the new black by Yang liu
In the 21st century, the educator is not only the primary role in class, the interactive of students of students and the discussion in groups are also a significant section in classes. Sometimes, students would try to control the course; the educator guides the narrative of class. It is what I imagine the course looks like in future.
Comment on Personal vs Professional by Vanessa Guerra
Thank you for this post Diana. I really like your way of addressing this challenge. Sometimes we look at our personal and professional life as two different things, when she should rather look at two aspects that should intersect. Although it is hard to find a balance, I really like the insight you provide in this post.
Comment on “Collecting the Dots” to “Connecting the Dots” by poochy
Thank you for your comments, and yes, I think the application of PBL should be case by case. Also, a combination of PBL and lecture was working well in one of the classes I took.
Comment on The Humane Part of Education by D.Gupta
You’re absolutely right. Across most universities in India, we are taught how to do things. How to optimize profit functions etc. We are never taught why we should do some of those things. The education system assumes that we will learn the “why” parts as we go. This I believe is a wrong approach.