NYT article on easing academic pressure and a cultural divide

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One can obtain a student visa to study in the US. It does not allow the holder to work or obtain a green card.

I thought student visas were only for college level and up, not HS level and down.

You can get a student visa for private elementary/high school, music conservatories, language training, etc.

[Anonymous]

Property taxes pay for schools, no?

[Anonymous]

It was an interesting article that pointed out that 90% of the students in the accelerated math class were Asian. So now the district is dropping accelerated math for fourth and fifth grade and advanced students have to wait two years until 6th grade. The district is also not allowing credit for some summer classes because they don't want certain students to get ahead. Instead of offering a rigourous track AND more mellow track for those students and parents who don't want the most rigorous education and want time to pursue other opportunities, the superintendent unilaterally decided the district would no longer offer the most rigorous academic track. I think parents are justified in bring upset. I am not Asian but have realized if you can't beat them - join them so I make my young elementary kids do math afterschool everyday so they will be competitive. Or maybe I should just move to this town where they seem to be outlawing any firm of competition- no more finals in high school, most kids probably now get A's while putting in less effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Property taxes pay for schools, no?

Well, property taxes help pay for schools. But only in states with inequitable systems for school funding are property taxes the main source of school funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was an interesting article that pointed out that 90% of the students in the accelerated math class were Asian. So now the district is dropping accelerated math for fourth and fifth grade and advanced students have to wait two years until 6th grade. The district is also not allowing credit for some summer classes because they don't want certain students to get ahead. Instead of offering a rigourous track AND more mellow track for those students and parents who don't want the most rigorous education and want time to pursue other opportunities, the superintendent unilaterally decided the district would no longer offer the most rigorous academic track. I think parents are justified in bring upset. I am not Asian but have realized if you can't beat them - join them so I make my young elementary kids do math afterschool everyday so they will be competitive. Or maybe I should just move to this town where they seem to be outlawing any firm of competition- no more finals in high school, most kids probably now get A's while putting in less effort.

That's not what the article said. It's interesting that you interpret it that way. This is what the article said:

Asian-American students have been avid participants in a state program that permits them to take summer classes off campus for high school credit, allowing them to maximize the number of honors and Advanced Placement classes they can take, another practice that Dr. Aderhold is limiting this school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...On the other hand, I'm an alumni interviewer for my alma mater, which is a top-25 university. I interviewed a few people last year, and recommended them all. The Asian students I recommended were not accepted, and looking back on it, I think it was the lack of being a well-rounded person. They did very well academically (which is why I recommended them) but weren't so well-rounded compared to the non-Asian student I interviewed (and who was accepted).

what school and specifically what was lacking in the Asian students?

the PP who is an interviewer is an idiot. Schools don't look for 'well rounded' - they look to construct 'well rounded classes'.

What PP interviewer fails to mention is the truth, which is the asian kids he interviewed and recommended were competing for admission with other asian kids, not with the entire class. The non-asian kid likewise was competing within his/her bucket.

Um, pretty sure having racial "buckets" (i.e. Quotas) is unconstitutional.

Um, you're pretty wrong about that.

A strict racial quota would absolutely violate the constitution for a public institution and the Civil Rights Act for private. My guess is that we will see a parity of legal doctrine between public and private in the next 10 yrs severely limiting the consideration of race at all.

[Anonymous]

"Dumbing down" the curriculum that mostly serves 90% Asian kids? It sounds more like that the school district does not want to serve "advanced" kids and Asians in particular.

We have relatives who live in Princeton, NJ. They have always felt having lots of Asians has been good for the quality of education in their district. Too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are paid for by the u.s. taxpayers. I don't understand how a parent in S. Korea can just decide to send their kids to public school in the u.s. no rules against this?

Yes, there are rules. But, plenty of people from all over the world break rules here in the US, and plenty of Americans break foreign rules when they visit other countries. The US gov't has better things to do than go after HS kids who are not committing violent crimes. I'd rather the gov't go after violent criminals, American born or otherwise, than spend tax dollars on going after HS kids from other countries. After all the violent criminals are gone, then they can spend time and money going after HS kids that are just studying.

Finally a honest answer. Yes they are breaking the ruleS but we should turn a blind eye to it because there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.

I do disagree that an American can go to other countries and get away with this. Most I'M familiar with rather strictly enforce their immigration rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property taxes pay for schools, no?

Well, property taxes help pay for schools. But only in states with inequitable systems for school funding are property taxes the main source of school funding.

Don't worry. Most of the public school districts that Asians target to send their kids like McLean (for TJ) use property taxes. People who send their kids to other countries for schooling are not exactly poor illegal immigrants sucking on the US taxpayers teat.

[Anonymous]

I'm Asian, and I don't like the uber competitiveness and stress that some of these kids are going through. Having stated that, I do find it curious that many white parents are now complaining about this type of competitive culture that Asian American kids bring to the table, but all was ok when the wealthier white kids were able to succeed, but the poorer kids (mostly minorities) couldn't keep up. This reminds me a bit of the recent article about how the public wants to treat drug addicts differently now that it's affecting more affluent white kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are paid for by the u.s. taxpayers. I don't understand how a parent in S. Korea can just decide to send their kids to public school in the u.s. no rules against this?

Yes, there are rules. But, plenty of people from all over the world break rules here in the US, and plenty of Americans break foreign rules when they visit other countries. The US gov't has better things to do than go after HS kids who are not committing violent crimes. I'd rather the gov't go after violent criminals, American born or otherwise, than spend tax dollars on going after HS kids from other countries. After all the violent criminals are gone, then they can spend time and money going after HS kids that are just studying.

Finally a honest answer. Yes they are breaking the ruleS but we should turn a blind eye to it because there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.

I do disagree that an American can go to other countries and get away with this. Most I'M familiar with rather strictly enforce their immigration rules.

They are not breaking any laws by sending their kids to school in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are paid for by the u.s. taxpayers. I don't understand how a parent in S. Korea can just decide to send their kids to public school in the u.s. no rules against this?

Yes, there are rules. But, plenty of people from all over the world break rules here in the US, and plenty of Americans break foreign rules when they visit other countries. The US gov't has better things to do than go after HS kids who are not committing violent crimes. I'd rather the gov't go after violent criminals, American born or otherwise, than spend tax dollars on going after HS kids from other countries. After all the violent criminals are gone, then they can spend time and money going after HS kids that are just studying.

Finally a honest answer. Yes they are breaking the ruleS but we should turn a blind eye to it because there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.

I do disagree that an American can go to other countries and get away with this. Most I'M familiar with rather strictly enforce their immigration rules.

Get away with what? You buy or rent a residence in the US (that's legal, and it makes you a resident of the school district), and then you send your child to school on a student visa (that's legal too).

[Anonymous]

This is how Republicans are born. Nice to see people waking up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are paid for by the u.s. taxpayers. I don't understand how a parent in S. Korea can just decide to send their kids to public school in the u.s. no rules against this?

Yes, there are rules. But, plenty of people from all over the world break rules here in the US, and plenty of Americans break foreign rules when they visit other countries. The US gov't has better things to do than go after HS kids who are not committing violent crimes. I'd rather the gov't go after violent criminals, American born or otherwise, than spend tax dollars on going after HS kids from other countries. After all the violent criminals are gone, then they can spend time and money going after HS kids that are just studying.

Finally a honest answer. Yes they are breaking the ruleS but we should turn a blind eye to it because there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.

I do disagree that an American can go to other countries and get away with this. Most I'M familiar with rather strictly enforce their immigration rules.

PP here. I'm not just talking about overstaying your visit. I'm talking general law breaking. Plenty of Americans break laws when visiting foreign countries. Didn't say should turn a blind eye. Said, with limited resources, I'd rather go after violent criminals than HSers studying. Don't know the percentage, but I'm guessing there aren't thousands of such kids in the country studying, but there are thousands of violent criminals. Also, local gov't doesn't have any jurisdiction over enforcing immigration. They do, however, have a legal obligation to educate a child who lives in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is how Republicans are born. Nice to see people waking up!

Republicans are born through a divide in an affluent New Jersey school district between white US-born (mostly) parents who think that accelerate-accelerate-push-push is not a good philosophy for K-12 schools and Chinese-immigrant (mostly) parents who think that accelerate-accelerate-push-push is necessary to get ahead? I didn't know that.