Beth Benoit wrote: > > Wow. > > http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/12/21/my_lazy_american_students/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1 > So, what does your "wow" mean, Beth? Does this strike you as surprising? Outrageous? Offensive? It seems pretty much "common knowledge" to me. (And despite what the article says, I wouldn't suggest that [white, anglo-scottish-irish, long-standing] Canadians are much better than American kids on this score.) And I think I know where it comes from too. US (North American?, Western?) culture is crammed full of the message that we are superior, we are special, and it is something that is essential to us, not the product of some particular effort that we have expended (though perhaps our ancestors did). One sees this message everywhere from politics, to religion, to entertainment, to educational practice (virtually no one "fails," everyone must be "retained" and eventually "graduated," the slightest quiver of anxiety is immediately declared a "disability" and "accommodated"). The message is: you are a success virtually in virtue of just being you (think the "self-esteem" movement). Little (but loyalty) is required of you. You were born into the greatest, richest, free-est, most Godly, and, when necessary, most powerful nation/culture/civilization that has ever graced the face of the earth. Anyone who says otherwise is just hateful, jealous, and anti-(insert your country's name here). Can you imagine any US politician getting much electoral traction by announcing "We have become self-indulgent and have fallen behind many other countries in education and productivity. The only way to retrieve some portion of our former international stature is for us to cut back in our personal lives (smaller, more efficient cars, houses, etc), work harder (both at work and school), pay off our debts (both as individuals and as a nation), and show a willingness to cooperate with other countries in dealing the major international challenges that face us"? Never.
This is not to say that India, China, and everywhere else doesn't have its share of ugly nationalistic, jingoistic, ethnocentric, overly-prideful rhetoric. They all do. (And to be entirely fair, the ones who travel to the US to get educated are not average for their culture. They are eager to get ahead, whereas a lot of the "locals" we face as teachers virtually "fell" into our classrooms). It is, rather, that people from developing countries just don't mistake political posturing for being knowledgeable and working hard to become so. They can't afford to. What they are proud of is what they -- as Indians, Chinese, etc. -- can *accomplish*. Americans, all too often, are proud of being, well, American. (Mutatis mutandis for many other Western countries.) It used to be called "decadence." It has brought down many another (every?) empire. And it is a very difficult whirlpool to escape from. Happy solstice! Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
