Discrepancies on a Global Basis

Myken Carew
University of Lethbridge
Education 4311
Kas Mazurek
May 29, 2019
 Question: We have discussed some major issues in the world. Identify what you believe to
be the single most significant – or most professionally interesting for you – international
issues we have covered.

Lead – In

As brought up many times in class, I view one of the most forefront and interesting

issues in global education to be that of educational discrepancies by means of prioritization. I

found this intriguing, as in Canada we are accustomed to living in our “superior” education

bubble and not exposing ourselves to global differences. Yet by opening my eyes to countries

such as China and India by means of the 2 Million Minutes video, I saw the discrepancy between

what it means to be truly educated for those globally as opposed to in North America. Both the

2 Million Minutes video and our discussion on teachers as entertainers, made me recall my own

experiences in contrast to these students, in which I realized how profound some of the

discrepancies actually are. For example, in Canada we prioritize autonomy and enjoyment

within our education, with no exception myself, having chosen to pursue this career based on

my personal love for athletics and my ability to spark creativity amongst the youth. This,

however, would not be the case in China or India, where personal preference is minimal and

the family unit is prioritized.

Introduction

In this essay I will first address the notable discrepancies between China, India, and

North America, with regards to their individual perceptions of teachers. Along with this topic, I

will also acknowledge the teacher’s roles within the schools and the countries’ importance

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placed on them in order to highlight the key differences. Then continuing to focus on the same

countries, I will address the concept of workload, how it is prioritized, and what differences

exist in the educational systems surrounding it. I will then concentrate on the prioritization of

autonomy and enjoyment in the educational system of each country. Next, using the the film 2

Million Minutes as a reference, I will identify the countries’ perceptions of the discrepancies in

one another’s education systems, and how they feel it is being prioritized. To conclude the

essay, I will provide an overview of the increasing discrepancies between the countries in

relation to prioritization, along with solutions I see as a means to absolve some of these

discrepancies.

Perceptions & Discrepancies Between Teachers

Each country has varying priorities in regards to their teachers’ roles in the classroom.

North American students and their families prioritize the concept of “liking” the teacher, as an

educational necessity, which was emphasized in the teacher as entertainer conversation. This

ideal focuses not on the information the teacher presents, but on their ability to engage the

class and maintain an entertaining atmosphere. In my own education for example, I had a

teacher who would tie everything into a culminating movie at the end of each week. Although

this was quite entertaining, I question now whether I was truly learning.

There is a large discrepancy between the North American perception of a teacher’s roles

in the classroom versus how both China and India prioritize their responsibilities in the

classroom. Both of these countries view teachers in a highly respected manner, as addressed in

class conversation, focusing on a teacher’s credentials and their capability to adequately teach

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the students the required information, rather than focusing on how engaging the teacher is.

Countries’ unique definitions of the ideal teacher creates discrepancies in the educational

system, ultimately resulting in the question: to what extent should we prioritize teacher

competencies in the classroom? As noted in class discussion, although entertaining teachers are

well liked, there is the call to draw the line between being both fun and informative. Due to the

fact that purely being an entertaining teacher is actually doing a disservice to the students, as

they are being denied an education.

Perceptions & Discrepancies in Workload

Another topic of controversy is that of workload, and how much time students actually

spend within schools. China and India, as noted in 2 Million Minutes, are extremely

academically driven countries and much of their lives consist of studying; students attend

school seven days a week and work towards a specific career. It was identified that in China,

students spend up to two times longer studying than those in the United States, and are

exposed to highly specified and competitive streams. Students in India reportedly spend a

month longer in school each year than their American counterparts, while also spending

majority of their free time in tutoring sessions to further increase their education.

There are large discrepancies between these countries when juxtaposed with North

American education, which places less emphasis on academia and more of an emphasis on

well-being, personal gratification, and extracurricular activities. This is often ascribed to the

idealistic concept of “balance”, which is what Americans and Canadians alike strive for. The

discrepancy between workloads is one that I have seldom thought about, as I too have have

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fallen into the construct of the “ideal balance”, which I have come to realize my life revolves

around. Priorities revolving around workload are very controversial, and as noted in class are

often due to the competitiveness of a program, along with the number of people in the

geographical area.

Concepts of Autonomy & Enjoyment

As discussed extensively in class, both autonomy and enjoyment have been identified as

key features to North American education, especially in regards to our ability to choose what

we are interested in during post-secondary education. North Americans place a strong

emphasis on one’s personal gratification in their endeavours, along with the ideal of being a

well-rounded individual. I feel as though I have always been able to make autonomous

decisions throughout my education. For example, I was able to choose to attend post-

secondary education in another city, and as a result I have experienced personal gratification in

my decision, and have also been able to advance my personal experiences to become more of

well-rounded individual.

This is a large discrepancy compared to China and India, as both countries prioritize

education, and family, in which parents often have the greatest say when in it comes to their

child’s future job, which is often chosen at a young age. There is little to no emphasis on either

autonomy or enjoyment within one’s education, studying is the top priority, and careers are

economically driven. Theses divergent priorities on educational autonomy and enjoyment lead

me to question to what extent students are able to impact one’s life in China and India. This

was addressed through class discussion on the impact of perceptions, with the concept of

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having a “first impression” without considering the long term consequences. This in turn relates

to Chinese and Indian students lacking autonomy in their future careers, resulting in potential

consequences in the future.

Countries Perceptions of One Another

I feel it is important to consider these countries’ opinions on one another’s education

systems as included in the video 2 Million Minutes in order to further highlight the

discrepancies in education. Both China and India, as they hold similar opinions in regards to the

Americans (specifically the United States), viewing their education system to be at a lower

standard. They claim that Americans study when they want to, and that their workload is

always very light in comparison to their rigorous and intense academic practices. However,

India also looks up to the Americans, with respect to their technical companies. They view the

opportunity to come to America and work in a technical company as the dream job, and are

often highly looked up to by their communities if provided the opportunity to go to the States

to pursue a career.

The Americans on the other hand, feel as though the Chinese and Indian students do is

nothing but study. Americans also hold the perception that you can’t study all of the time, or

you will not learn the practical ability to think in a liberal arts mindset, or establish personal

relations. Coming from a narrow frame of mind, and not being exposed to global educational

differences, I was one in the same with the American beliefs. With my only perception of both

Chinese and Indian’s being one of standardized tests and copious amounts of studying.

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Conclusion

The overall purpose of this essay was to identify that there is an incredible amount of

global education discrepancies that exist as a result of different priorities. I have argued this

point through the comparison of China, India, and North America, outlining some of the most

prominent issues. I first addressed the different perceptions concerning teacher roles, and the

incongruities that exist between the countries with regards to teacher competencies. I then

followed this by highlighting the different priorities with respect educational workload, through

the film 2 Million Minutes. I then brought out the discrepancies between the importance of

academia versus the importance of being happy, and the countries prioritization of them. I

continued by addressing each countries’ priorities of autonomy and enjoyment within one’s

educational career. Through which I was able to identify further differences between the

countries, as they either had no student autonomy, or a great deal of student autonomy that

allowed for enjoyment in their educational experience. Finally, I examined the countries’

perceptions of one another, and the differences they identified between the priorities of the

educational systems.

It seems clear that there are a variety of discrepancies between the educational

experiences students receive. Dependant on the country they reside in, many are unaware of

the profound impact a countries priorities have on education, and the differences that result

because of them. In order to address any of these global discrepancies, there first needs to be

an increased awareness of them. In Canada specifically, this would be possible through first

involving the teachers and school boards, followed by the community members in an

examination of the school system in comparison to other countries. This would involve

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Canadians stepping out of our “superiority” bubble and addressing discrepancies present

between our school system and others, in order to further improve. These educational

inconsistencies will continue to grow as education advances, and priorities of the countries

begin to further diverge.

To address the numerous educational discrepancies, one of the most realistic solutions

is to establish a set of global teaching standards, every teacher is up held to. Although, this is a

difficult venture especially with regards to China and India’s populations, it would address two

of the largest discrepancies I believe to be in education, which are that of workload, and the

perceptions of a teacher’s competency with regards to their role in the classroom. This global

teaching standards model would allow for advancements, while holding teachers accountable

for their work and student learning. If the issue of global education discrepancies is not

addressed, I believe the systems will continue to grow apart, and there will be an increasing gap

in what it means to be truly educated.