Let’s start with a bit of Shakespeare!
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
I’ll stop right there because it’s our attitude to school which is going to be the main topic of of the show today. And if you want to know the rest then you’ll have to revisit ‘As you like it’.
In the last show we explored some of the many cultural aspects of learning apparent in one educational institution and in this show we’re going to stick with the idea of learning culture but this time on a world wide basis.
I mentioned the 2 Million Minutes project very briefly in the show on China and the Olympics but I was so intrigued by the project that I got in touch with Bob Compton, the man behind the project, so that I could find out more.
absolutely educated: What do you want to be when you grow up? According to Bob Compton the answer you give to this question when you are six or seven years old says a great deal about how successful your country is going to be economically in the future. Be honest now! What would your answer have been at that age?
Bob Compton is worried about the economic consequences of the American education system but sees the problem as arising from different cultural attitudes to learning and teachers. He decided to raise awareness about the competition from India and China by making a film following the lives of 6 high school students from the 3 different countries. The project is called 2 million minutes and I asked Bob to tell us more….
absolutely concerned: Back with Bob Compton I asked him to explain the title of the project and then wanted to know more about some of the main observations made in the film. He picked out the differing parental aspirations as a key difference.
absolutely musical: Ah but, say the objectors, it’s not healthy to study all the time, what about creativity? A running theme through the project seems to be the musical prowess of the Chinese on all sorts of instruments. Even the translator could play something on the accordion!
absolutely prepared: So having seen the situation in India and China did this have any effect on Bob Compton’s family at an individual level? I asked him in particular about his daughters’ education and discovered that the family had made radical changes.
‘In America you have tutors when your children are failing but in India and China you have tutors when your children are doing well so that they can do even better.”
‘In India your college application is your name and your test score. Nothing else!’
I was interested in this project for what it told me about cultural differences in the attitude to education but there have also been some very strong negative reactions to this project because it tends to view education in purely utilitarian terms. Where do you stand on this? Let us know here on the blog. What is the learning culture in your country? Is it closer to the Indian and Chinese models or closer to the American model? You will find lots more information about the 2 Million minutes project at their website where you can even take an Indian maths test and you will find many film snippets about the back story behind the project on their dedicated channel at YouTube.
By the way, I would like to do a show exploring some of the new social networking language learning websites which have sprung up in the last year or so. So if you have any experience as a user of sites such as Live Mocha, Palabea, Mango Languages or Babbel then get in touch because I would like to know if they really work.
The next show will be coming to you on 31 October from Dr Laurent Borgmann in Germany.
So stay tuned!
The host of this show is: Anne Fox
Assistant Editor: Jan Warnecke
Great post! Just wanted to post a comment about the site I’m studying French on, http://www.edufire.com. I can honestly say that I’m working my way towards fluency and there are many supportive members on the site that help and assist me daily. Cool site and great community. I haven’t officially signed up and used the sites mentioned above but for me elearning is a brilliant way to learn.
I think LiveMocha’s lessons are good for beginners, but if your language skills are already above the level of the courses that are offered, its not very helpful. I think more advanced language learners find more benefit from some of the higher level content on http://www.italki.com ‘s Knowledge and Files section. I don’t know anyone personally who’s used Mango or Nicole’s Edufire, but neither of those are free, which may be a big deterrent for some people, especially in this economy.
We’d be happy to have a guest help you analyze the online language learning market and the various sites for your upcoming podcast. If you’re interested, feel free to contact me.
Who is the photographer/artist that created the picture for the 2 Million Minutes movie -it is inspiration and this person should get some credit.
It is stunning isn’t it! I’m afraid I can’t help. I think you would have to contact Bob Compton himself directly. I found the credits page on the website at http://www.2mminutes.com/credits.asp which gives credit to many, many people including a web designer but I would imagine the photo was made by somebody else.
Absolutely Intercultural, you are very interesting to read. Very interesting and engaging.
I look forward to seeing more.. Thank for sharring.