My lazy American students(boston.com)
boston.com
My lazy American students
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/12/21/my_lazy_american_students/
15 comments
This seems partially explained by selection bias -- the slackers from "India, China, and Latin America" don't come to America for college at the same rates as American slackers do. However, this doesn't explain the actual statistics she gives.
Yeah, if the validity of your visa hinges on passing all of your classes, you will do what it takes to pass those classes, language barrier or no.
More to the point, the only ones who got the visa in the first place are the ones who already were top performers.
I agree that foreign students are above the average level of American students, generally speaking. But in this particular case? I had never heard of Babson College, and I'm pretty sure top students in any of the mentioned countries wouldn't choose Babson.
You probably never heard of them because they didn't go to your area to recruit. When I was looking at schools recruiters were coming to the school practically everyday. Some were bundled up in the same day.
And you never know why a student chooses a college until you ask. They might be offering something in their major. They may know an alumni who can get them a spot (with the proper grades of course), or they might offer more scholarship money. If you're family income is $200 a month are you really going to turn down a free education?
And you never know why a student chooses a college until you ask. They might be offering something in their major. They may know an alumni who can get them a spot (with the proper grades of course), or they might offer more scholarship money. If you're family income is $200 a month are you really going to turn down a free education?
Also keep in mind that the author teaches at Babson, which is a private college devoted entirely to business administration students.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand how I should "keep this in mind." She teaches at a college which focuses on business. How does this explain the difference she sees between her American students and her international students? (I'm not trying to be difficult - though I'm told it comes natural to me. I just don't see your point.)
He might be intoning the stereotype (which may or may not be true) that there are more "slacker" students joining business programs, whereas engineering students tend to be more focused and disciplined. Therefore, you might see a very different article from an instructor at MIT.
Right, but that difference (if it were real, which I doubt) should cut across the two groups of students (American and non-American).
Or at least, we have no reason to think that "business students are lazier than other students" tracks or causes the difference between Americans and others that the author focuses on.
Or at least, we have no reason to think that "business students are lazier than other students" tracks or causes the difference between Americans and others that the author focuses on.
I'm just saying that all the author is observing is that the students with the most to lose, work the hardest. Foreign students obviously have a lot to lose since they're coming overseas for an education. On the other hand, the American students she interacts with are likely wealthy and don't necessarily need stellar grades to move on to a professional degree program e.g. medical school.
It doesn't explain any difference between American and other students, just that Babson's student body is different than most.
From personal experience i've found the hardest working students to be those needing to get into professional school (law or medicine) as well as low-income/disadvantaged students who couldn't afford the $50k tuition/year to attend a private college.
From personal experience i've found the hardest working students to be those needing to get into professional school (law or medicine) as well as low-income/disadvantaged students who couldn't afford the $50k tuition/year to attend a private college.
Sure it does explain the difference, or at least it is easy to see how it could. From my experience interacting with foreign high school students from across the globe, they generally do not understand the hierarchy of higher ed in the US. At least, the ones I interact with have little knowledge of the reputations of colleges outside of Ivies + Stanford + MIT. (Clearly, you could argue that college rep != college quality, but that is a totally different discussion.)
Consequently, you could end up with a student body of pretty highly qualified foreign students but American students that didn't make the cut at more desirable colleges in the US. (Again, there are plenty of reasons why great students choose colleges that are not high on the prestige list, but this effect doesn't need to be large to be real.)
Consequently, you could end up with a student body of pretty highly qualified foreign students but American students that didn't make the cut at more desirable colleges in the US. (Again, there are plenty of reasons why great students choose colleges that are not high on the prestige list, but this effect doesn't need to be large to be real.)
I know a number of foreign students who came to the US as undergrads and essentially threw a dart at a map of the US.
For some reason I have met a number of Japanese students that spent 4 years at schools I had never heard of (like X+State+University+Branch Campus in a tiny town). And they usually were very good students who went on to good grad programs, employment, etc.
The point being that the quality/reputation of the school will not be proportional in the same way to the quality of the domestic students versus the quality of foreign students.
A final anecdote, when I was at a university in Germany, I saw a cheesy poster advertising a scholarship to study in the UK, sort of "Apply Now! Come to England!". The scholarship: The Rhodes. I asked a few Germans and none of them had heard of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is probably the most prestigious scholarship in the English speaking world.
For some reason I have met a number of Japanese students that spent 4 years at schools I had never heard of (like X+State+University+Branch Campus in a tiny town). And they usually were very good students who went on to good grad programs, employment, etc.
The point being that the quality/reputation of the school will not be proportional in the same way to the quality of the domestic students versus the quality of foreign students.
A final anecdote, when I was at a university in Germany, I saw a cheesy poster advertising a scholarship to study in the UK, sort of "Apply Now! Come to England!". The scholarship: The Rhodes. I asked a few Germans and none of them had heard of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is probably the most prestigious scholarship in the English speaking world.
Actually, many people think of the Rhodes as tainted (because it includes an athletic component) and rate the Marshall Scholarship more highly. (If we're ranking go-to-England scholarships, at least...)
Would be nice if we could get a slacker statistic like percentage of slackers by country.
To offer a contrarian view, I have two friends from India this semester who got caught for plagiarizing in their English class. This is just this semester.
I won't make any big judgement calls about international students based on observing my few friends. But hey, it does make me believe that international students are less aware of the consequences of things like plagiarizing. I think they are a little behind on it. For American students, we went through the "dumb phase" of plagiarizing in 6th grade when I remember 90% of my class using the same one source for an assignment forcing the teacher to give an hour long lecture on plagiarizing. She also canceled that assignment. International students, unfortunately, don't seem to have gotten that lesson before coming here. Really unfair for them -- but a win for American education(rare as that may be).
I won't make any big judgement calls about international students based on observing my few friends. But hey, it does make me believe that international students are less aware of the consequences of things like plagiarizing. I think they are a little behind on it. For American students, we went through the "dumb phase" of plagiarizing in 6th grade when I remember 90% of my class using the same one source for an assignment forcing the teacher to give an hour long lecture on plagiarizing. She also canceled that assignment. International students, unfortunately, don't seem to have gotten that lesson before coming here. Really unfair for them -- but a win for American education(rare as that may be).
Based on your experience of two friends from India, you started believing that international students are less aware of the consequences of plagiarizing. Your point is nonsensical on so many levels.
First, since when did 'two friends from India' begin reflecting the attitudes of millions of students all over the world (international), only a fraction of which end up in the US in the first place.
Second, how can you conclude that they were unaware of the consequences of plagiarizing. Maybe they were aware of the consequences, but decided to take a chance anyway.
It seems to be that you are subtly implying that the American education system inculcates some sense of ethics (discouraging things like plagiarism) in the students, which for some inexplicable reason the education system of these international students doesn't. That IMHO is bigoted.
First, since when did 'two friends from India' begin reflecting the attitudes of millions of students all over the world (international), only a fraction of which end up in the US in the first place.
Second, how can you conclude that they were unaware of the consequences of plagiarizing. Maybe they were aware of the consequences, but decided to take a chance anyway.
It seems to be that you are subtly implying that the American education system inculcates some sense of ethics (discouraging things like plagiarism) in the students, which for some inexplicable reason the education system of these international students doesn't. That IMHO is bigoted.
While I agree with your sentiments on a lack of proper data, there is another hypothesis for foreign students, perhaps having a higher rate of cheating. One that is not bigoted at all, and applies equally well to a subset of north american students.
Some cultures, India, China, perhaps others, currently place immense value on education. This brings with it immense pressure. While that can lead to a good work ethic, perhaps the immense pressure can also lead to a higher likelihood of cheating. It's not that these students underestimate the risk of getting caught, but more that they may be more afraid of the reaction of their family or peers back home if they fail.
Getting good grades is not exclusively a result of hard work. Often it can be genuinely challenging. For some international students, failing can mean a loss of scholar ship and thus having to leave back home. For students in China, for example, this may mean a loss of freedom, and certainly a big loss of social rank back home.
North American students studying here may occasionally have a lot of pressure from home, but they never risk being denied citizenship, or being relegated to low paying jobs for the rest of their life with no chance of improving.
In some graduate programs, this fact is occasionally taken advantage of by unethical professors, who can get away with treating their international students poorly.
Some cultures, India, China, perhaps others, currently place immense value on education. This brings with it immense pressure. While that can lead to a good work ethic, perhaps the immense pressure can also lead to a higher likelihood of cheating. It's not that these students underestimate the risk of getting caught, but more that they may be more afraid of the reaction of their family or peers back home if they fail.
Getting good grades is not exclusively a result of hard work. Often it can be genuinely challenging. For some international students, failing can mean a loss of scholar ship and thus having to leave back home. For students in China, for example, this may mean a loss of freedom, and certainly a big loss of social rank back home.
North American students studying here may occasionally have a lot of pressure from home, but they never risk being denied citizenship, or being relegated to low paying jobs for the rest of their life with no chance of improving.
In some graduate programs, this fact is occasionally taken advantage of by unethical professors, who can get away with treating their international students poorly.
perhaps having a higher rate of cheating
I had a professor from France this semester. He went on a tirade about how we should cover our papers and not cheat. The whole class(all Americans) seemed pretty lost and could not relate to his lecture on cheating. I see a similar response when mainly foreign professors ask students to switch seats and spread around the room on exam days.
My French professor said when he went to college in the US, he had moments where the professor left the class and my professor(then a student) would look around him hoping folks would "cooperate"(in funny French accent). I'm not sure how much of that was said as a joke but I think the sentiment has at least some truth to it.
I can definitely tell you that while I was in India and my initial few years in the US, I was under immense pressure to perform. That is also when I would be most inclined to do not-so-ethical things. Then over time the pressure goes away and the incentive to cheat does not seem greater than just doing the work or accepting a poor grade.
I had a professor from France this semester. He went on a tirade about how we should cover our papers and not cheat. The whole class(all Americans) seemed pretty lost and could not relate to his lecture on cheating. I see a similar response when mainly foreign professors ask students to switch seats and spread around the room on exam days.
My French professor said when he went to college in the US, he had moments where the professor left the class and my professor(then a student) would look around him hoping folks would "cooperate"(in funny French accent). I'm not sure how much of that was said as a joke but I think the sentiment has at least some truth to it.
I can definitely tell you that while I was in India and my initial few years in the US, I was under immense pressure to perform. That is also when I would be most inclined to do not-so-ethical things. Then over time the pressure goes away and the incentive to cheat does not seem greater than just doing the work or accepting a poor grade.
This was a tongue-in-cheek response to the original article which seems to make sweeping generalizations about American students from the experiences of one professor.
It seems to be that you are subtly implying that the American education system inculcates some sense of ethics (discouraging things like plagiarism) in the students, which for some inexplicable reason the education system of these international students doesn't.
Exactly. The same could be argued about the original author's suggestion that the American education system in-builds laziness while the international system of millions of students does not.
In reality, I wouldn't call it ethics--far from that! American students don't plagiarize (as much) because they know they will get caught and face insane consequences. Indian students(my friends) don't know the perceived seriousness of it so they fail a class they had a 96 in because they plagiarized the final paper. I really pity my friend more than blame him.
Btw, my bias/generalizations are quickly repudiated and doesn't get published in a widely distributed paper for good reasons. The original author gets to make a huge splash. That's the problem.
Also, I split my K-12 education between India and U.S so I have experienced both sides of the education system.
It seems to be that you are subtly implying that the American education system inculcates some sense of ethics (discouraging things like plagiarism) in the students, which for some inexplicable reason the education system of these international students doesn't.
Exactly. The same could be argued about the original author's suggestion that the American education system in-builds laziness while the international system of millions of students does not.
In reality, I wouldn't call it ethics--far from that! American students don't plagiarize (as much) because they know they will get caught and face insane consequences. Indian students(my friends) don't know the perceived seriousness of it so they fail a class they had a 96 in because they plagiarized the final paper. I really pity my friend more than blame him.
Btw, my bias/generalizations are quickly repudiated and doesn't get published in a widely distributed paper for good reasons. The original author gets to make a huge splash. That's the problem.
Also, I split my K-12 education between India and U.S so I have experienced both sides of the education system.
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Isn't that his point? That making gross generalizations off a small sample size is ridiculous? That's what I got out of it anyway.
Plagiarizing and cheating are fairly normal and culturally accepted in some parts of the world. For example, if caught cheating in a college in Bosnia, the absolutely worst thing that could happen is that you're not allowed to take that class for 6 months, but it is more likely they would just kick you out and made you retake it.
Isn't the stereotype that India is more "lazy" than China?
One thing I still can't understand is how so many people are okay asking for an extension on something. I can't believe how many of my peers ask for extensions on papers and programming assignments. It's unreal. School might not be as high a priority as my startup right now, but I never turn in anything late. I think tardiness is the worst kind of habit to have.
At my college, the professors explicitly told us to always ask for extensions if we needed it, provided it was a few days to a week in advance. It is a form of time management to know ahead of time that you have 60 hours worth of work due in the next 48 hours, and talking to the professor builds communication skills and the good habit of giving feedback to your superiors.
If you're talking about asking for an extension 10 minutes before the deadline (or 10 minutes after), that's a whole different kettle of fish.
If you're talking about asking for an extension 10 minutes before the deadline (or 10 minutes after), that's a whole different kettle of fish.
I can understand that. What bothers me though is the attitude that it is okay to ask for extensions on a regular basis.
Perhaps this has more to do with the role college plays in American society. I believe that college has become more of a high school extension than anything, and so maybe it is wrong to blame students who treat it as such. I doubt they would be slacking off in grad school (but I can't be sure!)
Perhaps this has more to do with the role college plays in American society. I believe that college has become more of a high school extension than anything, and so maybe it is wrong to blame students who treat it as such. I doubt they would be slacking off in grad school (but I can't be sure!)
It's OK to ask. You may not get the extension, but given the amount of unannounced lateness teachers often see, asking for an extension in advance with a "how can we work this out" attitude looks like an attempt to be responsible. Contrast with an attitude of starting things the day they're due and then acting surprised when you can't finish a multi-week project in one day.
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Outside of school, deadlines are usually based on project estimates, and as long as you provide sufficient notice, it's often possible to adjust the schedule and dependent activities to fit the actual time required to complete task(s). If it's not possible, then business decisions have to be made regarding what tasks can be abandoned or modified to meet the hard deadlines -- regardless of how the business adapts, you're better off bringing up a scheduling issue before it becomes critical.
Given that deadlines in education are more or less entirely arbitrary, I don't see the harm in extending them within reason, and providing students with the opportunity to successfully complete their tasks.
As for tardiness -- it happens. If someone consistently fails to meet our estimates, but delivers a sufficient degree of value within a reasonable amount of time, then I'll simply learn to incorporate their individual turn-around time in my estimates.
Given that deadlines in education are more or less entirely arbitrary, I don't see the harm in extending them within reason, and providing students with the opportunity to successfully complete their tasks.
As for tardiness -- it happens. If someone consistently fails to meet our estimates, but delivers a sufficient degree of value within a reasonable amount of time, then I'll simply learn to incorporate their individual turn-around time in my estimates.
I understand that. However, these employees want to get the work done on time, and see it as important, but couldn't get it done in the time estimate. The attitude I notice is more of an indifference to the deadline.
I do understand the indifference -- the deadline is more or less completely arbitrary, as there are very few critical scheduling issues dependent on strictly punctual delivery, and all that is really required is reasonable timeliness. If the professors allow it, why not use the additional latitude to your advantage?
Hard deadlines are generally driven by what are ultimately financial/market concerns. I sweat the deadlines when a trade show is approaching, and I sweat the budget when we see schedule slippage on an release, but most of the time I'm happy as long as everyone is productive, progress is being made, and the budget looks OK.
Hard deadlines are generally driven by what are ultimately financial/market concerns. I sweat the deadlines when a trade show is approaching, and I sweat the budget when we see schedule slippage on an release, but most of the time I'm happy as long as everyone is productive, progress is being made, and the budget looks OK.
I don't see this that often at Georgia Tech. The one class where I know someone who asked for extensions, extensions were almost always granted, however, you took a 30% grade deduction for an extra day.
why not? In the real world, just because you happen to miss a deadline doesn't mean the work doesn't still have to be finished.
> Of course, it would be wrong to suggest that all American students are the same.
...
> Success is all about time management, and in a globalizing economy, Americans’ inability to stay focused and work hard could prove to be a serious problem.
<sigh>
...
> Success is all about time management, and in a globalizing economy, Americans’ inability to stay focused and work hard could prove to be a serious problem.
<sigh>
And you know what's really sad about how poorly argued the editorial is? The author is a teacher of Rhetoric and History and based on her description of her students, I bet she teaches freshman composition or the like. (If that doesn't ring any bells, many colleges require incoming students - all or nearly all - to take a semester or a year of critical reading and writing courses in their first year. It's basically remedial education by another name.)
My favorite comment about this same article elsewhere in cyberspace: "I don't know whether to say if she's bad at rhetoric because her argument is so poor or if she's good at rhetoric because she got printed in a major newspaper."
Maybe not complete bullshit but an exaggeration in my opinion. Just because a student comes from China or another India or wherever does not necessarily mean they are amazing workers.
For instance one semester I was lab partners in an electronics lab with a Chinese student. Initially he did good work but as the semester continued he did less and less, until the second to last lab where he did none at all. Since I worked straight through the night on the lab, I let the lab director know that my partner had done very little work on the lab, he spoke to my partner and my partner put in more effort on the final lab.
I give this anecdote merely to point out that not every Chinese student is perfect, in the same way that not every American student is lazy. In my opinion there are many other factors at play other than cultural background of the student, perhaps the most important being the subject. I believe my partner did not engage in the labs because he was not that interested in the subject but rather felt pressured to pursue it by his engineering parents.
In the same way many students attend college in America but do not have concrete goals or ambitions on what they want to study. They are pressured by all kinds of things to go to college right away, and many do not realize until the end of their time as an undergraduate what they truly want to study.
Therefore can we please stop making generalizations about student performance based on these types of things and instead of saying "you must be a good student you are X" look at the reason why good students are good students.
For instance one semester I was lab partners in an electronics lab with a Chinese student. Initially he did good work but as the semester continued he did less and less, until the second to last lab where he did none at all. Since I worked straight through the night on the lab, I let the lab director know that my partner had done very little work on the lab, he spoke to my partner and my partner put in more effort on the final lab.
I give this anecdote merely to point out that not every Chinese student is perfect, in the same way that not every American student is lazy. In my opinion there are many other factors at play other than cultural background of the student, perhaps the most important being the subject. I believe my partner did not engage in the labs because he was not that interested in the subject but rather felt pressured to pursue it by his engineering parents.
In the same way many students attend college in America but do not have concrete goals or ambitions on what they want to study. They are pressured by all kinds of things to go to college right away, and many do not realize until the end of their time as an undergraduate what they truly want to study.
Therefore can we please stop making generalizations about student performance based on these types of things and instead of saying "you must be a good student you are X" look at the reason why good students are good students.
Counterpoint: In my experience as a CS TA, international students are far more likely to cheat on problem sets than American students.
As an American student I've observed or heard of both international and local students cheating. It really pissed me off when students would come to exams with psychiatrists' notes about a sudden onset of ADHD. Or abuse the sympathy of the teacher to get more time. Crib sheets only occurred in lower level classes where it's hard to observe. At the higher levels it becomes obvious who knows what.
Cheating in school is a cultural thing, far more accepted and normal in for example Eastern Europe than US.
I was a TA at a medium-sized US university 25 years ago. I had a lot of (20 or so) Malaysian students in a class of mine and it was very simple: if they were Chinese Malaysian they worked their butts off. If they were ethnic Malay they were lazy as hell. I caught several of the latter cheating as well.
I've heard similar stories form friends of mine who were also CS TAs.
It's funny, a Czech Graduate Student friend of mine always says that Americans work too hard and focus too much on materialistic things. (For the record, this guy is a genius and is advised by two guys, the inventor of RAID and the Dean of CMU's School of Computer Science).
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
As an American student, I'd have to say I'm pretty pleased with the way things are.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
As an American student, I'd have to say I'm pretty pleased with the way things are.
UK students are worried of working hard. Western figureheads are often the child protegy, the uneducated polymath. 'Hard workers' are failures -- not geniune. We all strive (the right term?) to be the drop-out who can turn up on the exam morning and pull 100%.
'Hard worker' is an offensive term.
It's a cultural problem.
'Hard worker' is an offensive term.
It's a cultural problem.
Too many generalisations and over-simplification. A single swallow does not make a spring.
As an aside, this concept of Asian Intellectualism to me has always sounded hollow. My experience has been that Asian students especially Indian students tend to favour learning-by-rote over critical thinking which requires large amounts of time spent memorising things versus understanding them. The school and university exams in India tend to emphasise that as well.
As an aside, this concept of Asian Intellectualism to me has always sounded hollow. My experience has been that Asian students especially Indian students tend to favour learning-by-rote over critical thinking which requires large amounts of time spent memorising things versus understanding them. The school and university exams in India tend to emphasise that as well.
So why hasn't this professor just been honest with her students and told them they are wasting their money? Oh! yeah, that would mean should would be out of a job. Better to just let the students get deeper and deeper into debt.
Hint to her, she's part of the problem.
Hint to her, she's part of the problem.
This article was entirely alien to me. Why should I care about the work of people who don't even care about it themselves?
Then I thought I'd recast the situation into a more familiar setting. Apologies to OP. Make sure you read her version first. Does my version seem any stranger to you?
It was the kind of pitch I hate.
"I’ll do better," my software vendor told me, leaning forward in his chair. "I know I’ve gotten behind this phase, but I’m going to turn things around. Would it be OK if I finished all your uncompleted requirements by Monday?"
I sat silent for a moment. "Yes. But it’s important that you catch up completely this weekend, so that you’re not just perpetually behind."
A few weeks later, I would conduct a nearly identical conversation with two other vendors. And, again, there would be no tangible result: No make-up software. No change in effort. No improvement in time management.
By the time entrepreneurs are in the marketplace, habits can be tough to change. If you’re used to playing video games like "Modern Warfare" or "Halo" all night, how do you fit in four hours of customer revisions? Or rest up for a demo?
Building start-ups in this market, especially one with a large international population, has given me a stark - and unwelcome - illustration of how Americans’ work ethic often pales in comparison with their peers from overseas.
My failing entrepreneurs this semester are almost exclusively American, while my entrepreneurs from India, China, and Latin America have - despite language barriers - generally written solid software, excelled on prototypes, and become valuable business partners.
One woman from Shanghai became a fixture at Super Happy Dev House, embraced our coworking center, and incessantly e-mailed me questions about her evolving website. Her javascript is still mediocre: she frequently puts ";" everywhere (as in "x = y;y = z;z = a;") and confuses global variables with local variables. But that didn’t stop her from doing rewrite after rewrite, tirelessly trying to improve both syntax and performance.
Chinese entrepreneurs have consistently impressed me with their work ethic, though I have seen similar habits in entrepreneurs from India, Thailand, Brazil, and Venezuela. Often, they’ve done little server-side coding in their home companies, and they frequently struggle to understand my specifications. But their respect for customers - and for business itself - is palpable. The entrepreneurs listen intently to everything I say, whether on-line or at code reviews, and try to engage in the process.
Too many 18-year-old American entrepreneurs, meanwhile, text one another under their workstations (certain they are sly enough to go unnoticed), check e-mail, decline to take notes, and appear tired and disengaged.
Of course, it would be wrong to suggest that all American entrepreneurs are the same. I’ve engaged many who were hardworking, talented, and deeply impressive. They listened intently, engaged customer dialogues, and never shied away from code rewrites. At their best, American entrepreneurs marry knowledge and innovation, resulting in some astoundingly creative web apps.
But creativity without knowledge - a common phenomenon - is just not enough.
Too many American entrepreneurs simply lack the basics. In 2002, an O'Reilly survey found that most 18- to 24-year-olds could not find regular expressions, data base access, or sorting algorithms in a PDF document, ranking them behind counterparts in Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, and Germany. And in 2007 the American Institutes for Research reported that eighth graders in even our best-performing states - like Massachusetts - scored below peers in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, while entrepreneurs in our worst-performing states - like Mississippi - were on par with eighth graders in Slovakia, Romania, and Russia.
We’ve got a knowledge gap, spurred by a work-ethic gap.
Which brings me to another code-challenged entrepreneur, who once sprinted across the office to talk to me.
"I’m really sorry I missed your targets," he said. "Do you have time to talk?"
"I have a meeting in a couple of minutes," I said. "But you can walk with me."
"OK," he said. "I really enjoy your challenge, and I think I can do better. How can I improve my site?"
I looked at him sideways. "Well, you might start with writing some code."
"Yeah," he grinned, looking at his shoes. "Sorry about that. There’s always stuff going on in my office late in the day. I have to learn to be better about time management."
Of course, he had it exactly right. Success is all about time management, and in a globalizing economy, Americans’ inability to stay focused and work hard could prove to be a serious problem.
Nowhere, sadly, is this clearer than in the marketplace.
Then I thought I'd recast the situation into a more familiar setting. Apologies to OP. Make sure you read her version first. Does my version seem any stranger to you?
It was the kind of pitch I hate.
"I’ll do better," my software vendor told me, leaning forward in his chair. "I know I’ve gotten behind this phase, but I’m going to turn things around. Would it be OK if I finished all your uncompleted requirements by Monday?"
I sat silent for a moment. "Yes. But it’s important that you catch up completely this weekend, so that you’re not just perpetually behind."
A few weeks later, I would conduct a nearly identical conversation with two other vendors. And, again, there would be no tangible result: No make-up software. No change in effort. No improvement in time management.
By the time entrepreneurs are in the marketplace, habits can be tough to change. If you’re used to playing video games like "Modern Warfare" or "Halo" all night, how do you fit in four hours of customer revisions? Or rest up for a demo?
Building start-ups in this market, especially one with a large international population, has given me a stark - and unwelcome - illustration of how Americans’ work ethic often pales in comparison with their peers from overseas.
My failing entrepreneurs this semester are almost exclusively American, while my entrepreneurs from India, China, and Latin America have - despite language barriers - generally written solid software, excelled on prototypes, and become valuable business partners.
One woman from Shanghai became a fixture at Super Happy Dev House, embraced our coworking center, and incessantly e-mailed me questions about her evolving website. Her javascript is still mediocre: she frequently puts ";" everywhere (as in "x = y;y = z;z = a;") and confuses global variables with local variables. But that didn’t stop her from doing rewrite after rewrite, tirelessly trying to improve both syntax and performance.
Chinese entrepreneurs have consistently impressed me with their work ethic, though I have seen similar habits in entrepreneurs from India, Thailand, Brazil, and Venezuela. Often, they’ve done little server-side coding in their home companies, and they frequently struggle to understand my specifications. But their respect for customers - and for business itself - is palpable. The entrepreneurs listen intently to everything I say, whether on-line or at code reviews, and try to engage in the process.
Too many 18-year-old American entrepreneurs, meanwhile, text one another under their workstations (certain they are sly enough to go unnoticed), check e-mail, decline to take notes, and appear tired and disengaged.
Of course, it would be wrong to suggest that all American entrepreneurs are the same. I’ve engaged many who were hardworking, talented, and deeply impressive. They listened intently, engaged customer dialogues, and never shied away from code rewrites. At their best, American entrepreneurs marry knowledge and innovation, resulting in some astoundingly creative web apps.
But creativity without knowledge - a common phenomenon - is just not enough.
Too many American entrepreneurs simply lack the basics. In 2002, an O'Reilly survey found that most 18- to 24-year-olds could not find regular expressions, data base access, or sorting algorithms in a PDF document, ranking them behind counterparts in Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, and Germany. And in 2007 the American Institutes for Research reported that eighth graders in even our best-performing states - like Massachusetts - scored below peers in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, while entrepreneurs in our worst-performing states - like Mississippi - were on par with eighth graders in Slovakia, Romania, and Russia.
We’ve got a knowledge gap, spurred by a work-ethic gap.
Which brings me to another code-challenged entrepreneur, who once sprinted across the office to talk to me.
"I’m really sorry I missed your targets," he said. "Do you have time to talk?"
"I have a meeting in a couple of minutes," I said. "But you can walk with me."
"OK," he said. "I really enjoy your challenge, and I think I can do better. How can I improve my site?"
I looked at him sideways. "Well, you might start with writing some code."
"Yeah," he grinned, looking at his shoes. "Sorry about that. There’s always stuff going on in my office late in the day. I have to learn to be better about time management."
Of course, he had it exactly right. Success is all about time management, and in a globalizing economy, Americans’ inability to stay focused and work hard could prove to be a serious problem.
Nowhere, sadly, is this clearer than in the marketplace.
I'm not sure what your point is.
actually, that doesn't sound too absurd
Contestants were dropping like flies. Here's what they couldn't answer: (1) What is H20? (answer given, with a quizzical tone, "Blackjack? 21?"), (2) Who is the current Vice President? and (3) In what state is New Orleans located?
The winner had to answer a final question. It was "Who was the second President of the United States?" She couldn't answer it.
The owner of the shop is a recent (last 10 years) immigrant from a former Soviet Block country (can't remember which one). He says laughing, "God bless American education." (Full disclosure: I am a high school teacher. I just bite my tongue.)
The punch line: all three win prizes. Don't believe me? This is why I love the internet in 2009. I have the video: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?autoplay=false&media...
What does all this prove? Nothing. Just like that editorial. The problem with that article, like most of the articles of that genre, is that it's entirely anecdotal. (The author cites some statistics about missing basic knowledge, but it's a red herring. Basic knowledge is irrelevant to her argument which has to do with effort and work ethic.)
I've come to believe that this is just one of those things. Teachers complain about their students - a lot. Imagine that. No newspaper with a brain on their staff should accept an editorial (on this topic) from a teacher immediately after the end of term - ever.