Boycott Baseball? Ok, Fine -- But You Go First 
It Doesn't Seem So Long Ago That Kirby Puckett Created A Fuss By Becoming The 
First Baseball Player To Collect A $3 Million Salary.

Anna Yankoski 
Dec. 23, 1992 
Anna H. Yankoski, Of North Main Avenue, Scranton, Died Wednesday In Scranton 
Mercy Hospital.

Saturday, December 26, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 6A QUICK WORDS: EDUCATION EDITORIAL 





U.S. schools could take lesson from those in Asia &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Every American parent wants a school with well-mannered, well-behaved
children &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -- a school whose students consistently score high on tests of academic
skill, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 and whose teachers take time to give pupils individual attentionWe can have
such schools, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There's just one problem: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 We may have to import them from Asia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At last, American parents and educators are learning why Asian kids so
consistently perform better academically than do American youngsters. A
fascinating story in the current issue of Scientific American dissects those
reasons. We offer a few of them here with our enthusiastic support. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1. Parental attitudes. Asian students do well in school for one simple
reason: Their parents expect it. The cultures in China, Japan, Malaysia and
elsewhere stress the roles of effort and determination in achievement -- as
opposed to American culture, which gives greater weight to innate talents,
according to the article by Harold W. Stevenson, professor at the University
of Michigan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stevenson has spent the last 13 years studying academic achievement in
various cultures. His travels have taken him into classrooms around the world. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Asian mothers... have told us repeatedly that their children's primary
task is to do well in school," Stevenson writes. "The mothers own job is to do
everything possible to ensure that success. They regarded education as
critical for their children's future." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's hard to picture American mothers -- or fathers, for that matter --
making that same claim. Indeed, they don't: Where are the "geography" or
"algebra" parents, the parents urging their kids to new heights of knowledge
with the gusto of, say, parents at a Little League game? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And American kids learn their lessons well. Asked what they'd wish for,
American youngsters were more interested in getting money or material things,
Stevenson reported. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Almost 70 percent of the Chinese children focused their wishes on
education." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2. Retool the school day. "Frequent recesses, long lunch periods and
after-school activities and clubs:" these are hardly the stereotypes most
Americans have of pressure-cooker Asian schools. But they're not far from the
truth, Stevenson reports. The Asian school day actually is less stressful than
its American counterpart, in part because of these frequent breaks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The enjoyment Asian students have at school may be the reason they appear
to Western visitors as well behaved and well adjusted," Stevenson writes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Asian teachers' workloads seem more manageable, too. "Beijing teachers...
are responsible for classes no more than three hours a day," for example. The
teachers use their "down time" preparing their lessons, consulting with one
another about teaching techniques, and giving individual help to students who
were having difficulties -- activities often done at home or less frequently
by American teachers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 3. Consider a national curriculum. Teachers in Asian countries all teach
about the same lessons at about the same time. Not only does this give Asian
teachers good reason to consult with one another, it enables Asian parents to
measure their child's progress against a uniform standard. Few American
teachers or parents can make the same claim. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The study has other eye-opening revelations. Japanese students of all ages,
for example, actually spend more time watching television than do American
kids, a fact which hasn't seemed to have hindered the Japanese students'
achievement. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the overall theme is clear. A summary puts it this way: "American
schools could benefit from the teaching styles and institutional structures
used in Asia -- many of which were pioneered here." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Education

U.s. Schools Could Take 
Lesson From Those In Asia 
Every American Parent Wants A School With Well-mannered, Well-behaved Children 
-- A School Whose Students Consistently Score High On Tests Of Academic Skill, 
And Whose Teachers Take Time To Give Pupils Individual Attention.

U.s. Schools Could Take Lesson From Those In Asia Every American Parent Wants A School With Well-mannered, Well-behaved Children -- A School Whose Students Consistently Score High On Tests Of Academic Skill, And Whose Teachers Take Time To Give Pupils Individual Attention.