Struggle

For our motivational Monday today, Mr. DeLaCruz played a clip from NPR about how the United States and Asian countries view struggle and how they overcome it. The segment featured a renowned psychologist who has studied the differences between the two cultures extensively. His findings were intriguing. He found that the US and Asia view struggle as polar opposites. America views hardship as a disability, mainly in school. When we struggle with a concept, it is thought that we aren’t good enough—that we are not good enough. Asian countries view struggle as a positive—it shows determination and resilience.

I can attest to this claim. In my own experiences, I have often been left gaping with my mouth wide open in class because I cannot grasp a concept—often in math. This feeling has been apparent this year in Calculus. It is a whole different beast than other math class I have been in before. It was made even more frustrating when Mr. Byars was assigned to teach the class because he hadn’t covered the material in an extremely long time, therefore he couldn’t properly explain crucial concepts and lessons. Because of this, I was often struggling to get things right. I was so frustrated! I felt like an idiot due to my inability to understand the material while other people were flying by me. This is a perfect example of what was discussed in the NPR segment: in America, when we struggle, it is looked at as failure.

In Asia, struggle is viewed in a completely different light: instead of an inability, hard work is looked at as a positive thing. Struggling to understand something means that you have the ability to stick with it and not quit: you are determined to persevere. This was illustrated when a clip was played of an interaction between a Taiwanese mother and her son. The boy had just won a competition or some academic contest. In the US, the mother would have praised how intelligent her son was to no end, but instead, the Taiwanese mother pointed out that he had succeeded because he struggled. He practiced, reviewed, and put in a lot of work. In the end, he was rewarded with winning, and that is what should be celebrated. Success comes from working hard, failing, and struggling.

            I really enjoyed this motivational Monday because it forced me to think about the two cultures and how drastically we perceive shortcomings. This really hit home when the psychologist mentioned Japanese teachers force students who struggle the most to come up to the front of the class to work through their problems. The teacher and the class help those who need it, and in the end, everyone benefits. In the United States, the best student puts their work on display, and those who do not understand are left to catch up.