Thread: A Controversial but Serious Question

Why don't we touch on a more important point IMHO: why can't we raise our own doctors? Now I know part of the influx of foreigners to our medical schools is because we SHOULD be training other countries' best and brightest to improve the quality of medicine worldwide and to show goodwill. That said, the vast majority of foreign medical students are here for two other reasons: 1) they have better credentials than our home-grown applicants (e.g., higher MCAT test scores) and 2) they usually pay full price rather than needing a scholarship (schools will tell you this doesn't play into the application decision, but that is complete BS - everyone operates to a budget). Maybe not much can be done about the latter, but it is shameful that we can't produce better students as a country. Now I can make the trite statement about it being sad that our kids are too busy doing things other things such as playing video games, sports, partying, blah blah vs. some counterpart in India or China whose nose is in his/her books since the age of 6. I believe there's definitely truth to that statement, but the question is do we really want to raise our kids like that? Do I want my kid studying all the time instead of enjoying life before becoming an adult and having to work until 65? Not me pal; I want my kid to enjoy life and party like hell in college, too! Life is too short to spend it working all the time... So I say, bring on the foreigners! They've worked for it since age 6 so let them have it. Maybe they'll drive a BMW and my kid a Honda. So what! At least my kid enjoyed his/her childhood!

Originally Posted by dpl2

Maybe not much can be done about the latter, but it is shameful that we can't produce better students as a country. Now I can make the trite statement about it being sad that our kids are too busy doing things other things such as playing video games, sports, partying, blah blah vs. some counterpart in India or China whose nose is in his/her books since the age of 6.

Basically, you (as a country, not individual) are starting to reap what has been sown for decades.

First, there is the glorification of stupidity in the media and in society for the last decades. That glorification has been intensifying in the last couple of years, look at what passes for a role model nowadays. But the media aren't the only responsible party... parents have their fair share of responsibility.

Sometimes after the 80s, actually being a parent went out of fashion... it was easier to outsource everything to school or TV and to attempt to become the friend of "precious snow flake" instead of the parent of your kid.

Finally, there was also a change in education... somewhere, somehow, education switched from actually teaching things to preparing for a standardized test.

We are starting to see the same problem on this side of the Atlantic, thanks to successive education reforms.

Originally Posted by dpl2

So I say, bring on the foreigners! They've worked for it since age 6 so let them have it. Maybe they'll drive a BMW and my kid a Honda. So what! At least my kid enjoyed his/her childhood!

I was a bit of a science nerd, yet I enjoyed my childhood as well. Went out a lot, partied in college, etc. And I also finished my masters degree with honors.

The problem in the US is that education is not equivvalent with social status. A college quarterback on a 'communication degree' is a hero that everyone looks up to. The people from the science department as often labeled nerd, freaks, or other things.

But make no mistake. The rest of the world is already overtaking the US in scientific progress and manufacturing. In this generation, the US is still reaping the benefits of the hard work of the previous generation. Next generation there will be no more need to go to the US to study at prestigious universities.