On American and International Stusents

Having been a student from India once, I think this direct comparison between American and non-American (Indian, Chinese, Brazilian,...) students is patently unfair.

First, most international students have self-selected to be here, and  have assumed incredible risks monetarily to be in an alien environment. (I for one came to this country with the clothes on my back and a debt of a thousand dollars.) They realise that should they fail they  will have to ship back empty-handed to where ever they came from.  As Samuel Johnson once said, nothing concentrates a mind as the  immanence of one's hanging.  Failure, for these people,  is not an option.  For American students, on the other hand, failure can be an option. 

Because of this, international students are ripe for picking up the  Vince Lombardi philosophy.

Second, you can survive as a failure far more comfortably in the United States than you can as a success in many countries. This introduces one more issue. American students often lack the motivation to succeed

well. The differences between the two populations is probably related to motivation  more than anything else.

Third, it is usually only the cream of the crop elsewhere that comes to the  United States for studies. To compare the average American student with the  best from elsewhere is not fair, and does no one any good. When I compare the cream of the crop among American students and the international students, I do not find a great difference. It is foolish to opine on the quality of international students based on their presence during instructor's

office hours.

While I would agree that the international students are better motivated (they don't have a choice), my experience has been less dismal. I have found American students in general more ethical, better disposed to working in

groups (no shirking of individual responsibilities, better at accepting leadership,...). I have spent infinitely more time arguing with international students on grading, cheating, plagiarism, resolving issues of working in groups,

and the like. While some times this is due to cultural differences, usually it is due to blatant disregard for fairness towards fellow students and the lack of a moral compass.

I have found preparation for college of the bottom half of the American students to be abysmal. Having seem two of my children go through the public school systems here, this does not surprise me at all. I think my wife (and our parents) has been far more responsible for the  success of my  children's education that the schools. This is especially so for  studies in science and mathematics, without which critical thinking skills can not be honed.

On the other hand, I have found American students to be far more responsible, disciplined, and fair. They have a broader perspective on life well beyond Lombardi. They also tend to be innovative, and more prone to thinking out of the box.