Parents of Schoolgoers  Discussion Forum

I am an author of novels for teenagers. In 2002 I lived in a very small town of 20,000 people in Chittoor district in southern Andhra Pradesh state for four months with my 8-year-old son and husband.

I am now writing a novel for teens that is based in a fictional town like the one I lived in. My main character is 17 years old, very smart, and has been taking advanced academic courses in her U.S. high school. Now she must go to a school in India for one year.

I have heard that if she enrolled in a good school in a city like New Delhi or Bangalore she would have difficulty keeping up with her school work, because Indian students are more advanced in their studies than U.S. students, especially in Math and Science.

But would this be true in a small, rural town? Would my 17-year-old character have a hard time there with the studies, or would her U.S. school be more advanced?

Anyone who is familiar with rural Indian schools and U.S. schools, please comment.

Thank you!

Deborah amil replied. I have had the opportunity of experienceing all three systems- rural india, urban india and the US system. Let me share my experiences on the same.

The US system is extremely practical and focuses on developing fundamental skills such as comprehension, inferencing, logical thinking etc. The system does not test students on knowledge.
The Indian system by and large focuses on content knowledge than on skill development application. Most of our testing focuses on memorizing and reproducing the same. This makes way for what is popularly known as rote-memorization.
The rural indian system is quite similar to urban system. However, often the communication skills do not get developed enough.

To answer your question: the rural or urban indian student will have similar challenges in the US system. The rural person will have the additional handicap of communication as well.

Hope this helps a little.

- Amil


forte replied. I don't know about Indian students being advanced than US students but I know for sure that in US students have more choices and they also learn things in a more practical way ie they are more ready for real life experiences than an average Indian student. In India, a child's success in academics is determined by an exam which is conducted in a matter of 1-3. The child may no nothing about what she is writing but as long as it is there on paper she is successful.