So Asiatics outperform the rest of the world?
“There is a body of scholarship showing that the collapse of the fertility rate to dangerously low levels across east Asia is the direct consequence of school cramming and “education fever”.
“Education fever causes Korean parents to scrape and save to send their children to private Hagwon schools to push up their grades and give them a chance of a good university (sound familiar?) These are notoriously expensive. Social pressure to conform is strong. Parents simply cannot afford large families.
The CIA World FactBook says fertility rates have fallen to: Hong Kong (1.04), Singapore (1.10), Taiwan (1.15), Japan (1.20), Korea (1.22). (These figures may be a little too low. Japan and Singapore have seen a small bounce lately).
Variants of education fever are visible across East Asia. Some 97pc of children in Singapore receive extra private tutorials. Very young children are sent to “cram schools” in Taiwan after normal school is finished. It is no surprise that one of the consequences observed by psychologists is delayed or incomplete emotional development.
Over-schooling is not the only reason why East Asian fertility has collapsed, but it is a big reason. There clearly comes a point when it is unhealthy. So as in all things in life, moderation and common sense are advised. And plenty of play.” (Part of a report by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph).
A very Epicurean conclusion. Human beings have distressing tendencies to overdo things. The world should understand that children should be educated, not crammed, and educators should be able to understand the difference.