<p>Here is an interesting article by Steve Olson (who conducted the interviews in the link I previously noted above) about nurturing mathematical talent, which especially points up the explosive growth in very strong international students in math (particularly from Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia) coming to the US for their college education. </p>
<p>Part of this is due to a changing immigration system which has allowed in more scientists and engineers, partly this is due to the end of the Cold War, which has permitted students to come from former Soviet-block countries, and partly this is due to the growth of the IMO, which has made it easier for some international math to distinguish themselves, even if they came from high schools unknown to US admissions committees.</p>
<p>The influx of international students at all levels (not just international college students on student visas but also children of immigrants arriving in, say, their middle school years) is focusing increased attention on whether the American educational system is doing a good job of meeting the needs of students for whom the usual US K-12 math curriculum is boring and unchallenging. </p>
<p>Basically Steve Olson’s piece below takes those Putnam interviews I mentioned above as a jumping-off point and combines them with some broader data to raise some provocative questions.</p>