<p>Since it’s 12:30 AM, I won’t write down everything I thought of…</p>
<p>Vinsim, your argument is a classic Idealism v. Realism conflict. If the US followed China and India’s examples, the rich would be favored far more by the education system, as demonstrated in both Asian countries. Granted, merit has benefits by only looking at the information you can regurgitate. Though a poor student in a solely merit-based system can study hard enough and receive high scores (thus standing a fighting chance), these students face many obstacles which the rich easily bypass. Furthermore, merit systems inhibit diversity because students spend grueling hours to try and score a tad better than the next person who may be studying just as hard if not harder. Having Chinese cousins who live this everyday, I know for a fact that the merit system is also very punishing. If you perform poorly on an entrance exam, the odds against your success later in life exponentially increase. In comparison, the American system adds some buffering through the push for extracurriculars, having understood that not everyone is a study-bot. And that students can reveal their strengths through other methods. In addition, you excessively slander the image of leadership with that example of the African trip. Most students actually show leadership by taking on roles such as tutors, camp counselors, captains, presidents/vp/secretary/treasurer, and other methods. In most cases, students work hard to achieve their leadership roles and handle them well. The follower concept is true but continued membership in a club/activity usually shows sufficient abilities to follow. The rest of that statement just lost me. Anyways, I will not try and assert that the American system is flawless, but it definitely is a good alternative to the merit system. Paper tests are not everything at any age and will never be. The important things are what you actually retain and actually apply to situations beyond the classroom and test question 6C.</p>
<p>As a side note: your comment about pointless research miffed me. I actually go to a professional lab to help out with real experiments and to conduct my own. What’s wrong with that? I learn valuable information when I’m there, and I can practice applying concepts from the various science classes I have taken in high school to a real environment.</p>