10/19/17; Lesson 06: Response to "Individualism vs. Collectivism "

The video “Individualism vs. Collectivism” and the readings opened a new window towards exploration for me. Exploration of two concepts that are in place and functioning for, in some cases, thousands of years in this world.

Professor Ivers’ comment starts with something we are facing in Romania right now, “political travelers” as they are called, a phrase which, in this context, is synonym to disloyalty and betrayal in local view. But, it was not a surprise for me to hear that this is an acceptable decision and behavior in the United States because I read about it. Now I find the explanation. So, I started to look deeper into the two concepts.

I found out that the list of individualistic countries includes USA, Australia, Western Europe, with the Great Britain being at the top of the list. The list of countries belonging to collectivistic or group-oriented culture includes Japan, China, Korea, African countries, some of Latin American countries. 

As general features, people belonging to individualistic cultures may be allowed or even encouraged to make choices based on what is best individually, while people belonging to collectivistic cultures are more likely to give priority to what is best for the group. But there are elements of both individualism and collectivism in any culture. Individualism and collectivism are parts of broader  worldviews, which have been called atomism and holism. Atomism refers to viewing things in terms of their component parts. Holism refers to viewing all aspects of life as interconnected. So people in individualistic cultures are seen as separate units, they are considered to be independent. A person’s identity is considered to be based mainly on one’s personal experiences – accomplishments, challenges, career, relationships with other people. In collectivism, people are not viewed as separate units, but parts of larger groups (extended family, village, or tribe). People are interdependent. A person’s identity is based on one’s roles and experiences within a group.

What I am interested in is the impact of those two concepts as far as education is concerned. As professor Ivers says “American children are known throughout the world as having extra rights than many other children because they can express themselves.  They can express their opinions to adults.  They can make their own choices very often.” But, as article “The Myth of Chinese Super Schools” tells us “American students have never received high scores on international tests” while China produces the highest test scores. On the other hand, no person educated in China since 1949 won a Nobel prize. It seems the Chinese system discourages creativity, originality, invention.

The video and the readings triggered many questions for which I am looking answers. All are related to my main question: “How would be better for a teacher to approach teaching in a classroom as a TESOL classroom might be?”