Summer of Math Exposition

From my experience in learning math in a US high school, I wouldn’t say the presented problem is notably harder than anything I would’ve normally encountered. Yes, my school presented word problems to connect the math to real life, but that’s more a veneer for problems than a subject to be tested on.

This is a really good video. the animation is high quality and great, the art was simple and engaging. It taught me about math education systems around the world, which was very interesting to learn about and engages cultural awareness. The problem walkthrough was detailed and thorough.

Not at all what I was expecting to watch when I came to vote, but I am pleasantly surprised, and think this is definitely something worth discussing. For some context, I have only personally experienced Western education, but I have had the pleasure to visit other education systems in Japan and Germany. My girlfriend is also Chinese and has expressed similar laments about education in the East. I agree that it is an issue (although tragedy is a bit strong). While competition may seem like a good motivator initially, love for the thing itself than doing better than others at said thing triumphs always. Even in Western education you see this as well, where the point of learning mathematics (or science even) still does not care about your interest in the subject matter, but rather how it can be used to have you succeed. I do not know what the solution is, perhaps some kind of middle ground. But the point is clear that education reform is necessary to some degree pretty much worldwide.

In terms of the video I appreciate the simplistic drawn animations, I use something very similar in my videos. I do recommend that you change your resolution because it gets a bit pixelated at times. Idk what drawing system you use but you should be able to change resolution of your canvas to what YouTube recommends. I also think that you do a good job illustrating the point, but for a lot of educators and students out there, they are well aware of the issues, and unfortunately (at least in the West), they are helpless to actually change it since it is largely political. That being said, people may appreciate at least suggestions as to what can be changed. For example I would provide concrete examples of what aspects of Western teaching of math you would bring to Korean math, and vice versa.

I overall liked the video, I like how you explain what exactly are the issues with Korean Math and how the system causes the cycle of difficult tests. Just my personal take, but I think it could be better if you added if you could explain the history of why the system initially started (instead of just what the system looks like in the present day), and why this system differs from other countries.

I think this topic is important, but the video could have better organization. Also, you should higher the volume of the voice over.

I think this is a great video! It explains certain “problems” if you may in not just the Korean Education system, but really a lot of Asian education systems. And I think you bring about really nice points: that certain systems are built to separate students from one another, while others are built to test how well they learnt something. I think it would be nice to give examples of the “other” side. What exact examples can you give of say the math taught in America? Are there any specific questions that you can go over. I think the problem you solved was a good problem for a highschool student, that made this a fun and informative watch for a highschool student since it has both math and a rant and discussion about differences in the approach to math.

I would say the example of the problem you gave didn’t feel too relevant to the rest of the video. It just felt like a standard problem that wasn’t too hard or too easy for a highschool student. I was confused about what age the students are when they are given this problem. If there are much harder problems, then show them!! Don’t just leave us hanging. Audio quality could be improved slightly.

Aside from that, decently good analysis of the situation in Korea.

A language quibble: what’s described as “Korean math” might be better as “Korean math exams (and the system that surrounds them)”. It’s clear that this is what you’re going for from the arguments you make, but better to say it.

If the target audience here is “mostly western undergrad students interested in math education” then the motivation here is great. For non-students, or folks with more experience, the analysis is a bit shallow. (In particular, most of the things you dislike about the Korean system are also present in many other systems, including to a lesser extent in the US, which is where most of my familiarity lies. I tried not to count this against you because the video’s goal seemed more like “sharing my experience” than a comparative analysis, but I do think that it limits the audience who will find it compelling.)

Your main complaint seems to be with curve grading, and your criticisms here are reasonable and well-argued. If this is the thesis, it shows up too late in the video. For instance, the value of the example that you show is really to explain what the consequences are for valuing the ranking of students over other goals— but since I didn’t know where the argument was going, it didn’t have the same emotional weight to me that I think it did to you. Reorganizing might have made it have the impact you were hoping for.

This is a really interesting insight, and it’s presented very clearly. As a teacher, I think a lot about ways that my local education system is screwed up, and it’s helpful to have an outside perspective on another system.

Good job!

I really enjoyed this video. The only reason I’m giving it a slighting low rating is because it does not really explain a math concept (besides the example problem), but the cultural aspects of math (which I really appreciate, but doesn’t feel like a great fit for this contest). The animations are great and I’m really happy that you made this video and talk about the nuances of Korean vs western math. It’s a great topic! I would say to make this more SoME-like I would compare a Korean problem to a western problem in some way? And why the mathematics behind it is interesting.

Nice short video! I liked the test example and the discussion about the purpose of tests in general.

It’s interesting to know what it’s like over in Korea!

I did pause and work out the example problem you gave for myself! I may be well above your target audience’s math level, but it didn’t seem all that hard, so for me (as much as that’s worth), it didn’t really convey what I think you were trying to convey. I’d have loved to see some of the harder questions you mention, even if you don’t work out the answers.

And yes, I do think it’s sad when math becomes this competitive, that any who aren’t the best get turned away.

Not sure how to engage with this video.

In the context of SoME, the actual explainer part was very rushed and unmotivated.

In the context of what I think you are trying to say:

• The problem wasn’t that hard? Very unusual from my point of view, but doable if students practised similar problems?
• You say that western math problems often try to connect the math to applications. But at least where I live that is more lip service where people slap random units onto problems and call that an application.
• And comparing the Korean test to the SAT or GCSE or whatever: these tests are useless anyway as a form of testing actual understanding of maths. They obviously correlate with academic prowess and are therefore fine as a uni entrance test. But they have little to do with actually doing math.

Interesting topic and nice presentation. More sociology than math though but this also provided me a different world view.

I found this exposition particularly interesting because it offers a glimpse into how mathematics is taught and experienced in another country. We do not often get to see mathematics education discussed from this perspective, and it added to my broader understanding of how different education systems can shape people’s relationship with mathematics. This is a topic I particularly value, so I found the cultural perspective very enriching.

One of the strongest parts of the video was the concrete example of a typical problem. I appreciated being asked to pause the video and actually tried to solved it myself. It gave me a taste of what a Korean student might experience when confronted with this kind of problem. Rather than simply being told that the system is demanding, I had the opportunity to experience a little of that pressure myself. I think this is particularly effective for this kind of exposition.

The pacing felt good, and the overall argument was convincing. The idea that mathematics can be used to distinguish the top 1% from the next 4%, and that mastering difficult mathematics is particularly valuable for students aiming for engineering, gives a clear explanation of why the system places so much emphasis on mathematics.

That said, I would have liked the video to be a bit longer and go a little deeper into the Korean education system. The explanation of why the system works this way is interesting, but it remains somewhat superficial. It would have been particularly valuable to connect it to historical developments, the country’s economic transformation, its industrial and technological needs, or other factors that might explain how this culture around mathematics developed. Even a few concrete examples or historical facts could have given the argument more depth and made the exposition more memorable.

Overall, I think the cultural perspective is the main strength of the video. It made me think not only about how mathematics is taught, but also about how the way we are taught mathematics can influence how we feel about the subject itself. I would have liked a little more depth and context, but the combination of cultural reflection and the personal experience of attempting a representative problem makes this a valuable and unusual exposition.