It’s not breaking news: immigration is a hot-button issue these days. Apart from the bitter politics involved, there is an educational angle to this debate that I confess I hadn’t thought about. First some background.
This summer (2018), over 500 students from 107 countries gathered in Romania for the 2018 International Math Olympiad competition. The Math Olympiad is the hardest and most prestigious math competition for high school students in the world. It is not unusual for university professors to settle for solving only half of the six problems each year.
So, the fact that the United States team won this competition is no small feat. (Indeed, US team member James Lin, from Phillips Exeter Academy, achieved one of only two perfect scores in the world.) But the fact that this is the third time in the past four years that the US has won is unspeakably impressive.
Now here is an interesting fact: Several of the US team members are second- or third-generation immigrants. Further, the team is led by Professor Po-Shen Loh of Carnegie Mellon University and its deputy leader Sasha Rudenko. Each is a son of an immigrant (from Singapore and Ukrania, respectively).
In a recent Washington Post Op Ed piece (link provided upon request), the national coach for the Bangladesh Olympiad team – Mahbub Majumdar- had some highly complimentary and insightful comments related to the US team, the US itself, and this connection to immigration. Let’s listen:
“Every country envies America’s talent pool, yet very few are bold enough to copy the U.S. model of immigration that can recharge stagnant sectors of society. That is why no other country will ever be able to emulate the dynamism of America, whether they are as big as a China or as disciplined as a Germany. The United States’ repeat Math Olympiad wins reflect this truth.”
Majumdar then asks an intriguing question connecting education and our work force. “If China, Russia and other countries that have devoted tremendous resources to winning the [Olympiad] competition cannot beat the United States’ diverse pool of high school students, how can they beat well-funded U.S. companies at innovation?” Excellent point.
He continues: “By welcoming and giving opportunities to the [immigrants] of the world – who are eager to learn the difficult math, solve the difficult physics problems and write the difficult code – America renews itself. Because of this, America has an Apple, a Google and thousands of smaller cogs that make the U.S. economy the most dynamic in the world.
“But if the United States turns its back on the immigrants who have made it ‘great’, then America in the future will not have the Po-Shen Lohs or Sasha Rudenkos [or diverse student pool] to create the next generation of best-in-the-world innovators and scientists. America will be like every other country – not exceptional and not able to lead the world in every field.”
Majumdar knows whereof he speaks. He was educated in the US and now helps Bangladesh students strive for greatness. As he says, “I am taking part in the chain of transformation that liberal and open U.S. immigration policies offer. This culture of aspiration and generosity is America at its best.”
Remembering the educational angle to this political ‘hot potato’ is important. It can remind us that there is much more at stake here than arguing over building walls, be they physical or metaphorical. Keeping immigrants out does not put America first. It can put us behind.
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