I have attended both sides and I can’t really say I prefer one over another. The Asian pressure is just what one would have to put up with since all your peers are going through the same thing, we know it’s for our good, extreme as it might be. It build a mutual understanding that we’re in this unforgiving wheel together as well, a sort of empathy one would never have for a complete stranger like a student from another class.

The American one I experienced was a complete opposite (a private school), they grilled it into your head how special all of us are and do a terrible job at nudging their students on. Since, well, this is the level you’re at, if you wish to improve, seek us out, we’re just here to do our job and take our salary, if you don’t want to participate when we send an encouragement your way, we’ll leave you be. A C? Nods, that’s fine, as long as you don’t fail... I really did grown complacent under that sort of environment, instead of actively striving for 100%, I stopped being horrified at 75% and just go “that’ll do”.