>Now that I have my own kids in school, I understand why my mom, moving to the US from an Asian country 30 years ago, was so befuddled by the education I was receiving.)
Schools in East Asia, alongside pushing STEM topics are still also vehicles for pushing the philosophical and cultural views of the state through the teachers and curriculum, so I'm not sure why this is befuddling as such.
For a concrete example see Chinese medium schools in Malaysia, where it's not just about them being ostensibly better at teaching math or other STEM topics, but about Chinese language as a proxy for Chinese culture and values.
Schools in East Asia, alongside pushing STEM topics are still also vehicles for pushing the philosophical and cultural views of the state through the teachers and curriculum, so I'm not sure why this is befuddling as such.
For a concrete example see Chinese medium schools in Malaysia, where it's not just about them being ostensibly better at teaching math or other STEM topics, but about Chinese language as a proxy for Chinese culture and values.