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posted by Wagner @ 10:20 PM
This blog will discuss social, cultural, political and economic issues. Generally, I will express my opinion and/or that of a correspondent to initiate discussion of a certain issue, but the interesting points and counterpoints will most likely be made in the comments sections. Many of the comments will probably come from people I know in "real life," but reasoned comments from surfers at large are welcome. I reserve the right to delete any comment that I consider to be derogatory or spam-like.
These are not email notes to your friends back home. Other students and faculty will see this. Please,
posted by Wagner @ 10:20 PM
2 Comments:
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Thank you all for your input, I would like to add my pesonal comments about the eduactional system here in the United States.
I may not know a lot about the school system in France, but I have a little knowledge about the system here in America. Yes, it is true that most American students are heavily into sports. Students are interested in sport because it is fun and very athletic. Sport is also a game of leisure. Athletes in America who play professionally are paid large sums of money and are not required to have a college degree. I think a year or two ago, the NBA decided to set an age limit on the drafting procss of students into the NBA. The minimum age limit was 19 years old, or the person had to be in his last year of high school. That is, this person should at least have a high school diploma before joining the NBA. Teams in the NBA do draft players out of high schools. Here are examples to back up my claim: “When the NBA and the players’ association hit on a new collective bargaining agreement Tuesday, part of the deal was setting a minimum-age limit for the draft which ends the exodus of prep players directly to the NBA. Before, players were eligible when their high school class graduated. Now players must be at least 19 by draft night and they must wait at least one year until after their high school class graduates (so, technically, some players could be in the NBA at 18 if they graduated high school at 17).” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8305294/ ; & “When NBA owners and the NBA Players Association meet this summer to hammer out a new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, NBA commissioner David Stern is expected to push through a new age limit on players looking to enter the NBA. That limit is anticipated to be 20 years and older OR two years since the player's class graduated high school -- whichever comes first. The current agreement allows American players to declare themselves for the NBA Draft in the year that their high school class graduates and allows International players to declare provided they turn 18 by the night of that year's Draft.” http://probasketball.about.com/od/nbadraft/i/nbaagelimit.htm
Can you imagine making millions right out of high school, just by playing sports? Is there anything better or easier then that? Is the purpose of going to school not to make money? I believe that could be one of the many reasons American students do concentrate strongly on sports. It is an easy way out!! However, there are some professional athletes who do earn college degrees while playing in the NBA, or playing other professional sports. An example of such person is Scottie Pippen. He earned his bachelor's degree from University of Central Arkansas in the field of kinesiology. Therefore, I believe going to college or attending Universities is a personal and family choice. It is true there are no guarantees that when a student graduates from college, he or she would get a job. Neither are there guarantees that if a student plays sports, he or she would get drafted. But, it is true, that if and when a student graduates, he or she would definitely pay back the loan taken to attend college or the university (unless the student had a scholarship, or, his or her parents could afford to send him or her to school).
On the other hand, from what I have gathered, education in France is free to all? In that case isn’t it expected that all students do go to high school, and continue on with higher educations?
Here in America, it is mandatory that students go to school from first grade to high school. This form of education is free. Some parents who can afford to, send their children to private school. Private schools have access to some of the best educational systems and trainings available. Sadly, majority of the public school systems do not have access to such information. This does not mean public school teacher are not trying their best to teach their students; it only means the public school teachers may not have access to the best information possible to help their students achieve better grades. An example backing this claim comes from an episode taken from the Oprah Winfrey’s show earlier this year. Student from a private school in Chicago swapped school for a day with students from a public school in Chicago. The experiences were entirely different for both sets of students. Here is a clip from the Oprah show: “When they arrived at Harper, the students from Neuqua Valley were shocked immediately by the difference between Harper and their own school. For starters, students have to enter Harper through a metal detector. They have a pool at Neuqua Valley, but the Harper pool hasn't been filled with water in a decade. The Neuqua Valley students have an award-winning music department, while Harper doesn't have enough instruments for a music class and relies on improvised instruments—like banging on desks.”
http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200604/20060411/slide_20060411_284_104.jhtml
Another example is from Jonathan Kozol, an advocate for education for children, “Education is taken for granted in modern American society. If a child cannot afford to attend a private or parochial school, which are generally seen as better than the alternative, then they go to public school. The assumption is made, because of compulsory attendance laws, and the societal emphasis on childhood learning, no matter what, a child is getting an education.”
http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2002/sites/kozol/Seevak02/html/edad-open.htm
I think this is why the school voucher system came into place. Even though the voucher system is very controversial, it allows parents to choose which school (public or private) system or neighborhood school they want their children to attend. There are others who disagree with the voucher system. These people, including me, feel that the school system should be fixed across the board. Every student should have equal opportunity to all educational information available. Certain school should not be privileged to certain information, while others are not. Children should not be taken from the poor neighborhoods into rich neighborhoods to attend school. All educational system should be the same across the board regardless of the geographical locations. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all school systems in America.
Some students who attend public schools do not have access to grants or scholarship information for colleges or universities. Unlike students in private schools who have wealth of information at their fingertip. Therefore, the “easy way out” becomes the only solution. The decision for students to play sports, become a singer, a rapper or even decide to go, or not to go to school, again, I believe is a person, or family choice. Thank you,
Tuwe
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