What are the differences between French and American education systems?

A balance between the Korean and American education systems?

• The Korean education system is notorious for grilling students, making studying robots. Thus, the suicide rates, wasting too much money on education, etc. On the other hand American students could use more discipline. American students rank very low on international exams. Look at the ghetto areas and all the underachieving students. Can someone propose a good way to compromise the two systems? What are some actions we can take? I'm not talking about general ideas, like "parents are the key." or make some laws. What can we (students/educators) actually do? Currently I'm interning for at a company which supports education. The company can provide scholarships/travel opportunities. Something from this point of view would be nice too. But so many things have already been tried...

• Answer:

  Are you trying to think of a new system which merges the two systems? Or are you trying to "fix" either of the systems? If it's the latter, it will never happen. The Korean system doesn't have any room for compromise. The reason why students are grilled the way they are is because the college entrance exam that the students take is the sole determinant of enrollment to a college. Based on a student's score, they are permitted to apply for 3 of the respective tiered schools. There is no concept of "reach" or "safety" schools like in the states. The sole purpose of middle/high school is to prepare the students for this exam. Unlike the SAT, this exam covers all the material from all the subjects learned during high school. Unlike the states where you get to choose your courses, you don't have that option in Korea. Everyone takes the same classes because everyone needs to take the same exam. Many people retake the exam (which is held once a year) several times until they get into the college they want. You also have to understand that status is very important in Korea, and other that your family background, college is where it really begins. So for students, at least the ones that want to get into a good college, there really is no other option than to study and study some more. Education is very important in Korean culture and that's just the way it's always going to be. Discipline and respect towards the elders is also part of our culture. What people might consider physical abuse to children in the states is only discipline in Korea. Teachers are also allowed to physically punish (not as severely anymore) students as they are considered to be equals as parents. It might be a hard concept for a westerner to fully grasp our culture, but that's just the way it is. You might think that it's a waste of money, but Koreans save up money to spend on their children's educations whereas the average Joe in the states will save up for a new corvette or just spend on consumables. To Koreans, any many people in Asia, Americans waste A LOT of money one useless products. Trying to discipline students in the states will never work, at least for the majority. I strongly believe true discipline comes from a certain amount of fear and respect. You try to instill a little fear in a student and a law suit will be thrown at you. Hell..people threaten to sue for just about anything in the states. Most children don't have much respect towards adults, let alone their teachers. That's just not part of the culture. Even without grilling the students, there are so many options for students to take after high school. You can get decent paying jobs without a college degree in the states, whereas college is pretty much required for anything other than part time jobs that get paid no where near they're paid in the states. Even for college, not only do you have a lot of options to choose from, they look at everything from your GPA to admissions essays when determining your admissions. It's MUCH easier get into a college in the states than anywhere else in the world. For students who blame poverty for not being able to get out of the ghetto, I don't feel any pity towards them. At the end of the day, they can blame everyone around them for all the bad influences, but ultimately they are the ones that chose not to better themselves starting at school. I would never know what it's truly like growing up in an environment like that, but I know there are plenty of opportunities and help offered if an individual chooses to seek it. In reality there's really nothing, at least in the short run to change anything from both sides. It's the culture, importance of education etc that shaped the education system to be the way it is. You can't attempt to discipline students that have grown up in a culture where discipline is a simple time out in a corner or detention. You can't attempt to persuade parents, students or even the educators to grill the students any less than they do in Korea when that is the only way to get into a good college. To my knowledge, hakwons (tutoring schools) are not allowed to teach by law after 10pm. Other than that, there's really nothing else anyone can do.