By mbateman on Feb 7, 2013 in Uncategorized | Comments Off
We hope you all had a restful vacation! Now we’re back in full swing, and we are pleased to bring you an international education! Seriously, though, this edition is all about the “la maternelle” infant schools in France; the differences between the Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium educations; and the chain of educational development in Argentina. Did you know that mothers in China can pay 20,000 RMB to reserve spots in preschool for their 3-year-olds?
There is a lot to learn about, well, international learning, especially as it tends to differ heavily from what we take for granted in America. Read on to see how these countries deal with issues of illiteracy, high school graduation rates, the pressures that students and families feel to get a good education, and more!
Enjoy!
WWN Editors
Matt, Jaime, Lars, Mary
By ieberz on Feb 7, 2013 in Germany | Comments Off
Education is so essential and still so different in every country. In Germany even the Bundesländer (states) differ in their concepts of education. Decisions about education like the school system or fees for studying are up to the states. In the state where I come from, the education starts with Kindergarten. You can enter Kindergarten by the age of 2 but it’s not an obligation. There is no fee for Kindergarten. By the age of 6 or 7, children enter the Grundschule (elementary school). They spend the first four years of their school education at this type of school. Often, the class has only one or two teachers for all subjects. New is that some pupils in the 3rd grade start to study a foreign language. After the 4th grade, students get a recommendation from their teacher for a certain type of secondary school. Read the rest
By hernandm on Feb 7, 2013 in France | 1 Comment
In France, like in most of Westernized countries, education is a primary concern as well as a sacred and strong institution since the French Revolution. Jules Ferry’s laws in 1881 and 1882 make education public, free, secular (non religiously affiliated) and mandatory for children from 6 to 13 years old. This law will be amended in 1959 to put the end of mandatory education to 16 years old.
French schools (from infants school to university level) start during the first week of September until late October when there are national holidays for 10 days commonly called “Les vacances de la Toussaint” (All Saints Day’s holidays). Then there is a two weeks Christmas break, a two weeks winter break, a two weeks spring break and school finishes at the end of June with two months summer holidays. Read the rest
By gbustos on Feb 7, 2013 in Argentina | Comments Off
Argentina, one of the countries with the highest literacy rates in Latin America and even the world, is the homeland of thousands of scientists and talented, professional people. One of the key figures responsible for this is President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, who made education universal, compulsory, free and secular. In the present entry I’d like to share with the readers some characteristics of the Argentine educational system, its structure and how I happened to choose the enriching teaching profession. Read the rest
By rmaeda on Feb 7, 2013 in Japan | Comments Off
Hello everyone,
Education is a topic that influences the future of each country.
I would like to talk about the current educational system of Japan, major differences between Japanese schools and American schools and the current problems in education. Read the rest
By wzhang on Feb 7, 2013 in China | Comments Off
“If your child cannot study in a good kindergarten, then he or she cannot be easily accepted by a good elementary school. If he or she cannot received education in a good elementary school, then there is no chance to go to a top middle school, or competitive high school, or famous university. Then he or she cannot find a good job. The result would be: they would have a miserable life. I don’t want my child have that tragic life, so I have to send him to a very good kindergarten so that he won’t lose at the scratch line.” This is from a mother who spent more than 20,000RMB(most Chinese average income is less than 5,000RMB /month ) to reserve a place in a good kindergarten for her child in advance. Her son is just 3 months old. Read the rest
By imiranda on Feb 3, 2013 in Bolivia | Comments Off
The formal education in Bolivia starts with kindergarten (one year), elementary (five years), middle school (three years) high school (four years), and college (five years). Public education is free (from kindergarten to college). The school time is split into three shifts (morning, afternoon, and night). For example, I attended the morning shift (6:45 am to 12:45 pm) in high school for the regular classes (mathematics, foreign languages, history, natural sciences, etc) and afternoons for mandatory vocational classes (carpentry, electricity, auto-mechanics, chemistry, and technical draw). Read the rest
