BigDavyG

Just out of interest what makes you think the US school is better ??
Sure it might look flashier, cleaner, more modern, etc but how do you rate the standard of education your kid receives ??

(Legitimate question - i'm not trying to be arsey)

Partystar

I was educated in England & it was great. It's a more condensed education & you 'graduate' at 16, rather than 18 (sometimes 17 here), which I prefer. I know Arizona has been nicknamed the 'dumbest state', I've never been to school here, but I have been to school in Texas & it was shit there too.

Plus, there's not much chance of a kid bringing a gun to school in England. There's a chance of that here & I don't like it one bit, plus I know it does happen to people like us/in this area. My SMIL's brother was killed in a 'glory' killing & hubby was at school when a gun was brought in too, luckily no one was hurt that time.

ladylisa

How sad, whats a glory killing, something to do with gangs?

Eskimo

First of all its definitely not flashier !
I think here there is a better focus - instead of trying to do 12 subjects they focus on the essentials, the maths teaching involves NO calculators , the English teaches grammar and spelling (US but still ) The kids are proud of there school and want to work hard and do well and it rubs off on your kids. The teachers are approachable and realistic and we as parents are kept fully informed of our kids progress with detailed action plans when she goes of track (and she does !) The extra circular stuff is amazing. This my opinion of course but when did you last spend time in a UK school ?

woodsey

we're very lucky I think in California with the school system, I would not even entertain my daughter going back to a UK school now but on the gun thing, do you not remember Dunblane, fair enough it wasn't a kid but wasn't that the worst one of all the school shootings anywere in the world.

Eskimo

I was educated in England it was also "great" but it was along time ago and things change and I'm not convinced that leaving at 16 makes it more condensed - we start younger

BigDavyG

Well I'm not as old as you
Actually I have a few mates who are teachers back home so I rely to a large extent on what I hear from them.
I liked your answer, but from the sounds of things you're kids are very lucky to go to such a school.

Drebin

What? Those ones experiencing teacher shortage crisises for the past ten years? Those ones with next to no money for decent equipment? I heard the school I went to in my home town which has been going for 60+ years is to be shut down recently. :-/

I've been to Uni in the States and I remember all the Freshmen at the place I was being pretty damn well educated. Certainly no huge gaping gaps in their knowledge as some here might have you believe. Let's not even get into the totally polarised difference in the 'attitudes to learning', I was stunned at how these kids actually gave a damn about wanting to do well.

I wouldn't bother arguing Eskimo, the consensus is obviously that the USA is a big huge steaming dump and no-one should come here!

Eskimo

cheeky bastard

Of course we are lucky but we choose the area because the schools. Not everyone can afford to do that either here or in the UK.

BigDavyG

Most of the international surveys would tell otherwise re the general standard of American college freshmen.
How would you define damn well educated ???

BigDavyG

Oh, and I actually like the wide range of choice in subjects back home - it keeps options open for the kids for as long as possible - i hate the idea of technology or vocational colleges currently being pushed by the government which will force kids to specialise at younger and younger ages - i still don't know what i want to do now, let alone at 14
That said, the wide variety available back home ain't much use if the kids haven't yet mastered the basics - not much use studying french if you can't speak proper english like, init ??

TouristTrap

They were all homeschooled kids

Drebin

Any links to anything that isn't just a piechart or barchart?

I've posted here before about my opinions on UK Universities vs American ones. I'm constantly flumoxed about how over-blown the 'quality' of the UK ones are. I mean this whole thing where a UK Honours degree = a US Masters degree... I'm not complaining though as it works out great for me , but in my opinion it's insulting to anyone in the US who has worked the extra two years for their masters.

BigDavyG

Nowt to hand but one of those 60 minutes type shows did a 2 hour special on the subject last month.
I think the degree comparison is fair - you don't here many scots saying that their honours degrees are any better than others in the UK because their's take a year longer. Just because someone works for longer doesn't necessarily mean that they did more or the work was harder, so I don't really see how the comparison is insulting.

Drebin

Of course it is, the comparison is saying that a regular Batchelors in England is an order of magnitude 'better' than the US Batchelors degree. How long it might take I agree is irrelevant.

Based on my experiences studying over both sides of the pond, and working with graduates of 'top' Uni's in both places... Yeah, I think it's insulting.

(Holy thread hijack, Batman!)