Emily Schwinghamer


 

During our month-long stay in London my favorite week had to have been the week we got to tour Eton College, Oxford University, as well as, visit with children at a lower income primary school. After spending time at each of these three institutions, it became very clear to me that schooling the United States is, in fact, very different from what you find in Britain. Both countries definitely have a very different idea when it comes to what’s important to learn while at school as well as how long you need to go to school for. There are certainly places the United States could learn from Britain and vice versa.

When it comes to places where I think the United States could stand to learn something from Britain, when it comes to education, it would be mainly at the primary school level. During our visit at the primary school we got to speak with the principals about the curriculum being taught to the children and it was very inspiring to see how diversity was not only taught, but embraced at the school. The children are taught different religions, languages, and cultures in hopes of installing good moral compasses when it comes to inclusion. In the United States the only time you really receive any schooling about religion is if you pay to go to  private Catholic, Christain, Jewish school etc. As America is seemingly more divided than ever based off of things like race, gender, religion, etc. it would be extremely beneficial to install some of these practices into our school systems. Children are very impressionable and I believe it would make a large impact if kids were exposed to different cultures at an early age. Another thing that the primary school taught that I believe is extremely important is nutrition. In schools in the United States most kids have to take a health class of some sorts, but that really pales in comparison to how they are teaching Health and Nutrition in Britain. The primary school had a kitchen, garden, and even chickens to help teach the children about fueling your body properly. We got to stop in on a class in the kitchen and they were learning how to make things like fresh guacamole and smashed peas. It was really inspiring to see these kids learning, and even embracing, a healthy lifestyle. With the obesity problem in the United States it is more important now, than ever, to be helping our children learn how to live a healthier lifestyle.

After learning about the college education system in Britain I think there are a couple places that there could be improvements made based off of the American system. These days, in the United States, most kids are expected to further their education, attend college, and earn a degree. This is good for the workforce because it makes things more competitive, which in turn raises the levels of expectations, pushing people to get better and better. In Britain it didn’t seem like it was really expected from anyone, except the upper class, to attend higher education past high school. I think it's important that the entire population has the chance to educate themselves to a higher level as it opens up a lot of opportunities in the future. Also in the United States the average college student changes their major 3 times before graduating and we learned that it is almost impossible to do that in Britain. Not being locked into a specific major gives students the opportunity to really find not only what they are good at, but also what they are passionate about and will love doing for the rest of their lives. I believe Britain should adopt this technique because it allows students to dip their toes in the water before jumping in to a specific field of study.

The education systems in the United States and Britain are very different. Both push their students to achieve their goals and help set themselves up for their future, but the way they go about it is really pretty different. As with most things both systems could be improved by taking some pointers from each other and I believe as time moves on the gap between the two will become smaller and smaller.