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• 1 2019-05-05T10:13:52-07:00 Can education be too rushed? 19 Bailey Conrad plain 2019-06-30T00:17:53-07:00 Bailey Conrad
  
  Participating in this program has taught me much about British history, culture, lifestyle, and politics, but learning about the British schooling system stood out to me especially. One major way in which it compares to the United States’ system is that during college (British terminology for “high school”), students must narrow their studies to align with their aspired profession. They also must know exactly what they want to study during their time at their university before they begin their schooling. In the United States, students have the choice of changing their passions and career paths many times in both high school and at universities, which is proven by the existence of the Exploratory major at Ohio State. The United States also has General Education courses unlike schools in the UK. The yearly structure of the British school system is similar to that of the Unites States in that they go to schools (two in Britain and three in the US) in preparation for universities. 
  
  Once students in Britain reach a certain point in their schooling in college (“high school”), they enter sixth-form college, which is the final two years before a university. Students must choose three subjects they want to be the core focus of their final years, then take exams over their chosen subjects for universities to consider for acceptance. After college, they must decide on a major, which they cannot change. For example, our Professor, who grew up in Northern England, thought he wanted to be a lawyer. He started out at his university with those intentions but, three weeks in realized that it was not the discipline for him. He had to drop out and take a gap-year before going back to study a new career path the following year. Our tour guide at Oxford, a very prestigious university outside of London, was torn between majoring in Chemistry or Physics. She had to be certain in her choice to avoid having to start over her studies. Personally, after taking chemistry classes and realizing my passion for it, I changed my major from Biology to Biochemistry and am much happier.
  
  
  Through this program, we visited Eton College, an elite preparatory school for boys aged 13 -18, which provided me great insight into the British schooling system. Many notable people went there including Henry Moseley, Robert Boyle, Tom Hiddleston, and Bear Grylls. According to Eton College’s website, their academic structure is set up into five blocks with one block per year. Block F, the first block, is the foundational block consisting of a range of subjects and two foreign languages. In the next block, Block E, students concentrate on ten subjects, followed by nine subjects in Block D. Next, in Block C, boys study at least four subjects, allowing them to enter Block B. In Block B about half of the boys reduce to three subjects, which they take their final exams over during the following summer to apply to universities. This education proves successful for some, as they get into prestigous colleges like Oxford and Cambridge but not for all.
  
  
  This past week, I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend that was raised in London but decided to go to Ohio State. I asked her why she wanted to go to a university in the United States after being educated in London at a high-ranking school, and the main reason was that she did not like the limited flexibility in one’s studies. She chose her three subjects in college, which were English, Music, and Math. She then went on to major in English at Ohio State with no idea of post-graduation plans. Now, entering her third year, her General Education courses have allowed her to become interested in law. She now plans on going to law school, which she never could have seen herself doing prior to going to Ohio State.
  
  The rationale behind the British academic system could be that it prepares students better for their desired profession because their education is heavily specialized before going to a university, whereas I took a wide range of upper level classes from english to calculus. I think that this system limits people from exploring available options to find what their true interests are and causes people to specialize before they are more indpendent in their decision making. With this system, I would not have been able to switch my major and would have had to decide whether to start my education again or settle with a major that is suboptimal for me. I am an EMT and had to take a class and examinations in addition to completing many clinical hours to obtain my certification. The clinical hours were more hands-on and taught me much more than what I learned in the classroom. I believe that at the high school/college and university level, students will learn much more once they are immersed in their desired profession, whether that be through clinicals, internships, etc., as opposed to the material they learn in the classroom. I think that Great Britain should adopt the United States’ education system because it allows students to search for an education path they are most passionate about, enabling them to obtain a profession they will love for many years.  
  
   
• 1 2019-05-05T10:41:58-07:00 United States vs. Britain Education System 11 Emily Schwinghamer plain 2019-06-07T00:49:06-07:00

  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.

• 1 2019-05-05T10:46:05-07:00 Class and Education in London 6 Alexa Tonski plain 2019-06-06T15:37:33-07:00 Alexa Tonski           
  
            While London is clearly a diverse city, it is still apparent that class differences exist, especially within the school systems. While abroad, we traveled to three different schools: Eton, a London primary school, and Oxford. Eton and Oxford clearly demonstrated how the richest kids in England were educated. The London primary school showed the opposite side, and how immigrant families didn’t have as much access to top-notch education in London. Although these schools evidently have big differences, I still feel that the London primary school was much better than a lower-class school in the US, and I feel that this school tried its best to educate their students despite their social class. It was interesting to explore how class affects the level of education received in England, and while I believe the London primary school was a good school, nothing can compare to the quality education received at schools like Eton and Oxford.
              First, we visited Eton and the Museum of Eton Life. The fact that there was even a museum about life at Eton shows how prestigious and famous the school is. Seeing all of the famous men who attended the school demonstrated its fame even further. Learning about all of the opportunities with sports, music, and the arts also showed that the school gives many opportunities to its students that set them up for success continuing with university. Seeing the young men walk around the school during our trip was also very interesting. Their uniforms and the way they carried themselves showed that they were elite. The school was unlike anything I had ever seen in the US, and it is hard to fathom how much money the families who send their sons here must have. According to the article we read for class, “In order to evolve such a school, you have to start with a monarchical foundation in the mid-15thcentury. A few hundred years of feudalism and empire are then required, during which time 18 of the country’s prime ministers attend the school, as do countless generals, ambassadors, and colonial governors. A vivid legend of the three B’s- bullying, beating, and buggery- must spring up, imprinting itself thoroughly on the formative years of a ruling caste” (Hitchens). This quote explains the complicated history of not only Eton, but England itself, and why it is capable of having such a prestigious school. The most important people in the country have attended it, and helped give it its famous name today. 
  
              The second school we visited during our time in London was the primary school in the predominantly Bangladeshi neighborhood in East London. This school was the complete opposite from Eton, and it was evident that it was for more common people. While this school was considered at the bottom of the chain in London, it still seemed much better than lower economic status schools in the US. Visiting multiple classrooms was a really interesting experience, as we were able to see the variety of topics different age groups were learning in class. Their classes were very well-rounded compared to some in the US, especially with their cooking classes and more interactive activities. While most of the kids lived in social housing across the street, it clearly didn’t inhibit their learning. It was nothing like Eton, but still a good place for kids to go to school. The school was also much more diverse than Eton, with children mostly from immigrant and impoverished families. The minorities in London do attend less quality schools, but are still not completely ignored by society, and still have quality education. Interacting with the children at the school was a really fun experience for me, as someone who wants to work in a school one day, and it was great to see how much they were learning and how much they wanted to learn about our culture.
  
              Lastly, we visited Oxford University, which was nothing like what I had initially expected. I had no idea that Oxford was broken into 38 different colleges that were almost like 38 completely different universities making up one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Oxford blew my mind, and it was hard for me to even fathom that people attend such an incredible and famous university. It is quite clear that many young men who attend Eton would continue on to Oxford, as they are both some of the most famous schools in the world that would clearly prefer wealthier students in attendance. 
  
             While the primary school was still a quality place of education, it’s obvious that Oxford and Eton were created solely for the richest and most well-known families to send their children there. They were unlike anything I had ever seen in the US, and it seems like the education system is better overall in England. Even a school considered at the bottom of the education system was pretty quality in my opinion. It was very interesting to see the effects of class on the education system in England, and how different the schools are, while still all being quality places for children to receive an education. The class differences are evident in London, but it is still a diverse and accepting city that gives all of the children opportunities to receive an education.