Monday, February 4, 2013

What difference does it make? The school systems outside America

Image source: faa-hk.com


Most modern school systems that exist today were modeled by their respective countries from the systems of the West, from the present superpowers at the time they’ve begun reforming their old systems. For instance, Japan’s is borrowed heavily from the German and French educational systems, as these two countries were among those that had the soundest economy during 1868 when the Japanese government expressed its intention of catching up with the Western standards of living. In the Philippines, conversely, the present-day educational system has traces of both American and Spanish methods, since the country has experienced massive educational reforms during the years of being occupied by the aforesaid western nations.

Even though Western education seems to be the dominant educational system in the world, does it mean that it is the best?

Sadly, the answer is a big “no.”


Image source: wikimedia.org


In France, the revolution has gone down to the ground level, as the teachers themselves revolt the “elitist” way by softening the iron-fist method that highlights the French way of teaching and by focusing more on the students’ skills and not on the absence of variation found in all French classrooms that continuously kills the system. In Germany, however, the quandary lies on the entangled policies due to the difference in educational standards per state, since it is not controlled entirely by the central government but administered by the states. Here in America, everyone is aware of the unending clamor for more accessible education despite the big budget allocation the government has given to the education sector. Thus, every country seems to have its own problem of overhauling its current education system.

Moreover, many Westerners pursue their education abroad.

If they travel ashore just to get the cheap and quality education they want, does this mean that the education back in their homeland is not only unattainably expensive but also poor in quality? Does this also mean that the system that was only borrowed from the West has finally overtaken the standards and quality of its foundation?


Image source: the-nri.com

So what’s now in store for the American education?

Besides being a businessman, Ken von Kohorn is a passionate leader at The Family Institute of Connecticut, an educational nonprofit that targets families and children with the intention of imparting cultural, religious, and educational values. Follow this Facebook page to learn more about his endeavors and advocacies.

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