A Normal Day Abroad
International education. Lots of people study abroad for the “international perspective” of how things work around the world, but what people also don’t know is that a lot of students come to the United States for education. China, France, and the United States all have very different educational systems, and they all have very different schedules for what a normal day is like.
A student from the United States, Rachel Barney has studied in all three of the above places.
“International education is the new frontier. Getting an international view on education has helped me further my life and my own education,” says Barney.
Days in China and France have very different “average” days that the United States do. Barney gives us some insight into what a normal day is like in each of these places. China, its wake up at 6:30am for classes at 7:30.
“I would take two Mandarin classes in the morning, then go to some regular classes in English, like geography and math. At the end of my day I would go to some tutoring for Mandarin so that I could perfect it.”
What Barney liked the most about the Chinese education system was that she could take classes in Mandarin, but that they would work with her on what she was doing wrong with the language so she could fix it. She was getting hands on experience with one of the hardest languages to learn.
Angela Miller, Assistant Director of Education Abroad for China, talked about frequently was how “all the teachers are more than willing to help you learn the language. They want you to succeed and have a positive experience while learning the language.”
Next on the little world tour is France. A daily day in France consists of school starting at 8:45 in the morning, much later than a day in China.
“A typical day in France is an eight hour long day. They have a strict schedule when it comes to what you can take. You can’t take a lot of electives, but the classes are very similar to the ones you would take in America,” Barney said while talking about France.
This is very different from the United States in that most schools allow you to build your schedule and actually require you to take a certain amount of electives while in high school and middle school.
“An interesting fact is that every student is required to have meat in their lunches.” This is very different from American schools obviously. In America you can do whatever you would like for lunch depending on the school. Some campuses are closed and you have to eat there, while others are open and allow you to go off campus to get lunch or you can just go home.
What Barney liked best about the French education system is that “they had a sense of urgency. They wanted their students to maximize their schedules with all the classes they could take so that they could learn the most they possibly could.”
For her this worked since she likes to finish school earlier if she can and this would also work for students who like to finish earlier as well. Study Abroad Advisor for France, Carolyn Christianer, gave some interesting insight on the French education system.
“The French go to school starting at the age of four till 16. If students want to go to University, they need to study for two extra years if they want to sit on the ‘le bac’ exam, which they must pass in order to go to university. The schools are a bit more strict than the ones in the United States, but they are affective.”
In comparison to America, China and France are very different. When you are thinking of studying abroad in either of those countries, consider looking that their systems are very different from the United States.
