Sputnik Music Forums - The R&M Yacht Club

[QUOTE=Superpeer]Perhaps you should post our hawt convo, AH. :-*[/QUOTE]

Seriously? No one would want to read all that.

EDIT: If anyone quotes this whole post, I imaginary neg rep you :mad:

Note: the following is a transcription of my interview with Jelle. Some things I had to change around so that it would fit the question. If I posted the exact AIM convo, it would feature Jelle saying "so ppl c dat Bush is not tr00!", among other things.

Jim: Do you know of any differences between the education system in Europe and the education system in America?

Jelle: Well, I know that the universities in America aren't accessible for everyone and that only certain students are allowed, judged on grades, past performances in previous schooling, standardized tests, and what have you. This is probably to avoid that a lot of people would fail, as opposed to Belgium, where everyone can enter a university as long as they have a high school diploma, resulting in the failure of more students in the first year. I know for a fact that American lower education (id est pre-college) is quite protectional. What I mean is that I noticed that foreign languages are pretty much neglected for the most part and that the choice of subjects and dropping subjects is a lot more free. Over here, you have fixed packets of subjects which you can choose from with little or no choice of the subjects, but they always include a lot of languages (French, Dutch, English are mandatory, while Latin, German and Spanish are optional). If you choose a subject, you can't just drop it, which is the impression I got from American Education, where a student is taking this subject for awhile then dropping it, without really knowing the material.

Jim: Do you like the idea of foreign exchange programs? If so, where would you want to go?

Jelle: Well, I have nothing against them, I suppose. One of my friends is now in Paraguay on an exchange program. But yes, it might be a good way to discover different cultures and become more independent, although it can have it downsides, too. For example, if you would let an Ethiopian go to school in Belgium for a year, he'll be stunned by the wealth and I believe that could result to depression upon returning to his home country. That's the only disadvantage I can see though, personally I wouldn't do it, just because I don't like the idea of being all separated from the people I know and essentially being on my own. But if I had to go, it would probably be the US or England, or maybe Canada. I'm interested to see what their reactions would be towards a "European" in their school systems.

Jim: In America, we have some colleges and universities where they only accept and enroll students based on their ethnic backgrounds [interviewer’s note: universities such as Florida A&M or North Carolina A&T], or schools that accept only a certain religious denomination. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of such colleges and universities, and do you have anything like that in Europe?

Jelle: [thinks for a moment] No, I don't believe Europe has anything like that. Actually, I can't really speak for the whole of Europe, but Belgium does not have those schools you described.. The closest we have to that would be Jewish Elementary schools, and I think that's more to avoid inconvenience in other schools due to the strict rules that they live by. I've heard about ethnic and religious schooling though. To me, it seems very awkward and completely unnecessary. It seems a total encouragement of racial and religious separation, and I don't understand why there are scholarships solely for Latin-Americans or for African-Americans or any kind of “minority.” To me, it's pure political correctness, to soothe some people, and I think it's completely ridiculous. I may not be a scientist or sociologist or anything of the sort, but I do believe that although there are different races of people, I feel that we're all the same species and no one should have extra advantages or disadvantages. I understand that it might also be done for the ones that don't have the funds to afford college, but we have a system for that, actually, where everyone who earns an income that is under a certain amount of money, gets a scholarship. For instance, I for one have a scholarship that I can use to pay for my books.

Jim: Do you think that learning about other cultures and people of different origins than your own should play a role at all levels of schooling?

Jelle: [thinks for awhile] Yes.

Jim: Okay, why do you feel it is important?

Jelle: Well, the obvious reasoning would be that children have to realize that the country or region they live in is not the center of the world, nor is it the world. Many children nowadays are superficial and closed-minded, learning about the riches and wonders of the foreign (“exotic”) culture might broaden their minds. People could embrace the concept of the “[i]Uomo Universale[/i]” dating from the Renaissance period, when it was the ultimate purpose of an intellect to be aware of the culture of not only the past (the Romans and the Greeks) but also of the whole world. This is what people should do: explore cultures and languages and learn from them. The world is so diverse, there are things you don't realize until you've encountered them in a different culture and by doing so, I can see intolerance diminishing greatly. Unfortunately, it seems like the world is still filled with hatred and intolerance.

Jim: So when would you introduce learning about diversity to children, and teaching them the differences that different people have, while making sure they know that we are all human?

Jelle: Well, the obvious reasoning would be as soon as possible. I think it would be harder for older people to grasp that concept, must like it is harder to learn more languages as you get older because your brain can’t process things as easily as it can while a brain in a younger child can. I also think that older people are more resistant to change, and would reject the idea of having to learn about someone else’s culture just because they feel forced to.

Jim: Recently, our President has passed a law that is called “No Child Left Behind.” Based on what I have learned so far in my classes and from interviews of teachers I have conducted for my other education classes at university, this law states that teachers have to teach in their major and go through a rigorous certification process. For example, a certified mathematics major can’t teach physical education. What are your thoughts on such a law?

Jelle: Hmm, I don’t know about that particular law, but I guess it makes sense. I'm not a fan of Bush's politics; however, the trend that has been going on here since the war in Iraq annoys me greatly. Nowadays, it's very “cool” and trendy to dislike Bush. Everyone you can imagine hates Bush, but if you ask them why, all they can reply is “Because he sucks.” I respect it if you are genuinely against his ways, but people that don't even know the meaning of the word “politics” are running around buying anti-Bush posters, and it is ridiculous and utterly irritating. But so goes every trend, I suppose, it just never was so political. I'm sure it will blow off soon and people would find a new fashionable thing to do.

Jim: Are you familiar with the term “mainstreaming?”

Jelle: I have heard it, but I am unsure as to what it means exactly.

Jim: From what I have learned in my classes, schools are placing children with some learning disabilities in classrooms with students without learning disabilities. For example, a Latin-American student whose primary language is Spanish gets placed in a classroom that is driven on the English language. Obviously, he is going to have a hard time with the lessons because he won’t understand some, and in some cases, all of the vocabulary. Another example would be students with autism, where they have a hard time keeping up with the curriculum because of their disability. This is what mainstreaming is to me. Do you think mainstreaming is more helpful or harmful to schools?

Jelle: Oh, that depends on what the problem is, I wouldn't count learning English as a second language as a mental disability though. Well, some mental problems that can't be dealt with sufficiently with normal schools might slow down the learning process of the other pupils. In such cases, I don’t think schools should be obliged to take them in, but special schools should be the solution instead. If the student can function normally in school, it should certainly be allowed, though. Not speaking the teaching language of the school is a special case. In kindergarten for example, I don’t think it wouldn't cause many problems, as young children would pick up the language soon enough. In later stages, they could probably still go to the school, possibly with extra language lessons to catch up. The language lessons could be in that school or outside of it. I think that schools are spending more money so that all students have a fair chance at being able to succeed in school. As for physical problems, they shouldn't form an immense problem either: arranging it so that classes are all on the first floor, or even installing an elevator for wealthy schools. In general, it isn't a good idea to separate certain groups of people because I don’t think that separation is what we are striving for. One should always go for unity, but I am unsure if we are taking the steps to reach that goal.