Job Discussion Forums

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

With regards to the question "who doesn't covet the American college system" I would say the British, French, Germans, Swedish and most other Europeans, the Japanese, the Russians before the fall of communism, and a few others.

The question does need asking however of "which American College system"? MIT, Harvard, Yale, Goergetown, and many other top rank universities are admired the world over, and the only institutions considered coming close to them are Oxbridge, some London colleges, the Grandes Ecoles in France, and for Computing Science the Indian Institutes of Technology. None of these institutions are of course typical of the wider educational system in their respective countries.

texastmblwd69 · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 91 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Boy Wonder · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 453 Location: Clacton on sea

Worst country to teach English in............from a professional standpoint.

Greece......wins hands down everytime.

Reason...you are hired in most cases only to prepare students for FCE and conduct tests.
You become a not very well paid and not very well respected or treated exam pusher who if deviates from the Exam Test book will incur the wrath of your employers.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

All British universities attract foreign students. An ex-Poytechnic is unlikely to compete with Harvard or Yale, just as a mid-West Community College won't compete with Oxford or Cambridge.

All European universities depend on state aid. It is simply another method of funding. To say that is a weakness is like saying that American universities would go broke if they didn't have all these endowment funds.

Chris_Crossley

Captain Yossarian · Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 385 Location: Dongbei

Buckingham is indeed still run without state aid - and is the only private university in Britain.

However much it pains me to say - the US model is in the ascendant. As a previous poster mentioned - there are not that many institutions that compete on an equal footing with MIT, Harvard, Yale etc. Oxford and Cambridge are completely unique. The London School of Economics (LSE) has an intake of more than 50% from outside the UK. The university is therefore taking in millions in fees that it wouldn't from British students. It is a wonderful institution academically but in terms of facilities it pales compared with anything in the US.

Many Chinese students are simply flabbergasted when they learn that in Europe students don't usually pay fees for school or university education (a situation that has recently changed in the UK, though not in Scotland).

waxwing · Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China

texastmblwd69 · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 91 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Quote: "I tovo i drugovo ... i mogu bez khleba"

Interyesno... bez khleba, navyerno...bez myasa, mozhet byt, a bez vodki, ne dumayu!

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 1:41 pm Post subject: Anybody speak Russian?

waxwing · Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China

Certainly.
"Both one and the other .. and can I have it without bread?"
(for some reason texas.. has slightly misquoted me, it should be 'mozhno', not 'mogu')
My quote is from the Russian version of Winnie the Pooh, I won't go into details for fear of boring you.

His reply reads:
'Interesting .. without bread, probably, without meat, perhaps, but without vodka, I don't think so!'