Random Thoughts Thread

[ZeroAX]

US is very much a work hard mentality country. You Europeans with your 30 hour work weeks. Many of us often put in 50-60. Must be nice, and in a way I am a bit jealous.

There is not a single country with a 30 hour work week. There are some with 35, but all of them are around 40.


There are at least 8 European countries that work more than you

http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRS

. though productivity is another subject all together. From my experience, countries that work "smart" (Germany, France, Scandinavian countries, Netherlands) tend to have a better quality of life than people who work much longer, but do jobs that don't add a lot of value to their labor (Greece, Turkey, China).

If you're jealous, be jealous of those countries' education systems that prepare them better for work and their focus on export driven growth rather than a 3 decade era of internal consumer growth.

[Jmustang1968]

I think the education system is fine. I think more of the issue is the culture and outlook many kids and students have with education. Basically, a student will get out of their education what they put in. Many students tend to blow off school and the importance of trying to achieve and tend to regret it down the line.

Not to say it is perfect or doesnt need some work. Teachers probably get paid too little. So unless someone just has a driving passion to teach, the most talented tend to seek higher paying careers.

[ZeroAX]

Man you have no idea how good the educational system is in those countries (specially the Scandinavian countries). Not to mention the amazing (free in many cases) universities and the great state supported internship programs (just look at Germany's engineers....their real engineers, cause their software engineers suck ).

Believe me I also come from a country with a crappy educational system, you have no idea how important it is for the good of the economy to get people educated and get them educated WELL.

[Jmustang1968]

Man you have no idea how good the educational system is in those countries (specially the Scandinavian countries). Not to mention the amazing (free in many cases) universities and the great state supported internship programs (just look at Germany's engineers....their real engineers, cause their software engineers suck ).

Believe me I also come from a country with a crappy educational system, you have no idea how important it is for the good of the economy to get people educated and get them educated WELL.

Again, if the students arent willing to learn...

I went to the same schools as others who blew off classes and schoolwork and are now struggling. While others and I have gone to college and now have successful careers. How much is it the education system and how much is it the students or culture behind it? How do get unmotivated students to learn?

[BogusMeatFactory]

Man you have no idea how good the educational system is in those countries (specially the Scandinavian countries). Not to mention the amazing (free in many cases) universities and the great state supported internship programs (just look at Germany's engineers....their real engineers, cause their software engineers suck ).

Believe me I also come from a country with a crappy educational system, you have no idea how important it is for the good of the economy to get people educated and get them educated WELL.

Again, if the students arent willing to learn...

I went to the same schools as others who blew off classes and schoolwork and are now struggling. While others and I have gone to college and now have successful careers. How much is it the education system and how much is it the students or culture behind it? How do get unmotivated students to learn?

Education is tough. It may not even be a matter of, "They don't want to learn," but instead are in an environment that doesn't promote learning.

Education in the United States is one enormous web of troubles. Here in Michigan, there are no state regulations or requirements for the formation of charter schools. They can be literally formed by any company, and only recently were held accountable for their academia and have free reign to do what they will. A friend of mine was a teacher for a charter school and was told to stop trying so hard, because the class she was given was intentionally formed for the, "Stupid," kids.

Being from the Detroit area, a lot of people I have come across in my time believe that there is no point in getting an education as there are no jobs in the area in the first place. The city itself can't provide the basic necessities of electricity water and heat to the people in the area, let alone a proper educational system, all the while a gargantuan number of charter schools sprout up yearly in the city with no previous track record of academic success.

I am not against Charter Schools in any ways, but I feel that Michigan is one instance where charter schools are being implemented poorly in the state.

We need to mix things up and we need a healthier learning environment and we need teachers who are willing to teach and we need parents willing to encourage their children to learn. So many factors can help make learning easier outside of the school as well like providing after school programs and youth centers that can be a positive beacon for the community that many places just do not have.

[Forlorn Drifter]

1) Still have no idea what a state by state stat has to do with a discussion on USA unemployment rate compared to the rest of the world.

2) Just google "countries by unemployment rate" or "countries by unemployment numbers" before you start talking about sad.

The state mentality is a bigger thing in the US than probably any other country, simply because so many states are the size of countries. That, mixed with how different things can get just crossing a state line.

I think the education system is fine. I think more of the issue is the culture and outlook many kids and students have with education. Basically, a student will get out of their education what they put in. Many students tend to blow off school and the importance of trying to achieve and tend to regret it down the line.

Not to say it is perfect or doesnt need some work. Teachers probably get paid too little. So unless someone just has a driving passion to teach, the most talented tend to seek higher paying careers.

I have to agree with this going through high school currently. I think one thing that has a big effect is how much focus is put on extracurricular activities in the US. At a high school like mine, where a large portion of coaches are also teachers, it wasn't uncommon, and still isn't, to bump a football player's grades so he can still play and such. Wanting to learn plays an important part too, because so many kids don't care. Hell, I didn't put in all that much effort and came out in the top 10%, so that should give you a decent idea. Even the private school kids I know did not care about the education- fancy cars, partying, and whoever they were worried about having sex with were much more important to them.

[TSTR]

^something something University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

[pepharytheworm]

I am sorry but you have to be blind if you are American and cannot see how awful the school system has become. Its easy to blame the students, but if students aren't being drawn to the way schools are teaching why would they not leave or be less interested. Schooling has become teachers forcing a square peg through a round hole, just because more holes use to be square in the past.

Universities are worse with student debt getting way out of hand. You're told you need to go to college to do well in life, yet there aren't enough jobs for the amount of students. How are they suppose to pay off the huge debt when they aren't one of the lucky few who get the career they majored in.

[Jmustang1968]

I am sorry but you have to be blind if you are American and cannot see how awful the school system has become. Its easy to blame the students, but if students aren't being drawn to the way schools are teaching why would they not leave or be less interested. Schooling has become teachers forcing a square peg through a round hole, just because more holes use to be square in the past.

Universities are worse with student debt getting way out of hand. You're told you need to go to college to do well in life, yet there aren't enough jobs for the amount of students. How are they suppose to pay off the huge debt when they aren't one of the lucky few who get the career they majored in.

No, I am not blind and I disagree it is as awful as you say it is. Needs work and improvement? Sure. It is a combination of students, culture, parenting, funding etc... Different issues for different locations.

There are enough jobs for students for the most part. One issue is that students take tons of loans out for a degree that makes 30-35k a year. The over abundance of loans and rising tuition has been a cycle. More student loans equal raising rates equals more loans.

Too many are going to college that dont need to. We have a big lack of middle skill workers. We have a lot of low and high, but more need to go to vocational schools.

[darsparx]

Well the bad thing is, most of the educational system is becoming more and more of a "one size fits all" which doesn't work. Some learn by lectures, some learn by memorization and people like me learn by doing. But seems like most teachers do lectures and that doesn't reinforce it to me that just bores me to tears....

If you really think our education system is bad then that would explain some of the economics since raising minimum wage is the only solution obama and others can come up with when taxes across the board are just getting way to dang high(when taxes and deductions take close to 100 with what little i'm making you know something is wrong)...not to mention inflation. Inflation and taxes making learning and working a joke it seems now a days...