Friday February 1, 2008:
My Education teacher, Ruby, came in to give a lecture on Wednesday to the IAU class. After listening to her and reading the assigned readings, I see that the French system prides itself on being egalitarian. The schools across the country follow the same curriculum, read the same books, and take the same tests, and the students who come out on top do so because of their own merit (in theory). Everything is equal. And everything is rote memory, too, preparing for the bac, rather than a love-of-learning or an understanding. And whereas in America asking questions is encouraged because it shows that you are engaging with the material, that is not so much the case here.
I experienced that yesterday in my psychology class. I am studying psychology at my home university, so I've already taken fifteen courses there. And what we learn is more scientific and less theoretical/literary (or, as my partner for a presentation I gave called it: archaic). I like the theory part of it, and this older theory applies a lot to literature and so we read it and practice it in critical theory and literature classes, but not in psychology. At one point during my presentation yesterday I had to show 'evidence' of a theory which was simply an observer noticing an anxious baby with his mother and then when the mother started crying the baby gave a 'hopeful' look to the observer. And soon after they were doing much better. I always thought evidence had to be backed up by data collection or statistical analysis rather than just applying a theory to a scene, which to me was always more to do with literature. So during my presentation, I asked if this was really evidence. My teacher did not appreciate my question at all and snuffed out my question quickly with a not-too-happy look on her face.
So in response to Ruby's lecture and the readings we read, I have noticed, and experienced, the expectancy of students to be obedient rather than questioning. If one is to explain the material, not every student's opinion can fit in. It's logical thinking, really. And for me, it's actually a load off my shoulders. I always feel in my home university like I have to come up with something more or deeper when I write a paper or talk in class, but here the best thing is to simply understand what you've been told. And of course, I will appreciate my teachers' willingness to address my arguments or questions when I go back to the states in a way I didn't before.
