oh well, judging from your article and the exchange of comments here, i guess i know where am going.

thanks for sharing this.

anyeong from south korea ^^

taking an AP class and successfully passing the test gives you college credits. therefore equaling the British… and,
unlike taking Physics for 4 years… you take it once
(American syllabus) and its worth one year of taking college physics
making it harder than the british syllabus…
One can take AP Physics in their 10 year

p.s. I’m not an american student more of a teacher who has done her A/L in Britain… Manchester

And damien
Do a bit of research regarding AP classes and THE AMERICAN CURRICULUM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement_Program
It’s easy…

Thanks for the info Ms. Nanny, I’ll look it up.

I know for a fact that many British universities refuse to take American students unless they’ve either done A Levels or have completed a foundation year/course in their chose subject, because the American High School qualifications are so unreliable. I have some friends in American High Schools and from what they tell me it appears that the focus is too broad, there’s too much freedom and not enough structure, the subjects studied can be very obscure and there’s not enough incentive to do well in exams. All of which make me feel that, whilst the British system is by no means perfect, nor is it irreparably flawed.

I see where you’re coming from. If we can know a tree by its fruit, the fact that the US and Europe are in the sorry state they’re in today says a lot about the inadequacies of both systems.

Just a hunch but could it be because the US and UK have different intents on education. The US may be pushing education as a process that helps you engage with society and perhaps life enrichment (why else would they give credit hours for learning golf and bowling?) while in the UK, its simply a process for you to get a job.

I know the British does ?

thanks for time =)

I’m not sure how similar is the imported US system compared to the real thing in the US. You can import textbooks and syllabus but I doubt you can import attitudes.

Anyway, good luck in your search.

The bigger point I was trying to make is that a good education includes stuff outside mere textbooks. The difference is in the very definition of education. What I like about US education is the way it encourages you to think outside the box as opposed to punishing you for being unconventional. It requires you to stand up a lot and say your piece. Show and tell, the science project, term papers, etc. You do have to memorize concepts but it lets you participate in a lot of things the British would laugh as nonsensical. I don’t see the Brits giving you extra credit for taking up a semester of bowling for example.

The British value tradition highly. They love uniforms, rules and convention. They’ve had a rich past but unfortunately they’re now struggling to compete. I have a feeling education has a lot to do with it.