These associations were very similar but a few French students used words such as "obligatory" or "obligation". While there are many avenues in which to gain an education in the US, I think that feelings of obligation really differ from family to family and it is not mainstream to expect that everyone will earn a college degree. Can someone talk about what the educational system or maybe more importantly the societal expectations and familial expectations are concerning education in France?

The French and american responses to the word "school" were very similar.  Both students talked about books, friends, and homework.  I did notice that quite a few french students used the word "obligation".  How much schooling is required or expected of you?

I also have questions about France's education system.  What is the most common style of teaching/learning?  When you study French history, are you taught that everything France did was good?  On average are you taught to question your leaders or follow them since they define your culture?  I think critical thinking is extremely imporant but can lead to a decreased sense of nationalism, especially in a country as big as ours, and I'm curious about how other cultures deal with this problem.

I definitely agree about the idea of obligation.  Although it has become more common, going to college isn't necessarily a required path to suceed in the United States, which is perhaps why several people ave already commented on the appearance of this word.  My other question was about the cost of schools in France. In the United States the tuition costs continue to rise, and as a result, several American students noted the expenses. I would ask the French students about the cost to them to study in University and also what they think about the cost of American schools. For you, is it feasible/worth it to study outside of Europe?

The most interesting difference I noticed was the fact that the MIT students listed MIT frequently as one of the associated words, while the French students did not name their specific university.

I noticed that in general, both groups associated school with more negative than positive words so in a sense, we both have the same sentiments towards school. However, the French used the word "obligation" a lot and I'm wondering how the eductional system is structured in France or what aspect of it makes it seem so much like a chore. Also, not once did the French mention their college in the survey. I'm just wondering if that simply echoes their negative feelings towards school.

I noticed that the Americans had a sizeable number of responses along the lines of 'tired','exhaustion','stressful',etc , which the French nearly lacked entirely.  On the other hand, the French responses included several variations of 'professeur' and some response of 'élèves', but they are quite lacking on the other side.

I have the impression that 'études' covers more ground than 'studies' in English, but I'm not sure.

The French and American associations of the word "school" were very similar.  Both used similar words, though the American reponses seemed more narrow-minded than the French ones.  The French responses included several "professeur", "élèves", and "crayon" - basic components of school that nearly all of the Americans left out.  Also, the French responses mentioned "diplôme" several times and the American responses never mentioned it.

Do the French feel like the most important part of college is to get a diploma?  Because for Americans, college is often as much about the experience as it is about the end result.

I noticed that many more Americain students indicated stress and difficulty as words associated with school.  Is the culture at Universities in France much different?  I know that final exams in France are very important and very difficult in comparison.  Are they not also as stressful, or is it simply not something that the students associate with school very much?

Pour répondre a ta question Gabriel, je ne pense pas qu'il y ait beaucoup de différences entre les universités françaises et américaines. Je pense aussi que vous mettez une importance beaucoup plus grande aux études aux Etats-Unis et notament au MIT. Malgré cela, je peux dire que pour nous aussi les examens sont assez stressants et difficiles!

Bonjour Megan, je pense que tu as une vision assez restrainte sur les étudiants français. Même si ils accordent une grande importance à l'obtention des diplomes, ils accordent une attention tout au moins aussi particulière à "l'apprentissage de la vie" durant les études avec les relations sociales qui se forment avec les autres...

Vous vous êtes beaucoup interrogés sur le caractère obligatoire de l'école dont nous parlons beaucoup. C'est une obligation d'aller à l'école, de l'âge de 6 ans jusqu'à 16 ans. C'est pour nous plutôt positif, pour que chaque enfant puisse recevoir une éducation. La plupart des enfants sont scolarisés dans des écoles, même si on peut étudier chez soi mais ça ne concerne que très peu de familles.

Pour répondre à Jessica sur le coût des études, on peut en France étudier sans dépenser énormément d'argent, grâce aux écoles publiques au départ qui sont gratuites, puis dans les universités. Les grandes écoles privées sont plus chères mais certains élèves peuvent obtenir des bourses.

En ce qui concerne nos cours d'histoire dont parlais Jessica, nous sommes conscients que la France n'a pas toujours été irréprochable, durant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale par exemple.

Je pense que le systéme universitaire, mais aussi scolaire, aux Etats- Unis est largement plus évolué qu'en France. Les infrastructures, les activités , le système d'enseignement etc ... sont mieux conçus.

Mais je pense par contre que l'enseignement y est plus selectif, nottament au niveau financier, car étudier aux Etats-Unis coûte très cher, et l'accès y est moins réservé aux personnes plus pauvres. Alors qu'en France, Les instituts publiques assure a chaques jeunes une formation scolaire ou universitaire de part sa gratuité.

L'ideale serait peut être d'arriver a trouver un systéme complémentaire entre les deux.

Thank you for answering my questions, Anthony.  School is truly stressful for all of us!  I wonder, still, why the responses seem so different.  When the French students responded with "le bac", do you think that was analgous to when we responded with things like "work" and "stress"?  I am sure that "le bac" is one of the most stressful exams french students have to take.

Salut,

Je suis d'accord avec toi Gabriel Tobon et je t'assure qu'ici le bac ce n'est pas facile à avoir.mais toute fois je suppose que chez vous ça doit etre encore plus dificile que chez nous.car en plus de cela les etudes sont payant alors qu'ici ils sont gratuits mais je ne suis pas vraiment sur de cela .

En effet, notre vision de l'école est assez similaire des deux côtés. Malgré tout, comme beaucoup d'entre vous avaient pu le remarquer, la notion "d'obligation" revient souvent. En france on peut peut etre prendre cela comme une "corvée" mais au fond nous sommes tous conscient que c'est plus qu'important d'aller à l'école, que cela nous apporte énormément de choses, nous fait avancer dans la vie et c'est, ne l'oublions pas, un lieu important de socialisation.

Le bac pour nous est le passage à franchir pour accéder aux études supérieurs, il est difficile de poursuivre après même si certaines formations commencent à se développer sans avoir obtenu le bac, c'est le premier VRAI diplome, reconnu et important dans notre scolarité.

Bonjour Gabriel,

En effet le bac pour nous les français est une étape qui est la plus importante et la plus symbolique. J'imagine que ca doit être le même sentiment pour vous aux USA quand vous reçevez vos diplômes avant de rentrer à l'université. Je suis désolé mais je n'arrive pas à comprendre le sens du mot "analgous". Pourrais tu m'expliquer ce que tu cherchais à me dire? Merci.

Thank you for your reply Anthony.  I totally agree that social relations are a large part of college and I didn't mean to suggest that they weren't.  I guess that part of what I was trying to say was that in the US, we sometimes become so immersed in the social aspects of school that we forget about that final goal of getting a diploma.  Do you feel like the same is true for French students, or not so much?

Sorry Anthony, I left out a letter "o" in "analogous," which probably made it difficult to find in a dictionary or translator.  What I meant to ask was whether or not "le bac" was a symbol of work and stress for french students.  We have a similar exam in the US, called the "SAT", but I do not think it is as important for admittance into universities as "le bac" is for french students.  Universities in the US generally place much more emphasis on how strong one's high school grades were with respect to other students in that high school, as well as a number of essays, letters of recommendation, activites one participated in.

Merci pour ta réponse Gabriel, maintenant je comprend beaucoup mieux même si il faut avouer j'utilise beaucoup un traducteur (mais chut on ne dit rien!) Oui je pense aussi que le bac à une importance beaucoup plus grande en France car sans ce diplôme, la porte aux études supérieures sont quasiment fermés. En France, il existe d'autres structures scolaires pour les études supérieures comme par exemple l'IUT (Institut Universitaire Technologique) Existe-t-il d'autres orientations possible hormis l'université aux Etats-Unis?

salut,vu que les américains parlent bocoup du succès,de l'argent...et l'école est le moyen le plus sur pour atteindre tout cela bien que n'étant pas le seule moyen..et je crois que le cout de l'éducation est énorme pour les américains mais ils n'en parlent pas bocoup?que disent ou pensent les américains à ce sujet?et le système éducatif américain est -il très efficace et puis-je avoir les universités de références de l'Amérique?

Ruth,

        It is true that the cost of education in the US is really high. In fact, I was rather impressed to know that public universities a free of charge in France! (whether this translates into a less efficient education system or not, I think is besides the point). However, there are many financial scholarships available to students in the US (both citizens of the US and foreign nationals) such that the cost of education is never really a deterrant.

For example, I'm not a US citizen and with my family's financial situation, there's really no way I can afford an MIT education. However, every year I can apply to MIT for funds to pay for part of my education. MIT has a need-based financial aid policy so it would give financial aid to students based on the student's financial situation. Believe it or not, some schools even have a need-blind financial aid policy so they don't even care how much money your family makes! I guess the point is, that the educational system in US makes it a point to give people equal opportunity solely based on merit and regardless of social class.