A good student

Un bon étudiant

does what
enjoys the art of learning itself.
likes to study.
realizes the possibilities inherent in learning
studies and is happy with what they learn
who always is willing to change, improve and learn.
who attempts to take an interest in his/her studies.
who does not take themselves seriously
who does their work ontime, cares about learning rather than good grades
and memorizing
who enjoys learning.
who is honest and works hard to gain an education, is someone who is passionate
about learning.
who is interested and motivated to learn.
who never gives in
who questions
who strives to the best of his/her abilities.
who studies.
who tries their hardest
who truly cares about learning the material, rather than just getting good
grades.
who works hard and helps fellow student along the way.
who works hard and likes to learn
who works hard, who finishes homework and is ready for tests/deadlines on
time.
works hard

celui qui reussi a atteindre les objectifs
qu il s'est fixé
concilie parfaitement vie professionnelle et vi personnelle
de sérieux, d'assidu
de sérieux.
est épanoui dans son travail et qui sait trouver du plaisir dans
son travail;
que je ne suis pas
qui étudie !!! Ce qui est souvent loin d'être le cas !
qui ne sèche pas les cours mais les apprend
qui prend en main son avenir
qui profite de la vie
qui profite de toutes les soirées étudiantes et de tous les
avantages que lui procurent sa carte (d'étudiant)
qui répond de manière personnelle et réfléchie
qui sait allier etudes et culture générale
qui sait gérer de front travail et détente
qui sait marier la fete et les etudes
qui sait travailler et s'amuser
qui se plait dans ses études
qui s'intéresse à ses études, qui travaille
qui travaille
qui travaille et dont le travail est efficace
qui travaille sans rester coller a ses bouquins sans arrêt
qui vit !

Discussion

Many french students commented on a good student being
able to balance a social life and an academic life.
Most american students focused on good students being
students who learned for the sake of learning, not for
earning good grades. The fact that american students
mentioned grades makes me feel like we are still too
concerned with grades, as the French students really did
not mention grades at all. To the french students, what
are your opinions about grades? Do you think there are
students who worry about grades? Is your perception of
American students that we worry about grades?

The American students seem to see "being a good
student" in respect to work and learning. The French
tend to do the same thing; However, a few mention the
importance of the balance between amusement and work,
whereas most of the Americans seem to focus exclusively
on learning and the love of it. Is being able to
balance work and play integral to the good student?
. 126

Il est vrai que les français accordent une place
importante dans les études aux loisirs car ils
permettent eux aussi à leur manière de s'épanouir.
L'objectif d'un bon étudiant, du point de vue des
français, n'est pas de se focaliser sur son travail
scolaire mais de se construire une vie équilibrée
alliant travail et loisirs. Comme partout je pense, un
bon diplôme est nécessaire et important, mais il n'est
pas bon de trop se concentrer dessus. Le but est qu'un
"bon étudiant" puisse avoir le diplôme qu'il souhaite (
et pas nécessairement le meilleur de tous ) sans pour
autant avoir à sacrifier ses loisirs pour cela.
Toutefois, pour bien comprendre les différentes visions
du bon étudiant entre les français et les américains, il
faudrait étudier plus en détail les diffénces entre nos
2 systémes scolaires mais là je ne suis pas le plus
qualifié pour en
parler...

Il est vrai que de nombreux élèves ne pensent qu'au
diplôme. Pour ma part c'est l'individu qui donne de la
valeur au diplôme et non l'inverse. Je connais des gens
bardés de diplômes qui ne sont pas capable de vivre en
société... ce qui est un sérrieux handicap dans nos
sociétés.

salut Grace, personnellement je n'ai pas grand chose à
faire des notes... mais je pense que pas mal d'étudiants
francais ne sont pas comme moi (même si peu
l'avouent).mais c'est vrai que c'est très intéressant de
voir qu'il n'y a pas d'étudiants américains qui parlent
de fêtes en rapport avec "un bon étudiant". En France,
quand on parle de vie estudiantine, il est clair que la
fête est sous-entendue ;o)

jeanou..

A mon avis, etre un bon etudiant, c'est bien vivre ses
études... Or pour bien vivre ses études il faut savoir
aussi se detendre. En effet je sais que c'est une
peridode que je regretterais une fois celle ci terminée
et donc je pense qu'il est important d'en profiter un
maximum, sans pour autant negliger les etudes bien
entendu !

I feel like the French responses on this topic were more
honest than some of the American ones. Among the
American responses, there were comments like "realizes
the possibilities inherent in learning" and "someone who
is passionate about learning," which, not to offend
anyone, sound more like what one is supposed to say than
what usually people actually feel. I've never actually
met a student at Brown who is passionate about learning.
At most, I've met people who were interested in a
particular subject. I think most of the Americans
actually feel more like what the French students said.

Yannick Do you think that your education and your
studies are important because it seems like the right
thing to do and you feel like you will regret it later
if you dont put in effort now? OR do you also think you
education is important because you think it helps you
grow as a person and because you enjoy learning?

Natalia, I wouldn't call the american responses
dishonest. When one gives a definition of an ideal
student, one is not necessarily claiming that these
students exist. A student who doesn't care about going
to classes may still believe that a good student is one
who is passionate about learning, (he/she just isn't one
of those 'good students') -Steve

 

Salut Jeanou, On the subject of grades, are their
French students who have to worry about their grades
because they will affect something they plan to do after
recieving their diploma? A few people responded to the
survey with things like "prend en main son avenir." Do
grades affect the quality of a job you can get out of
college or does some other factor motivate students to
worry about their grades?

Jennifer

In message 199 on Friday, October 25, 2002 10:25am,
Jennifer writes:

>Salut Jeanou,

salut Jenny ;o)

>On the subject of grades, are their
>French students who have to worry about their grades
>because they will affect something they plan to do after
>recieving their diploma?

oui, un diplome peut avoir une grande importance pour
aux yeux de certains employeurs. mais en France,
l'expérience professionnelle (stages, jobs antérieurs,
etc) est de plus en plus importante aussi. Est-ce pareil
aux Etats Unis ? Est-ce qu'on favorise plutôt les "bons
stages" ou les "bons diplômes" ??

>A few people responded to the
>survey with things like "prend en main son avenir." Do
>grades affect the quality of a job you can get out of
>college or does some other factor motivate students to
>worry about their grades?

a première vue, je ne vois pas d'autres sources de
motivations pour un diplome ;o)

>Jennifer

jeanou..

Hi Julien,

Personally, when I was was filling in my response to the
word "student", I immediately thought of studies, work,
and classes.

However, I value other activities very much and in fact,
I see a good amount of my college experience shaped by
the non-academic aspect such as extra-curricular
activities and even just hanging out with friends.
I agree with you, though, that when I think of the
phrase "a good student", I neglect the non-academic part
of college or university.
On the academic system at Brown -- Its a 4-year
undergraduate program which aims to provide students
with a liberal education and the freedom to dabble in
areas they are interested in.
So, for example, I'm concentrating in International
Relations and I would need to take about 10 classes
related to International Relations. Assuming that I'm at
Brown for 4 years, I would take around 32 classes in
all. That means with the other 22 classes, I can take
classes in other departments such as biology,
anthropology, english literature, classics etc.

hope this helps, Mag

 

Steve, perhaps I did not choose the right word -- I did
not at all mean that American responses were dishonest,
but rather that perhaps for some Americans the
definition of an ideal student is more what our
university society wants students to say than what most
students actually feel.

Natalia, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that
many American students replied with an "ideal student"
(learning for learning's sake, not interested in grades,
etc) when they thought of a good student. "A good
student" was simply a phrase in which we had to quickly
associate a couple of words with. Maybe in our society,
this idea of the "ideal" student has been engrained, so
that's why people responded with "learning for
learning's sake". But it does not necessarily mean that
everyone thinks that they are truly a good student in
this sense or that this ideaology makes the "good
student". If taken out of context, I probably would
have responded differently, but with only a few seconds,
I just wrote down the first ones that came into my head.
While doing this questionnaire had no idea what it was
going to turn into, so I'm sure I answered with a
somewhat idealistic answer, because when I think of a
"good student", I cannot lie-- I think of someone who
learns for learning sake, etc. It is sort of like the
neighbor response, where people responded with the ideal
neighborhood where neighbors bringing fresh baked pies
to your door. So, overall, I don't think we should be
judged based on these responses.

I do agree with you : your last sentence was the wisest
i read...

Tout d'abord, il est clair que j'aurais regretté de ne
pas faire d'études plus tard. En effet, c'est une
opportunité qui n'est offerte qu'une fois...
Mais les études sont aussi une facon de s'affirmer, meme
si l'école n'est qu'un des facteurs influant dans la
construction de la personnalité

engage