Work & School

"Work" or "homework" are definitely a big part of school and learning. I think that perhaps we take advantage of the fact that we learn in school, because it seems like something so obvious that we forget to mention. Work, on the other hand, makes a big impression because you remember the nights when you stay up lating doing homework. Thus, it is the first thing that pops into our heads when we think of school. However, college is definitely a place where you find the balance between learning, doing homework, and experiencing life. I think for us, an important part of college is meeting new people and experiencing new things.

School in France

I'm curious about school in France. Do you wear a uniform? Is it competitive? I've heard that it's also very strict and that grades are made public so anyone can see them. Is that true?

An Addition to Work & School

One thing to keep in mind about our responses to "School" is that we are students at MIT, a university which is notorious for the vast quantities of homework the students receive. The responses would have likely been very different from students at other universities. One other thing is that for us, the words "work" and "homework" are completely interchangeable when used in the context of classes. Are "travail" and "devoir" interchangeable in the same way? I noticed that, in many of your responses, the two words show up next to each other, so I wasn't sure if they were synonyms or just related terms.

School in US

Most schools in the United States do not have uniforms. However, there are some schools that do; while a few of these are public government-funded schools, most of these are private or pariochal schools. What is the breakup like in France? Are all schools open to everyone? Are private schools supported by the government? How much schooling is mandatory?

Grades in US

In the US there is no standard way of giving grades. Generally, if you go to a better, academically-rigorous high school, it is more difficult to get high grades and in an easier HS (high school) it is easier. The same is true of colleges. Recently, there have been a few scandals concerning grade inflation in HS and colleges. At Harvard for instance it was found that more than half of grades given are A's. Generally, the amount of competition for grades changes depending on the school. In law school, med school, and in college for pre-med students the competition is very serious.

Competition

I've spent my life at schools which had very healthy competition. It was mostly competition with yourself to make sure that you do the best work you can. There was also some competition between people, but from what I could see, people were mostly using their peers as a gauge for their own progress. At MIT, the only reason I've seen someone refused help with homework or other problems was that they hadn't put in the effort beforehand. People help each other along a lot. However, at the same time, you could definitely see people's pride in their own successes and, in some cases, in others' failures.

Inter-high school and college

Is it true that, in france, there is a period of learning between high school and what we know as college here? And, if there is, how well does it prep someone for college and university life?