int'l students

Colleges and Universities A-Z Kenyon College
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<p>If you are about to solve some calculus problem, sometimes it is faster to ask your Bulgarian classmate then to use scientific calculator. Well education system in former soviet countries is bad, but you might be surprised by outcome of that disastrous educational system. e.g.
I was studying oncology for 3 years at my elementary school. Anyway - it is just wasting resources. However my point is that Bulgarians are academically very strong.</p>

<p>bye</p>

<p>P.S. Guys today I have seen limo with you president in vienna</p>

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<p>An interesting piece of article pertaining to International students in Kenyon: <a href="http://insidehighered.com/views/2006/05/30/harrington%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://insidehighered.com/views/2006/05/30/harrington&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The following paragraph is of particular interest: "If the student had listened to the quality of her international classmates’ answers to my questions, she would have realized that they were academically superior to the vast majority of their classmates. Indeed, their median grade was 4.0; they all spoke English fluently; and, their essays had fewer grammatical errors than most of their classmates. It seems implausible to me that any rational observer would infer that they were inferior based on my questions about their knowledge of a few English words."</p>

<p>And yes, Nora is a Bulgarian. ;)</p>

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<p>haha, it's funny....I havent visited this forum for maybe a year (the summer before I knew what to expect from Kenyon)..and then I check back again out of curiosity and I see my name there...haha, yeah I am Nora and I am Bulgarian. It's good to see some of the new international students coming next year. All that I can tell you is that I really liked Kenyon...It's a great place. I am back home for the summer...and I am starting to miss it a lot! Also, Prof. Harrington is simply amazing..just hilarious.....although I am not really into Econ, I'd highly recommend his classes!
feel free to ask me any questions....I dont promise I'll have time to answer promptly, but I think I could be of some help still....see you soon guys!
p.s. Katya, mislq che mi imash nomer-a...taka che obadi se skoro vreme i moga da ti kaja tova onova za Kenyon kakvoto te trevoji :) az sym si na albena inache...</p>

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<p>Hi,everybody!
I'm Pengyu Zhao from Hainan, China. It's a place kinda like Hawaii, a beautiful island.
To Delusion
Hello, could you tell me more about Prof. Harrington and his course, coz I'm interested in ECON and now considering the courses I'm gonna take in freshman year!</p>

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<p>Saying hello to every int'l students!</p>

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<p>"If you are about to solve some calculus problem, sometimes it is faster to ask your Bulgarian classmate then to use scientific calculator."<br>
About this case, I believe we can understand it. Students in China also are trained to be "Calculator" more or less. However, now high schools are taking reforms =) It IS a progress.</p>

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<p>while I get the essence of what people are saying, I still think it a big generalization to say things such as Bulgarians being this and Chinese being that and the like. Having said that, of course, the education system plays a significant role in determining what students shape to be.</p>

28

<p>lol </p>

<p>i feel like everybody took a joke a lil bit too seriously!</p>

29

<p>Hello everybody,
By saying that Bulgarians are like calculators i didn’t want to make a generalization, nor I want to say that Bulgarian educational system is bad or wrong. I wanted to express my feeling of affiliation to Bulgarians. However i do thing that educational system in many Europeans countries is unsuccessful in achieving its goals. In fact i wrote that educational system in post soviet countries is bad. Implication of this is that I see also Bulgarian educational system as bad in its origin. I think that educational reform is a big challenge for Europe. The first step was definitely Bologna Protocol, which creates common educational structure within EU. But still you can have a nice bureaucratic system, but if you have no capital for education then you have nothing. In Europe the institute of university tuition is out of question. </p>

<p>To Alexzhao691
Hi, don’t you think that China needs democratization /terrible word/ and then school reform?
I don’t want to sound offensive because China is a great country, I d love to visit all historical places and learn about ancient traditions, but freedom /not only/ is a cornerstone for good education. I don’t mean that people in chine are lock in a chains with no freedom, but when we compare freedom in china and elsewhere then we have to say that china undersurface faces challenges. /my opinion/</p>

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<p>...what major are you leaning towards... because your views come across very strongly... and you make your point eloquently... i think we need some bulgarian in our government : )</p>

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<p>To mmkc10
I should partly agree with your point that Chinese Education System has many drawbacks, and graduates from typical Chinese high schools are more or less shaped by the monotonous style of study.</p>

<p>However, there ARE students who are educated in this Education sytem and get admitted by top Universities and Colleges in US and other countries. They are weighed in a severe /even more severe/ criteria of international students admission. </p>

<p>According to my experience in Hainan, you know, a place which is VERY relaxing, I have enjoyed the freedom and peace I need for study and self-development. Nobody stop me from applying Us and Colleges abroad, or doing the Buddhism Animal liberation or earning income by teaching my felllow students. I can walk on my way. This is what I care the most.</p>

<p>When talking about freedom, I just really hope you can define the freedom in Education and show me the details of how the restriction of freedom affect the Education System in China. In this way, we can communicate better and make it clear. </p>

<p>For futher discussion, I would like to introduce the Education System Reform taken place in four provinces (including Hainan) since 2004. Now the high school are calculating each course in credits. Also, courses are divided into compulsary and optional ones. I'm grateful about that coz I can directly begin my study in Kenyon after I finish my Junior study here. You see, I can graduate early when I have enough credits to fulfill the graduation requirements.</p>

<p>YES, this progress is not as advanced as you expect, but it's not as bad as u think. There ARE drawbacks, which, however, should be attributed to the lack of Education resource instead of lack of Freedom. </p>

<p>For eg, in my school, the best high sch in Hainan, the class size is from 50 to 60. Teachers instead of students/ just imagine during the break time more than 2700 students crowd on the way/ have to rush from one classroom to another everry morning. More qualified teachers and equipments are in great need. No need to explain why I choose Kenyon =)</p>

<p>This year 10 MILLION graduates took the Chinese College Entrance Exam on June 7 and 8. Only seniors can take it and they can only take it once. Yes, it's not fair. But please imagine what will happen, if these 10 MILLION students can take it seven times every year,or every students can take it, like SAT. ...... </p>

<p>Now maybe you can figure out how severe the condition is when the education system take place. The faults are never just, but they are understandable. Chinese high schools are making progress and a step forward is always positive :)</p>

<p>I am really happy to discuss these issues with you and that's what I'm looking for in Kenyon. Hope I didn't offense you lol =) </p>

<p>All best!</p>

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<p>"Hi, don’t you think that China needs democratization /terrible word/ and then school reform?"
Aha, I forgot this question.
Let me give you an example. When driving a small boat, you can change your direction easily. But if you are driving a huge oil tanker, it requires time and proper techiniques to change the direction. Still remeber Titanic? </p>

<p>OK, let's stop discussing this question. I just don't want to bother much on politics. I like Business $)</p>

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<p>to Alexzhao691
Thank you for several valuable points what you made. I am really glad that I am going to have in my class an open-minded student like you, who is not afraid to discuss any issue. No worries It wasn’t offensive at all. Just fight me I can take it.
From you points I come to conclusion that Reforms in china serve to make things wider, but not deeper. My point is that if you take time to “change direction of oil tanker” you can make deeper impact in china.
I ll explain /I will try to be breaf/- you gave example of the school reform by saying that The new credit system was introduced in you province and that you are free to apply to US. I have seen documentary about introducing new technological toys in schools in china. Credit system new toys it looks prettier then anything else. But does it make a difference? By putting money on the school system you make it wider, but there is only small change. 10 mil people taking exams is ok, large and centralize country requires big competition. I was surprised when you wrote that there is no problem to leave to US. It’s really positive. Another word is coming to my fingers – brain drain. /perhaps positive for china/. </p>

<p>You are right in saying that I didn’t define freedom in terms of possible effect on Education System. I thought that there are a lot of example how state ideology / which is in this case communism/ has an influence over social, political life including schools. I have also assumed that different areas of political and social life are interrelated, therefore education, which shape the new generation has irreplaceable role. If school are more liberal society will be more open minded. Is it not true that the government of china provided the internet blocker which don’t allow you to find certain information on the internet? Is it not true that in china the religions like roman catholic church are restricted in some ways? Is it not true that you province has the biggest gender imbalance in the world because of intervention from the government? Although you walk freely on your way is it not true that majority of 1,3bn people live in misery? </p>

<p>If you change direction of that system and then you start reforms as a step 2, I believe that it would be more beneficial.</p>

<p>This is actually not about inter. Student at Kenyon, but it nice demonstration what for are INter. Students useful. </p>

<p>I like economics and political science</p>

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<p>Hey, I read ur post on the afternoon, but I've got to pracatice Kungfu. So I replied it so late.</p>

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<p>This big oil tanker is changing course. Don't forget Market Economy Reform. </p>

<p>Your point is we should take deep reform. But I want to emphisize that if the Chinese College Entrance Exam stay the same, there will be no big change in high school study. To prepare this IMPORTANT exam, students have to spend one year on it; they practice the sample test again, again and again. Everyone dislike it but few dare to risk on this case. If you want get in Chinese College, the only way is getting enough score in this test. Consequently, devoting yourself into liberal study, self-development or other things which sounds great will lead to a tragedy if u fail in test. </p>

<p>So you may acclaim out the same words as other who did on the internet. This CCEE is cold, is brutal, is out of date. Okay, could these guys supply any alternate way. How can we judge 10 MN graduates justly and quickly? According to the large number of graduates, it is impossible for all colleges and Us to admit students like those in US do.
It take Kenyon Admission office nearly a year to select around 445 applications from 4000 applications. But, there is progress (Again this word, haha) Top universities, such as Fudan University, are applying American Admission Process to admit 3 percent of students in enrollment. </p>

<p>I agree that there is internet block and restrict on catholic. But I want to say more in another two questions.
"Is it not true that you province has the biggest gender imbalance in the world because of intervention from the government?"
If this imbalance is referring to the big ratio of male poplutaion to female, I would say the government is innocent. They can not control the sex of bady. They do not encourage people to prefer boys; instead, they are taking great effort to weaken the local tradition that boys are helpful when grow up while girls will join into her husband's family and are helpless. The government does not encourage induced abortion and the prediction of baby before birth is illegal and will be punished. In this case they are trying their best.
If you are talking about injustice womens are suffering, I would say since 1949 women have had equal rights in many areas. It's true that few people will critize female like Mr. Summers, the previous headmaster of Harvard did. And the local tradition of valuing boys more than girls can not be attributed to the fault of government, right?
One-child policy may be critized most, and I want to explain it later.
"Although you walk freely on your way is it not true that majority of 1,3bn people live in misery? " I live in a common family in China and I have the opportunity to walk on my way, so what? Honestly speaking, this sentence doesn't make sense /Hope you not be angry =)/</p>

<p>There is a model which I hope can show my logic clearly /come on, I've got the habit of Econ-ist, crazy about using models LOL/ I will give some clue if necessary and once you can think it clearly, it will answer a lot of question.</p>

<p>Imagine a bus with some passengers. If there are enough seats, right now the freedom is that people can sit everywhere. You can even lie down on the floor if u want. But if there are a lot of pessengers and most people could only stand. Do you think it's proper to lie down again? I bet if you want to do this, others will kick u off /lol/ </p>

<p>What should the driver do? He can't let passengers out, right?! So he must let as few people as possible get in /One-child policy/. meanwhile, he have to make the bus bigger, or teach pessengers how to use limited room effectively. /here the bus is referring to the economy in CHina/</p>

<p>What do you think if pessengers react like this; A) beat the driver. He let so many people getting in and grab our freedom away! /so-called Revolution/ B) let's break the window so that we can put our legs outside, then we get the freedom! /give distrucive opinion on reform C)Begin to fight with each other for limited room./ The fierce competetion. If you can see the picture taken in the Job & Employment Finding meeting, you will understand what competetion means. </p>

<p>I recall an interesting phenomena in New York Subway. Many pessenegers perfer to sacrifice their "freedom" and crowd in a carriage while other carriages are empty. Why? Because they are afraid of robbery.</p>

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<p>Abt brain drain, the number of returning students is increasing and China is attractive for students who are willing to have their own business now.
Does leaving their homeland necessarily mean Brain Drain?</p>

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<p>yeeep.. some good points - i will write back in two day, I am leaving to vienna....sorry</p>

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<p>Aha, I'm "envying" you coz you are so close to a capital of ART.</p>