Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

28/01/2008, 9:24 Just Katie Joined on 11/03/2006 Posts 3,764 Re: Teenagers in France - again! I really dont see any smugness in the opening post whatsoever.  It is obvious that the post is intended to give positive encouragement to those thinking about moving with teenagers.  Congratulations on the achievements of your children AC50. However, you seem to be an academic family and, your children would have enjoyed sound guidance throughout their childhood from you and your husband.  What concerns me, is that posts often appear where the parents are optimistic, rather than realistic with regards to moving to France with teenagers.  In the ideal world, a parent would know whether their child is capable of uprooting and moving to a foreign land.  A child may be the brightest crayon in the box, but knowing their position in their own hierachy could be more important to them.  On the other hand, there could be a child with far less ability who could see the move as a great adventure. The immigrant in the attic    Report

28/01/2008, 11:08 Clarkkent Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 587 Re: Teenagers in France - again!  Mackyfrance wrote: Tegwini - you need to look at the Jiao Tong league tables, not the Times as the JT one is considered the benchmark with the Times being the pretender to the throne!   The JT league table concentrates on the performance of universities in the natural sciences and mathematics. Its weightings include the number of Nobel Prizes and Field Medals and papers published in Nature and Science. The JT's reliance on a relatively narrow spectrum of university activity reduces its usefulness and one should not forget that its purpose is primarily political.    Report

28/01/2008, 12:19 Cathy Joined on 07/03/2006 Mostly near Bordeaux; Sometimes near Bristol Posts 2,073 Re: Teenagers in France - again!  Just Katie wrote: In the ideal world, a parent would know whether their child is capable of uprooting and moving to a foreign land.  A child may be the brightest crayon in the box, but knowing their position in their own hierachy could be more important to them.  On the other hand, there could be a child with far less ability who could see the move as a great adventure. My experience of bringing my four children here has been that most parents encourage their children to engage with my children because they are English.  So my 8 year old gets invited to other boys' houses so that their offspring can pick up some English.  One of my teenage daughters has a lovely friend, whose mother is angling for her daughter to have a holday with us when we go back to the UK.  It's good for my children's self-esteem to be wanted. Do others have similar experiences?   Cathy ----- Your children won't remember you ironing their pyjamas but they will remember you reading them a bedside story.    Report

28/01/2008, 12:39 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 10,321 Re: Teenagers in France - again! What happened to the spell check question  ? You can use ieSpell, a really handy little application http://www.iespell.com/download.php www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

28/01/2008, 14:13 Just Katie Joined on 11/03/2006 Posts 3,764 Re: Teenagers in France - again! Please keep on topic madam.  Tut tut.  The immigrant in the attic    Report

28/01/2008, 18:07 Framboise Joined on 29/11/2006 At home in the Orne Posts 522 Re: Teenagers in France - again! Cambridge tourist board wants to ban coach parties of french students from visiting them because they apparently run riot with green silly string around the town, oh and they only make an average of £10 per head from them per visit. Good to see where their priorities lie.      Report

28/01/2008, 21:06 tegwini Joined on 19/09/2007 Wiltshire & Vienne Posts 330 Re: Teenagers in France - again! Thank you ClarkKent for reminding us the statistics can be  - 'lies, damn lies and statistics..." And Mackyfrance, who says the JT list is the one to believe in? I can only comment on what I see here-  & since it is possible to go to a university with what would have been mediocre/poor results then one must assume standards have declined.  Perhaps the French are doing similar, but I don't hear of them planning to send  50% of school leavers to university,  nor of no or few facilities to learn a trade in France as it seems to be in the UK. Tegwini I think, therefore perhaps I am...    Report

29/01/2008, 9:28 Clarkkent Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 587 Re: Teenagers in France - again!  tegwini wrote: Thank you ClarkKent for reminding us the statistics can be  - 'lies, damn lies and statistics..." And Mackyfrance, who says the JT list is the one to believe in? I can only comment on what I see here-  & since it is possible to go to a university with what would have been mediocre/poor results then one must assume standards have declined.  Perhaps the French are doing similar, but I don't hear of them planning to send  50% of school leavers to university,  nor of no or few facilities to learn a trade in France as it seems to be in the UK. Tegwini It probably depends on what you think a university is for. Is a university a finishing school for people with high scores in tightly defined school subjects, or is it a place where people go to learn how to think and to evaluate information and how to construct a new understanding of that information? If the latter, then any country needs all the graduates it can produce. And it should not matter what subject is studied because it is the core learning, the transferrable skills learning, that is important (mind you, I wonder whether that applies to universities that offer degrees in homeopathy). One of the factors which has been fuelling UK governments' policies on university access has been the number of people entering universities in countries like France where anyone with a Bac is entiltled to a university place. The UK hopes that it can do this without the large French dropout rate. As for entry qualifications? I can only speak for myself, I left school at 16 with four mediocre "O" levels. I entered university at the age of 30 with no further qualifications and stayed in the HE sector until I retired. As for facilities to learn a trade? I don't know what trades you are thinking of. From my observation, France is not as well equipped as Britain to provide life-long learning or to permit training for job change in mid-life.    Report

29/01/2008, 11:00 Cendrillon Joined on 19/10/2007 S.E. England & S.W.France Posts 483 Re: Teenagers in France - again! ClarkKent Thank you for posting this sensible and balanced reply. Cendrillon    Report

Page 6 of 9 (74 items) « First ... < 4 5 6 7 8 > ... Last »

France Forum » Living » French Educatio... » Re: Teenagers in France - again!

(Quick links) Forums Home |- Search Forums |- Active Topics |- Unanswered Posts User Options |- Sign In |- Join this community |- Forgot Password About This Forum (READ ONLY) |- About This Forum Moving |- Finding/Owning French Property |- Making the Move From Outside the EU |- Long-Term Letting |- Employment Vacancies in France Legal and Finance |- French Legal Issues |- French Finance Building and Renovation |- House Renovations |-- Working with Wood Living |- Earning a Living |- NEW - Money Saving Expat |- Driving |- French Education |- People with Disabilities in France |- Pets |- Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection |- French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone |- Health |-- Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales |- Swimming Pools in France Owning/Running a Business |- French Artisans |- Gite Owners |- Hotel and Restaurant Owners |- B&B/Chambres d'Hôtes Owners Leisure and Pastimes |- Gardening |- Sport, Leisure and Pastimes |- Shopping |- French Antiques, Arts & Crafts |- Photography |- Motorcycling in France |- Books and Literature |- Getting Married in France |- Pregnancy and Birth French Culture |- French Food and Wine |- French Culture |- French Language |-- French Language FAQs and Useful Links |- Wildlife/Nature/Environment |- French History Travelling to/from France |- Travelling to/from France |- Latest Good Value Deals to/from France Holidays |- Holidays General Discussion |- The Complete France Post Bag |- The Lighter Side |- Forum Technical Support |- Other Topics |- Useful Links About France/French Living Regions |- HOTEL SEARCH |- Central |- North East |- North West |- Paris Ile de France |- South East |- South West |- East |- West |- Corsica and DOM-TOMs