[blurb]

Interesting read:

http://contraacademia.com/Index_English.html

Anyone on the forum from France or knows about the university system there?

It seems as if they have the exact same problems with the school system as America does (perhaps without the debt, of course).

Or maybe the guy is just venting his personal frustrations?

[Deluge]

I have a friend who went to do her undergraduate studies in literature in Paris. Her professor ignored all her opinions on the texts unless she could cite the opinions of a famous critic etc. Individual thought was not encouraged.

[Samseau]

I could have pursued a "career" in Academia, but I left it because writing papers for these guys is bullshit. They're just an echo chamber of noise.

I've said it elsewhere on this forum, and I'll say it again:

There will be no innovation coming out of Western Universities within the next 50 years or so. The universities today are comparable to the old Catholic Monasteries, dogmas and all. The next generation of thinkers will most likely meet over the internet.

[Tresor]

The state of the whole educational system is disastrous here. Not only universities but high schools and middle schools too. I've already met a few 16 years old who didn't know who Napoleon was!

I'm currently studying in a law school and the classes are really boring. Professors just sit and read their notes taken directly from one or two reference manuals. Group work is non existent and oral activities are frowned upon. In France you can become a lawyer withouth taking any oral examination. Just as others mentioned initiative and critical thinking are almost forbidden. Self-importance and intellectual masturbation are the two principles that rule our universities today.

Most of my tests are actually multiple answer questions or short answer questions - after 5 years spent in the « higher » education system !

Oh well, in my school 80% of the students are girls and they actually seem to enjoy what they're doing. Personnally I'm completely fed up with all that bullshit and I'll leave this outdated microcosm as soon as possible.