6 ms·

Perhaps we should send more kids to Europe for schooling to see how a civil society lives, then bring them back after graduating to fix the problems with Americ

by SEJeff 11y ago

Perhaps we should send more kids to Europe for schooling to see how a civil society lives, then bring them back after graduating to fix the problems with America. win/win :)

interactiv 11y ago
Europeans have their own sets of problems ,believe me, don't paint everything all black or all white. Granted almost free education is something great.
- Dewie3 11y ago
  > Europeans have their own sets of problems ,believe me, Yes, and arguably 50 different sets of problems.
  - Florin_Andrei 11y ago
    > Yes, and arguably 50 different sets of problems. Pretty much like the US, after all.
    - Dewie3 11y ago
      No.
MrTonyD 11y ago
The article ended with the students saying that they planned to stay in Germany - they didn't want to go back to a country like the US where their children might be bankrupted paying for their education.
- SEJeff 11y ago
  FWIW, I dated a German exchange student in highschool (in the US). When asked why she came to the US, she said her dad sent all of her siblings to the US to take driver's ed and get their US license as it was valid in Germany. Apparently it is many thousands of dollars^Weuros to get all of the necessary requirements completed to get a German drivers license. I didn't mean to come off quite like I originally phrased that, more of it might be interesting for the perspective gained. Also, when I was in Berlin for 2 weeks (the GNOME/KDE Desktop summit) several years ago, I'd have stayed as well had I not been married. Wonderful country (and my family is racially of german descent so...)
  - hatmatrix 11y ago
    One the one had, a driver's license is not required in many German cities on account of their public transportation systems. However it is useful sometimes for intercity travel. But then they have a culture of ride-sharing too.
    - kaybe 11y ago
      At the same time, it's good to have an experienced teacher with you when you first hit the autobahn. Finding out how fast your car can actually be is quite scary at the beginning, and you need to keep an eye on quite a few things.
    - spiritplumber 11y ago
      A person who knows how to operate a vehicle is always going to be better off in life than a person who doesn't. Emergencies happen, road trips happen, etc.
      - adamcanady 11y ago
        Actually, I think that's incorrect. I'd say that the median person who knows how to drive is better off than the median person without that skill. Certainly the best person who doesn't know how to drive is better off than the worst person who can drive, and it probably has nothing to do with driving ability.
        spiritplumber 11y ago
        As an electrical engineer who minored in philosophy, I gladly concede the point and accept the correction.
  - sirlantis 11y ago
    A driver's license in Germany costs 1400+ euros, covering a minimum of 12*90min learning, 12h driving, a written test, and a driving test. If you fail the tests you have to take more hours. Bad drivers pay 3000+ euros until they pass.
danmaz74 11y ago
Except we Europeans would pay for your kids education, and get nothing in return. Win/lose.
- song 11y ago
  More sane policies in the US would be a win/win in my book as a European... Because the US government has a huge influence on our respective government and our lives.
- SEJeff 11y ago
  The kids of today grow up to become the leaders of tomorrow. If they grow up with a European worldview and come back to the US, that certainly couldn't be a bad thing.
  - danmaz74 11y ago
    I didn't think about this effect and probably it would have at least some positives. But I think most US leaders will come from Ivy League universities anyway.

by SEJeff 11y ago

Perhaps we should send more kids to Europe for schooling to see how a civil society lives, then bring them back after graduating to fix the problems with America. win/win :)

interactiv 11y ago

Europeans have their own sets of problems ,believe me, don't paint everything all black or all white. Granted almost free education is something great.

Dewie3 11y ago
> Europeans have their own sets of problems ,believe me, Yes, and arguably 50 different sets of problems.
- Florin_Andrei 11y ago
  > Yes, and arguably 50 different sets of problems. Pretty much like the US, after all.
  - Dewie3 11y ago
    No.

MrTonyD 11y ago

The article ended with the students saying that they planned to stay in Germany - they didn't want to go back to a country like the US where their children might be bankrupted paying for their education.

SEJeff 11y ago
FWIW, I dated a German exchange student in highschool (in the US). When asked why she came to the US, she said her dad sent all of her siblings to the US to take driver's ed and get their US license as it was valid in Germany. Apparently it is many thousands of dollars^Weuros to get all of the necessary requirements completed to get a German drivers license. I didn't mean to come off quite like I originally phrased that, more of it might be interesting for the perspective gained. Also, when I was in Berlin for 2 weeks (the GNOME/KDE Desktop summit) several years ago, I'd have stayed as well had I not been married. Wonderful country (and my family is racially of german descent so...)
- hatmatrix 11y ago
  One the one had, a driver's license is not required in many German cities on account of their public transportation systems. However it is useful sometimes for intercity travel. But then they have a culture of ride-sharing too.
  - kaybe 11y ago
    At the same time, it's good to have an experienced teacher with you when you first hit the autobahn. Finding out how fast your car can actually be is quite scary at the beginning, and you need to keep an eye on quite a few things.
  - spiritplumber 11y ago
    A person who knows how to operate a vehicle is always going to be better off in life than a person who doesn't. Emergencies happen, road trips happen, etc.
    - adamcanady 11y ago
      Actually, I think that's incorrect. I'd say that the median person who knows how to drive is better off than the median person without that skill. Certainly the best person who doesn't know how to drive is better off than the worst person who can drive, and it probably has nothing to do with driving ability.
      - spiritplumber 11y ago
        As an electrical engineer who minored in philosophy, I gladly concede the point and accept the correction.
- sirlantis 11y ago
  A driver's license in Germany costs 1400+ euros, covering a minimum of 12*90min learning, 12h driving, a written test, and a driving test. If you fail the tests you have to take more hours. Bad drivers pay 3000+ euros until they pass.

danmaz74 11y ago

Except we Europeans would pay for your kids education, and get nothing in return. Win/lose.

song 11y ago
More sane policies in the US would be a win/win in my book as a European... Because the US government has a huge influence on our respective government and our lives.
SEJeff 11y ago
The kids of today grow up to become the leaders of tomorrow. If they grow up with a European worldview and come back to the US, that certainly couldn't be a bad thing.
- danmaz74 11y ago
  I didn't think about this effect and probably it would have at least some positives. But I think most US leaders will come from Ivy League universities anyway.