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Saudi Arabian and American teaching systems
The education system is one of the largest institutions in a country. Each country has a unique education system. The United States and Saudi Arabia are very different in their teaching systems. When many Saudi students come into the United States for studies, they face challenges to adapt to the American teaching system because the way teachers teach in the American schools and how these schools are structured is different from the way it is in the United States. The similarity between the two systems is that they both use English as a mode of instruction for the students. This means that the students in both countries are taught in the English language for most of their
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In the United States, the lecturers want us as students to think and apply what they teach us. They also ask students to say what they think. In the Saudi Arabian education system, the way of teaching is a little bit different. This is because, instead of asking the students to say what they think about the topic, they ask the students to be able to remember what is in the textbooks. This way of teaching is known as rote memorization. According to Krieger, “In the typical Saudi classroom, rote learning is stressed over innovative thinking” (p. 2). In rote learning way of teaching, students are supposed to memorize concepts and laws and be able to recite them word by word. In my opinion, the reason the Saudi Arabian teaching system emphasizes on rote memorization is that it is based on Islam way of learning. In Islamic schools, the children are taught how to memorize the Holy Quran and recite it by heart. When Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932 and formal education was added to Islamic studies, the teachers continued to use the same way of teaching because they were familiar with it. Therefore, to date, students are expected to memorize the scientific principles and laws and be able to say them from the heart, just as they can say, recite the Holy Quran. On the other hand, in the United States, there is no foundation in religious studies. Therefore, the …show more content…
They have to go to different classes. In addition, it is very rare for a male teacher to teach female students face-to-face. In the cases where this is inevitable, the male teachers teach the female students through video conferencing or online. I have observed that in the united states, the schooling system is unisex. Many universities that I have visited only separate the sleeping places for the students but they teach all of them, boys and girls, in the same classroom. Just like the teaching style, I believe the schooling system of separating boys and girls is because of different religions in United States and Saudi Arabia. Roula Baki says that the Saudi Arabia majority religion sect is Wahhabi Muslims and this is why they try to preserve their culture by segregating the students (p. 3). The United States culture has very many religions and there is not one majority that can impact the education system in the same way the Saudi Arabian education system is influenced by Wahhabi Muslims (Baki, p. 3). The American culture does not see any problem with putting the males and the females together and this makes it different from the system in Saudi
...women are that women do not speak to men, do not go out alone, and even public facilities such as McDonalds are segregated by race. In my opinion how Saudi Arabia goes about treating their women is demeaning. However, I know that the women in this culture are used to this and do not consider it deeming but only comfortable.
Education, according to Dictionnary.com is “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university”. However, education is taught differently everywhere. The educational system of each country is created based on their own cultures, traditions, and historical background. Each county, perhaps, have their own way to teach and manage their educational systems. Unlike some countries. “The US has most diversified education system in the world, with public and private schools at all levels flourishing alongside each other” (Hampshire, 2006) Even though the U.S. display some similarities such as a diverse population of students in classes and a great emphasize on education and education and academic success, they however differ dramatically in teaching methods, student aids, teacher evaluation system, and resources. Though not so far apart on the map, the education system in Haiti and the educational system in the United states are extremely opposite when it comes to organization, technology, and finance.
The United States is filled with many different ethnicities, cultures, customs, languages, etc. Supposedly, our public schools are equipped with classes, teachers, curriculums and materials in order to educate that part of the student population whose first language is something other than the English language. Bilingual classes, transitional classes, ESL classes are just a few of the programs that have been developed to instruct non-English speaking students in order for them to acquire the English language.
Rigor in education is the current direction all instruction is moving towards and “true rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels” (Blackburn, 2011). Rote memorization is no longer an option, as analysis and application are the main focus. For this as a society we must remember, “it is difficult to conceive of an effective teacher who doesn’t have a deep understand of content knowledge” (Chard, 2013, 2015, p. 218). Pedagogical knowledge is extremely important and teachers are the most equipped to convey their
Single-gender schools can helps students achieve a better education as well as a better learning environment. This form of educational institution helps students to focus on their academics without the distractions of the other gender. Historical data from Harvard University and other institutions, suggests that single-gender schools are more beneficial to a students’ education than those of co-educational schools. (David Tyack and Elizabeth Hanslot, pg.14) Co-educational schools distract students from getting the most out of their education. The students are being distracted by the other gender, due to examples such as, sexual harassment and the inappropriate appearance and dress code of students. Single-gender schools can help teachers to gear their instruction to a specific gender, rather than generalizing it to please both genders. While co-educational schools can assist students to be interactive with the other gender, single-gender schools can be more beneficial towards a students’ education.
Education was sex segregated for hundreds of years. Men and women went to different schools or were physically and academically separated into “coeducational” schools. Males and females had separate classrooms, separate entrances, separate academic subjects, and separate expectations. Women were only taught the social graces and morals, and teaching women academic subjects was considered a waste of time.
Sending a child to a gender based school, is a very big decision to make. The decision is so big, that looking at what research has to say about the topic could alter one’s decision to send their child to a gender based school. “Educators must apply different approaches in teaching make, and female students” (Gurian). This is said by Gurian, because he also believes that boys and girls learn differently. “Social pressures can be gentler and your child can learn at his own pace” (Kennedy).
Education is the main base for everyone in today’s society. There are several factors that could affect one's education. Statistics show that single sex schools have been shown to receive higher test scores than their coeducational counter-parts, therefore, one of the most important factors that could affect one's education is whether they attend a single sex or coeducational school. The separation of genders during education has been considered a great importance because it has been shown to be able to increase a student’s educational achievements and quality of his or her work. The use of single sex education has been used since the 19th century, with the common idea being that if boys and girls were separated during the school day, it would allow for fewer distractions in the classroom. To this current day, many people still believe in the use of single sex education, which is still being utilized in many areas of the United States. This issue is on a national level due to it being an issue that needs to be addressed by the whole country. In light of the increase of single-sex schools, the United States government must require schools nationwide to offer a less distracting environment without the opposite sex in all subjects, which provides each sex with greater self-confidence and higher academic success.
Oxford College and many other American institutions are culturally diverse. English is the formal language for American education system. At the same time, English is the lingua franca, hence widely spoken across the globe. Nevertheless, English has hundreds of dialects and thousands of accents which sometimes make communication between two English speakers ineffective. Non-native English-speaking students at Oxford College and many other American learning institutions have poor learning experience. This is due to the restrictive nature of English as the only language of instructions. However, as integral factors for provision of a better or a higher education, multilingual lessons, and a new pedagogy are required to fit the need for a continuously
The reasons given for these types of classrooms are, first, it would eliminate distraction between the genders, especially during the teenage years when hormones are raging. Secondly, there would be less stereotyping, such as, girls feeling pressure to compete with boys in male-dominated subjects, such as math and science and boys would be able to show an interest in “feminine” subjects such as music and poetry. A third reason for single-gender classrooms is that teachers would be able to use instruction techniques geared toward a single gender, and lastly, boys would not hold girls back, since girls mature faster than boys. While the reasons to change classrooms to single-gender classrooms make sense to some, there are also reasons as to why classrooms should stay as coed classrooms. One main reason to not change classrooms into single-gender is that if genders are not mixed together in schools, boys and girls would have a difficult time adjusting to mixed-gender society when they get older and have jobs. Another reason is that teachers are not formally trained to teach gender-specific lessons, and a third reason is that since boys mature more slowly than girls, there would not be any girls to positively influence them. Furthermore, “the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) states that single-gender education is illegal and discriminatory”
Finally, there is no one sex school is going to be right for every student. There are many advantages and disadvantages mentioned in that essay before. But it's thought all over the world that the coeducation is preferred worldwide. About 90 % of schools all over the world are stuck to co-education. Mixed-sex education has achieved higher success rate. They also graduate students who are settled emotionally and able to deal with the real society. "There are not any dominant blessings for single-sex schools on academic grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to expose any major variations.'' - Academician Alan Smothers, director of education and employment analysis at the University of Buckingham 2011.
In United States, educational system is planned based on levels such as elementary school is from first grade to sixth grades, middle school is from seventh grades to eighth grades, and high school is from ninth grades to twelfth grades and four years in university and grades schools are based on a single shift and mostly free. While in Ethiopia school system is divided to primary school which is class one to class six, junior secondary school is junior secondary school (JSS) one to three, and senior secondary school (SSS) one to four and the school operates on the two shift bases and is not free because of outnumber of students in the school system. In the United States, teaching and learning process utilizes interactive instruction methods such as discussions, teamwork activities, and community service projects to elicit imaginative thinking, problem solving and decision making toward a goal of meaningful insight which is a key factor to help student succeed while the teaching and learning process in Ethiopia school system is to complete the syllabus since there is no chance for interactive process and at the end you found out that student can be college graduates but find it difficult to read a middle school level text book. With this plan of the school curriculum in the American educational system, the best quality training will brining students ' to ultimate success in life, and the curriculum places great importance on this principle. As for student progress, they are given increasing autonomy in the direction of their work, but also encourage how to work cooperatively with others. Mostly, Students are allowed to participate in their own work evaluation. Students help teachers set up forum to make problems solving easier. Students solve problems without assistance from the teacher. Generally, Student takes full
According to arab news, Saudi has reached the goal of the pledge made by participants to decrease the illiteracy rate by 50 %. The government is continue to provide and implement programs that may help to stopping illiteracy.
This problem occurs in schools everywhere and is starting to become more evident in today's society. The problem is that boys and girls learning potential are not being reached when put into the same teaching atmosphere. Girls seem to be out smarting boys in many classes. While boys excel in math and sciences and girls seem to be better in English. The styles in which boys and girls feel comfortable with are extremely different. The learning styles of girls usually contain socializing and context. For instance, most girls like to talk in small groups about the current discussion. They also like hands on activities or real life situations to compare things to. Boys are confrontational and formal. They need to be challenged by their teachers to help motivate them to become better students and be prepared. In contrast girls do not like to be confronted by teachers who are asking for an immediate answers. In most cases, girls seem to be more reserved and modest than boys about their intelligence ("What are someÉ) are. Their differences may not seem evident but make a difference to reaching their highest learning potential.
...ts with loads of information and facts is not an intelligent way to educate them. On the other hand, learning without any memorization is ineffective too. We couldn't write great essay if we have difficulty in spelling words correctly. Rote learning may not be the perfect way to educate our children, but same goes to meaningful learning. There is no perfection in this world. Everything has it’s own flaws. ‘I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.’ quote by Michael J. Fox. Owen Feltham also mentioned that perfection is immutable, but for things that are imperfect, change is the way to perfect them. So, rote memorizing should never be substituted. It should be used alongside understanding learning, which both balance up and compliment each other to create a better and effective learning style.