American vs. European

Throughout this year I've appreciated the students's insights on various aspects of their culture and this article sums up a lot of the issues we have discussed.
Please read this article:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/america-v-europe/?ex=1279602000&en=2a109bc94ea08378&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=OP-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M133-ROS-0110-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
Some questions that you might consider:
1. Why does David Brooks consider the American model better?
2. What is the real advantage of job security according to Gail Collins?
3. If you were to enter into this debate that Brooks qualifies as "unreal" because we aren't really given a choice on which model we prefer, which economy would you choose and why?
4. Is Brooks right that it is an "unreal" debate because we can't really choose? It seems to me that America is in many ways becoming more of a socialist country and that France is embracing many of the capitalist models that have been in practice in the U.S. for awhile now.
5. Finally, (for those in the literature class) what would Benjamin Franklin think? Is it a good idea to have a country where you might do the same job from age 25-65?
6. Conversely, is having the risk that you might suddenly find yourself unemployed or without health insurance worth the benefits that come with the American drive to always spur innovation, to always work harder and to constantly update your skills?

As you know I will be in Paris on Thursday and my husband Xavier Tourneux will be holding class. Mme Bonvoisin asked that the Spanish class be held in the foyer from 9-11 instead of my class and that the cours de presse d'anglais will be held in your usual Spanish classroom from 12-2. I hope you will be kind if you find my lost husband roaming batiment 7 and that you will impress him with your amazing English as much as you did Alex. :) I am extremely grateful to everyone for their cooperation.

Ideas for this week's blog

I'm searching for a good article for this week. Here are some possiblities. Any suggestions?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/opinion/24kristof.html?ref=opinion

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/opinion/24friedman.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/us/21charity.html?scp=1&sq=haiti%20donations%20baby%20formula&st=cse

Happiness

The Fulbright organization spends a lot of time, money, and effort organizing the teacher exchanges and I have at times thought it well worth it and at times have seen that the cultural obstacles sometimes impede learning. (Two of the teachers in my cohort of 11 have dropped out.) My favorite teaching moment of the year so far has been thanks to Melanee's question on whether or not Benjamin Franklin was happy. She thought he worked too much and had too little leisure to have been happy. I explained that from my point of view for many Americans working is happiness. They have a sense of controling their destiny and moving forward towards greater things. According to Nicolas Kristoff there's another reason Benjamin Franklin must have been a very happy man.



Please read this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17kristof.html?em
Questions to consider:
1. What does Kristoff think we need to be happy? Do you agree or disagree?
2. How does this relate to our world both our local, daily every day lives and what is going on in Haiti?
3. How does this relate to Benjamin Franklin?
4. How does this relate to you? Do you consider yourself happy? Why or why not?

On Trial's Sidelines

Hi everyone,
Here's this week's article http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/us/11roeder.html?ref=us

Questions to Consider:

1. Why is this particular court case controversial?

2. What does this debate suggest about American views on abortion?

3. What are your views concerning this issue?

Bonne annee - Happy New Year

I wish you all a very happy new year. I hope that you had a restful vacation and that you were not stressed out rewriting your college essay for the University of Chicago. With that in mind I wanted to pick an article that was neither too taxing nor one that was too disconnected from your own reality. Here's your article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03careerism-t.html?em

Also in the New York Times I found this interesting article on what various New Yorkers hoped for the coming decade for New York. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/nyregion/03resolve.html?pagewanted=1&ref=todayspaper) This is what Jennifer Raab, president of Hunter College had to say:
"We’re at a critical moment where the city has to really commit to becoming a leader in higher public education. It’s more important than ever now given the fact that people need a college degree to move into a middle-class lifestyle.

It’s about $38,000 for private institutions in New York — and that’s just tuition. At Hunter, it’s only $4,600 a year. So if you’re a sanitation worker and a nurse, say, with two kids, how do you pay $38,000 times two over four years?
When education begins to price itself out the range of the average New Yorker, that’s a problem.

I am wondering what you are planning on doing next year. What is a college education worth? What is the return on the investment of your time and money? Is Raab right when she suggests that if the price of a college education far excedes what some can pay that the foundation or our society and our democracy is at risk? Do you have the impression that you can get a valuable education without having to pay $53,000/year? Is there a sufficient amount of financial aid? Is it more important that we produce business majors with marketable skills rather than philosophy majors? Is the idea of a liberal arts education outdated?

For the Martincan students: What do you think about paying $53,000/year? If you go to la fac next year it will surely cost less. There are advantages and disadvantages of paying less. A common expression in English is, "you get what you pay for," to a certain degree that does indeed apply to a college education. Will you get the education you deserve? Would you like to study a year in an American university?

These questions are just to guide you. Please do not feel obligated to answer them all.