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European Schools vs. American Schools

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–by Anna Kleckerova

How does European education differ from American? Like American students, we go to preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and college. Our high schools separate students based on their intelligence, whether they’re public or private, and by length. High school can last 4, 6, or 8 years.

The big difference between these two continents educationally is that in Europe, we have to take every single subject every year without any electives; students take biology, cEurope Schoolhemistry, physics, geography, math, their native language, English, a second foreign language, history, social science, and art. In America, students have a choice over their classes and have the option of electives. On one hand, this sounds more democratic, and it is awesome that you can choose classes that you really need for your life, but, on the another hand, you can have some big spaces in your knowledge. No system is perfect.

What do I like about the American education system? Studying is more of a game. It is interactive, and you discuss everything. There is a space for everyone to say their opinion, and it gives students opportunity to actually think. They don’t have to jEurope School 2ust listen to the teacher, take notes and then take exams. They are not like robots, and they can really understand the main idea. School provides sports for students, so they can rest their heads from studying at least for a little bit.

Also, here you get more homework every day, unlike Europe, where you get a homework assignment once a week. You can go study by yourself, and it makes you actually do something, build something, create something original. Plus, you don’t get grades only from tests, but  your homework counts as well. This can greatly improve your final grade.

In summary, American students are more involved in choosing their own classes and studying outside of school. In Europe, students have to take every class every year.

How do you “really” feel about Jane Eyre?

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image-2by Zhenzhou Hu

 

The European Literature class was assigned to read the classic novel Jane Eyre over the summer. We decided to interview both the teacher, Ms. Permar, and her students on how they “really” feel about Jane Eyre.

Question 1: Jane Eyre is the first novel we read this year in European Literature. Why is this book special? What do you like about it？

“Jane Eyre presents a sassy young heroine who must navigate her need for individual liberty through the challenges of 19th-century English society. Despite growing up an orphan, suffering the death of her only friend, and falling in love with her boss, who, coincidentally has a crazy woman locked in his attic, Jane maintains a surprising amount of composure. Also, there’s MAGIC.” –Ms. Permar

Question 2: Did you find Jane Eyre to be interesting or boring?

It is an umfangreich [enormous] book [that] helps us get to know the background information and society during [The] Victorian Age–Anonymous

“I am . . . not a big fan . . . . In my opinion, this ‘gothic’ novel did not take me off of my seat. It mainly consisted of what my grandpa says, spoiled drama.” –Brian Sadler

“Jane Eyre’s life proves that Suffering breeds success.”–Zhenzhou Hu

“I like the book because it shows a story that you can never predict. Everything is a mystery, and it keeps my attention.”–Anonymous

“The book was a little slow in my opinion. It had points that were interesting and parts I enjoyed, but it definitely was not one I would willingly read again.”–Gaige Griffin.

“It depicts the growth of Jane Eyre and the series of things that happen to her. They are very meaningful.”–Jim Wang

“Most importantly the movie of Jane Eyre is really good.”–Edward

“[T]he book was okay, [but] it was just a bit too long. It had an interesting plot with strong character development.”–Jacob Langlois

“I think the story is good, but it is boring . . . . The coming of age style of [the] story is helpful for learning but overused.”–Elliot

“It is . . . unlike many books written in the 18th century. It really set a foundation for gender equality, and that is why it is important.”–Emily

“It shows an independent woman chasing her life. Although she had a poor childhood, she met a lot of nice people during that time and became a strong independent woman. It encourages me to be an independent person.”–Anonymous

“[In] this book . . . we can see that if we are strong and go through horrible things, we can still [have] success in our life. [We] just need courage and a strong mind.”–Anna Kleckerova

“Jane Eyre, in the book, showed a new type of love, which is a love stronger than anything.”–Anonymous

“It was really boring and tiring to read the whole book. Their lines were too long and symbolic to easily understand, and the characters all spoke like they were in a Shakespeare play.”–Anonymous

“Yes, it was interesting because you followed Jane growing up, and it emphasized gender equality” -Karey G

“It is really just not my cup of tea. I prefer more interesting books such as Macbeth.”–Trey

European Culture vs. American Culture

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 by Anna Kleckerova

I would like to share my experience with you. I was born in the Czech Republic. That is in the center of Europe. But, I also spent one year in America, and I will  continue probably my life here for the next several years. I’d like to compare the two cultures.

image1-2Let’s start with Europe because it is still closer to me. Countries in Europe are very old. There were many wars in Europe’s past, yet a lot of culture was saved. We can find a very old colosseum in Rome where gladiators were fighting for their lives. Venice is well know for her transportation through canals on boats. Paris has its Eiffel Tower and the most famous museum in this world, the Louvre. We can find any culture in this museum. It is too big to see all of it in one day, and it makes you want to go to France again and again. Also if you decide to take a tour through Europe, you hve to visit definitely Prague. This capital city also has really old culture, and it is in pristine condition. You can find here Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock and so many others sights.

In summary, Europe has really old history, and there are so many different types of architecture such as gothic, renaissance, symbolism, romanticism, realism, baroque, rococo, secession, and others.

America, on the other hanimage2d, isn’t as old as Europe, so it is not easy to find such deep culture here. Everyone knows of the Statue of Liberty that is in New York that Mr. Eiffel made for America. This country took a culture from other countries–like Asia, Africa and Europe. Immigrants brought their own ideas and cultures from their homelands. In America, there is no one culture; it is a mixture of many, many different cultures. American people are so proud of their country, and they show it on every corner with flags and the Pledge of Allegiance. Also, there are so many states in America and each of them has a different accent, dialect, food and culture.

While America doesn’t have as long and as rich a culture as Europe, you can find here beautiful architecture, national pride, and a diverse culture.

The World According to Henry: The Artisanship of Japan

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IMG_1706by Henry Huang

When people talk about the Japanese spirit, many people refer to Bushido (dignity, loyalty, and honor). To me, what represents the spirit of Japan is, in fact, the artisanship. The Japanese believe that they are supposed to do the best in their every pursuit: whether building a bridge or cooking street food. Today, our example of artisanship is found in a restaurant in Tokyo.

The restaurant is called Hirooichie. This restaurant was awarded a coveted Michelin Star–a universal recognition of culinary excellence. I was lucky enough to get a reservation during my trip to Japan. This restaurant is in a residential district in downtown Tokyo. When my friends and I walked into that restaurant, I realized the spirit of artisanship starts here.

In order to keep the quality of the dinner, the chef only serves 15 people per night. The meal was in fact, a show, a show that only has a chef and a zyoshou (a traditional Japanese waitress) on the stage. The chef, to me, is a representation of artisanship. He was working behind the counter so all the customers could see what he was preparing. Without great confidence in his skills, no chef would dare to cook under the watchful eye of his customers. What’s more, the restaurant was an Omatase, a restaurant without a menu. The chef has to satisfy instinctively the desires of his customers. All his tools were well organized, another symbol of excellent craftsmanship. The zyoshou was very friendly to us. We were the only foreigners in the restaurant. Even though there was a language barrier, the zyoshou tried her best to introduce the dishes. One of the details that I will never forget was how the zyoIMG_1958shou constantly refilled my glass, like she could read my mind.

The moment the food was served, I could feel the artisanship of the establishment. When I looked at the chef, he had an extremely focused expression. He worked at a very mild and pleasant pace. At that moment, his seriousness was palpable. The chef works alone. There is no apprentice to assist him. He tried to ensure the satisfaction of every customer. The zyoshou was the epitome Japanese elegance (silently meeting everyone’s needs with a pleasing aesthetic). When she realized that we were Chinese, she made cards in Chinese to tell us what was in the dishes.
The food was maIMG_1962gnificent. All the food was made with simple ingredients; however, every bite appealed to every taste bud. The presentation of the dishes was glorious. Although simply decorated, every dish was so attractive that I almost didn’t want to take a bite. The simplistic style of cooking produced the ultimate enjoyment of taste. There are no words to describe the absolute maIMG_1966gnificence of my culinary experience. Hirooichie opened the door for me to observe the artisanship of Japan.

Trey’s Take on Technology

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by Trey Lucatero

Have you gotten home late at night and struggled to wrangle your little charger into that tiny little socket at the base of your phone? You’re not the only one; millions suffer every year from this. Recently, Samsung has introduced a stock addition into the Samsung Galaxy S6 which allows for wireless charging. With the one-time purchase of $49.99, you can completely negate this nuisance. UnknownWith this wireless charge, you can stumble home in the dark, drop your phone on the charger, and fall fast asleep–without having to realize fifteen minutes later when you’re contemplating the meaning of life that you forgot to plug your phone in. In Samsung’s new model, they have introduced many quality-of-life additions (e.g. an “edge” display, Unknown-1improved camera, and increase in size for visibility) to this phone, and I think this one takes the cup for the most innovative, helpful, and time-saving addition.

 

Jim’s Fun Camp: “You’ve Got Mail”

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IMG_0820By Jim Wang

On a lighter note, to help us get through a long week, Jim translated a humorous Chinese story for us.

A couple was going on vacation. But, the wife was on a business trip, so the husband went to the destination first, and his wife would meet him the next day.

When the husband reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he mistyped the email address and his email was directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife whose husband had just passed away the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.
At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

                  Dearest Wife,
                  Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

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Five Fashionable Fantastic Fingernails

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By Ashley Zhou

Although the summer vacation is over, summer still continues at PVS. Walking around on our campus, you will see not only the beautiful sight of Palm Valley, but also bright colors on many girls’ nails. They stand out from the dark uniforms.

( Guess whose nails are these. Below are the nails of Ashley Zhou, Irene Guo, Ms. Lee, Karey Graves, Anna Kleckerova. Which nails belong to whose fingers?)

 

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Utopia: from an Eagle Scout’s Point of View

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By Amber Zheng

World Literature class last spring devised their own Utopias. Students drew their ideas from Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia”–agreeing or disagreeing or elaborating upon the model. Of course, “Utopia” translates into “No where.”

Utopia is broadly considered to be the ideally perfect society. However, it’s far from reality. David Kocen, last spring, expressed his own thoughts about Utopia. He believes that Utopia is an idea with flaws. From his perspective, Utopia is not going to work. The following are some excerpts from his World Literature essay.

“I do not condone the creation of a utopian society if it cannot be done without excessive bloodshed and hardship for the people. Since I believe that this is the only way to accomplish the creation of Utopia, we should instead focus our efforts on making what we already have better, instead of completely overhauling all of society.”

David asserts that it is necessary to get rid of people who don’t fit the idea of Utopia. Moreover, certain number of population needs to be removed in order to give all people in the society enough opportunities: “It is my personal belief that the only way to succeed in forming a Utopia is to get absolute support. This would mean exiling or killing those who do not support you.”

Unfortunately, the Utopian society still won’t work even if we remove those who are opposed to it, because: “Humans, by their very nature, tend to be more interested in accomplishing their own goals rather than bettering the whole. We are not to blame for this. It is simply evolution trying to be as efficient as possible in insuring the survival of humans. Sadly, evolution has only one tool and that is survival of the fittest. The fittest could help the week, but unless everyone else helps the weak as well, the fittest will be taken advantage of by those who seek only their own gains. It is sad but true……we are too unstable to create a truly utopian society without negative emotion. It just does not work.”

Having said that the Utopia itself will never be a success, David doesn’t think striving for it is a bad thing: “feelings and thoughts are what make us unique. Everyone responds to different things in their own ways. Without individuality and variability, life would be too bo
ring. What is the purpose of living for eighty something years if it is just false smiles and blissful repetition? …… A Utopia, in the common sense of the word, is just a nation filled with meaningless joy. That does not mean that we should not strive to m
ake the world a better place. One of our main purposes in this life is to create a better habitat for the children that we bring into the world. While complete success is impossible and meaningless, motivation for improvement keeps us going through life. We will never succeed in creating a complete Utopia, but we can strive for it. And, with each success, we will achieve a genuine smile on our faces. If we are lucky, we may even get some other people to smile with us.”

*Introductory graphic by Amelia Wang, for World Literature class.

Meet Our New International Students . . .

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by Gaven Li

TODAY, . . . MEET NIKOLOZ (NICK) TSIKARISHVILI

We have many new international students this year in the Palm Valley Upper School. They come from Georgia, China, Germany, etc. Today, meet Nick from Georgia (and . . . not the Georgia next to Alabama).

Q: Tell us something about yourself, Nick.
A: Hi, my name is Nikoloz Tsikarishvili. I’m a junior, and I come from Georgia [the country off the Black Sea]; now I live in Palm Springs.

Q: So, what do you think about America?
A: I like it here, so far… I think it’s great, and the people are really nice here.

Q: What about Palm Valley? Is there any difference between Palm Valley and the school you went to before?
A: Yes! There are so many different classes, and….Wow, I don’t know. I mean, pretty much everything is different from my previous school.

Q: Okay. Did you join any team or club?
A: Yeah, I joined the football team.

Q: And how’s that going?
A: We haven’t played our first game yet. We are still preparing for it, and we practice very hard. I hope this season will be great for our team.

Q: Great. It’s not easy to get used to a brand new lifestyle, right? What do you do over the weekend?
A: Emmmmm… I do my homework, exercise a little, rest, and get ready for Monday.

Q: Cool! What’s your favorite class? And, the class you find the most difficult?
A: I think Math is really difficult, and AP biology is difficult too, but I like it–that’s my favorite class

Q: Do you have any trouble at school so far?
A: Oh yeah, I had trouble with my locker… I couldn’t open it. And, Christian helped me out.

Gaven: Alright, thanks Nick; let’s go to practice.
Nick: Okay.