After reading Anne’s article in last week’s Pacer, I decided to give my impression of the institution of education, the differences as well as the cultural reasons behind French and American education and politics.

Before I begin, I should clarify the purpose of Anne’s article. Please do not interpret this article as a personal attack and respond with a simple challenge that she “go back where she came from.” Instead, view it as simply what it is, a careful organization of frustrating questions. And instead of responding with anger and ignorance, just answer them.

We do not elect our president; the Electoral College makes this decision. We do choose our senators and Congress leaders.

Because their election is directly dependent on the public, these are the most important elections. Both natives and foreigners look to the president for the answers to all national and even state issues.

This may be why Anne’s questions concerning our inaction refer to President Bush, using his lack of regard for our opinion in general to explain why nothing is done about our educational crisis.

War is added to the crisis, and though I agree that Saddam Hussein will never be stopped without force, I disagree with war being used as the pretext for our present situation.

I agree with Anne that our presidents’ commonly avoid domestic issues in favor of international agenda, because even though it is necessary that we help those in need, timing for doing so is always conveniently inconvenient. Why do we wait until our economy is in crisis to notice what has been going on forever? Though our country has a history of protesting, war has never been avoided in the U.S. by protesting.

An important distinction in protests and strikes in France and in the U.S., is that they normally last a short time and work well for temporary and local issues in France, while demonstrations in the U.S. are most often reserved for national issues.

While education in France is virtually free for students, it is paid for by the employed through taxes, a fixed amount which does not accumulate interest, and is therefore less stressful mentally. A country as developed and successful as the United States should have the capability to fund education, as well as its other institutions, without the use of credit.

Now that I have tried to respond to Anne’s questions about the differences in our educational systems and politics, and the cultural differences in our responses, I have a question myself.

In relation to the question Anne posed about our university being a prison, I also do not understand attendance policies, grades, tests, deadlines and especially academic requirements.

If the purpose of an education is to expand one’s mind and promote thinking and awareness of timeless issues, which is possible through flexibility and exposure to various topics in every course.

The greatest fault of the educational system today is that it is operated as a business rather than as a learning environment.

If efficient, the combination of large quantities of work required with the high number of required courses should then result in the United States ranking among the top in international standardized testing. Yet this overbearing system causes most students to become apathetic.

In the meantime, countries such as France rank high in education, as government funding reflects it as their top priority. But French university focuses on thinking rather than on memorization, so though facts are important, the focus is not on review of detail and facts.

Yet with all of the benefits of French education, the United States includes in its system one of the greatest advantages, and that is freedom. Most students in the United States have the opportunity to attend university.

Both France and America have strengths and weaknesses in their political and educational institutions, as well as in every area of life. I like France, and I respect their educational system, and as an American, I must agree that America is a great country.

But one of the strengths of greatness is the ability to accept criticism with grace and contemplate change when it is necessary. No country is perfect, and so we should cooperate to share and improve upon what our nations possess as strengths.

Kimberly Frantz is a senior French major from Martin.