What Do You Know About Education in Other Countries?

Education isn't the same in all parts of the world, which is what students learned Thursday when educators from different countries toured the school.

For the last five years, the Cuyahoga Community College has hosted an international conference on conflict resolution, according to Jennifer Batton, the director of the college's Global Issues Resource Center. The college hosts educators from different countries in an effort to increase global awareness and to find potential opportunities for different school districts to host student or faculty exchanges. 

Revere High Principal Phil King took the educators from Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and Belize through the school, they asked questions about the school day, lunch, athletics and more.

Here are some of the main differences between a U.S. school day and theirs:

Australia

• The school buildings in Australia are more open and spacious because of the climate. Australia's Department of Education project manager Gary Shaw was surprised by the "contained formality" of the building.

• Global citizenship is an important aspect of education to ensure that relationships formed with other people are positive and not based on misinformation.

• Fun fact: Australia's capital city Canberra is experiencing a kangaroo infestation, similar to deer problems here. They too cull the kangaroos and sell the meat at supermarkets.

Trinidad and Tobago:

• They use the British education system, where children are in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, said the Honourable (education) Minister Dr. Gopeesingh. College or university is considered tertiary school.

• In middle school grades, there are a high number of deviant children who are taking to guns. The murder rate is high in Trinidad and Tobago, Gopeesingh said. This is caused in part by a lack of parenting because 60 percent of families in the country are single-parent families.

• There is low accountability in the schools, Gopeesingh said. Principals and supervisors don't follow through with their duties, which means the things that are supposed to get accomplished aren't.

Belize:

• Schools in Belize are controlled by the church and state, said Belize Ministry of Education member Collin Estrada. The government pays the salaries of the teachers and the church is responsible for the buildings and programs.

• Belize uses a system of standards rather than grades. So a student in first grade here is in standard one last night.