With no chance of parol. Except if you come to Argentina.
And I'm talking about medical school, which sort of seems like prison - at least the brunt of it all -> UNDERGRAD YEARS. At least in medical school I'll have the hard-fought base of Gen Bio, Gen Chem etc etc etc etc the list goes on and on; I look at it constantly.
This entry was really going to be titled "On Education", but I figured to reel in a good catch... heh heh heh.
All joking aside, here it goes.
Education here is rather different than in the States. And when I say rather, I mean QUITE DEFINITELY different.
At home, I'm a biochem and spanish double major with probably a minor in leadership. Here, I'm an international student studying 5 careers right now (is what it looks like to them), and my end goal of becoming a doctor is not even started. To become a doctor in Argentina, you study medicine in the university (which comes after colegio which is simply high school). You have 6 years and then residency where you learn a specialty. In the US, we know it's 4 years undergrad, 4 years med, 3 years(ish) residency, some go on to specialize: a whopping 12-some years.
It is easy to understand because of my majors in the States (and attending a liberal arts school) there are requirements outside the realm of a Spanish degree or a Biochemistry degree to fulfill in order to become a well-versed student in many aspects of life and the professional world. Here, I am a mixed mutt of careers trying to run with the journalists, the nutritionists, the pharmacists and the psychiatrists. I'm taking one class from the career path to make you a journalist (communications), a nutritionist, a pharmacist, and a psychologist/psychiatrist/therapist (psychology). And tango. So, maybe I'll just become a professional dancer and forget about the rest.
Oh but that's not the case, I just feel a bit lost when Argentine's ask me what career I'm studying. Well... I'm kind of being roundabout, but IT HAS TO HAPPEN THIS WAY.
Essentially what I'm coming to think is that the US education system can seem a bit superfluous to others: why does a communications/journalism major need to understand biology or laboratory procedures, or why does a chemistry major need to understand Karl Jaspers' opinion on existence. Here that doesn't help you get to where you need to be, but what it can do is develop your brain in a dimension that allows you to compete better with people in the same profession as you.
It seems as though the system here is well thought out indeed, a strict course structure to get you the information you need so you can synthesize it, produce and get to where you want to go. Seems efficient, but creating students all the same way doesn't make for much variety in the professional field. Then it seems survival of the fittest would take control: here's a shout out to the liberal arts students - we'll probably have that advantage.
Mind you, in a big city they need a lot of pharmacists, psychologists, architects and journalists to do the job, but then we're looking at the 1, 2, 3 steps to make a big mac from the plastic package (heyyy Leadership 103; Hi Dr. Fournier). Not only does our diversity make us different, but it makes us stick better and form better connections, relationships and teams. If everyone were the same, we'd all just slide around each other never really touching; or be suspended in some colloidal suspension where we hang out and work together but always at the same level.
With diversity comes cohesion, and I think it's something we can all stop and appreciate. It takes more effort to stretch yourselves to the parts of life that you're not comfortable with, but when that effort is there, the end product is so much better.
We are one. And if we are not one, we are nothing. Because we can not be, and not be at the same time.
^^This is how I'm enjoying my long-projected career as a medical student - by taking philosophy and loving it.
8 or 6, doesn't really matter (except to my thirsting bank account and the ravenous government)
What matters is what you put in, and what you try to get out.
The theme resounds: it is not better or worse. It is simply different.
Angela
Hey Angela!
ReplyDeleteSince the view of education in Argentina seems to be so different is the style of teaching different, and if so have you had to change the way you study, take notes, etc.?
-CJ
Hi CJ :)
DeleteIn terms of the style of teaching, I don't know that it is SO different: there is quite the lack of technology in the classrooms so much of it is raw lecture. What the teachers here seem to stress though more than anything is simply understanding what the concepts are and how to apply them. For example, my human physiology teacher told us on day one that he doesn't want our notebooks out and our faces in them writing down everything he says and asking if he said "and" or "but". What is most important is learning and not writing every single thing down (yes key points are necessary, but the idea is to achieve an understanding instead of finding yourself with a notebook full of notes that have no meaning).
I haven't started studying yet - probably should - but I think really just through practice it will come. I read all the works now, I don't just rely on lecture to provide me the information I need. I'm starting to discern what is necessary for me to write down since there are no powerpoints with words on them, if powerpoint at all. An effort to participate in class - as many students do (the class turns into something like an exchange of information and questions between the students and professor, so often not much progress is made [I think mainly of my philosophy and oral expression classes]) - is critical to clarifying to subject and your understanding of it.
Exams are mostly oral, and often there is only a partial and a final (you must pass the partial to take the final); with that in mind, a firm understanding of how themes connect and topics are applied is absolutely paramount. I have about 6-8 weeks before partials and I think I will start studying now so it is not a barrage of information in those exam weeks.
Thanks for the comment, you distracted me from my Parmenides, but now he calls again. And I must go.
Angela
Hi Angela!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're having a great time in Argentina! We miss you in band though :)
It's always fun to see how much you realize about your own culture when you study abroad! I'm wondering, does the concept of studying "leadership" translate to Argentinian culture? When I was in China it was hard to explain my major because leadership wasn't really recognized as a field of study, it was just something that happened. How do you describe your leadership minor to Argentinians?
Hiya Kayden,
DeleteIt is one of the things I miss the most, too. Music is such an integral part of the culture, it hurts my heart when I hear someone wailing away and it's not me...
I will be back.
Right now, I'm currently registered as a certificate in Leadership, so instead of mentioning that and having to explain it (what a certificate is) I omit it. However, what you present is a curious perspective, and I should like to see what people would say when I say I am studying leadership. I will the next time someone asks, and get back to you on that.
As for leadership translating to culture, it invades the news every day. Leadership in terms of the president, the governors, and the people. The people band together and protest virtually anything they feel strongly about - today was the National Holiday to commemorate 30 years since the war over the Falkland Islands and there were people storming the streets and parading through with huge signs and banners that said "Get the English out of the Malvinas (Falklands)" Every Thursday in Plaza de Mayo the mothers of the "disappeared" get together and protest the kidnappings that occurred in the Dirty War. Truck drivers protest, the subways protest and shut down for a day.. it really is amazing how much they fight.
Unfortunately corruption has found its way all the way up to the vice president, who is found to have a hand in the business that prints money; a big no-no. The president is found to talk and talk and talk and not do much about anything and considerably disregard the state of the economy. The public transit system is found to have stains with misuse of tax payer money displayed through the tragedy of the train that could not break in the station and caused the death of 51 people.
Leadership is HUGE here, or lack there of, or bad leadership, or corruption and coercive power, or dispersed leadership, or the cry for leadership, or however you want to describe it.
Question answered? (I will get back to you on the latter..)
Question definitely answered! Thanks. I look forward to hearing how the first part goes :)
DeleteHey Angela,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're having a fantastic time! I find it very interesting that there is a specific path that people travel to get into their career field. According to the Lewis Model we learned about in 203, Argentina is located on the more multi-active, or relationship-oriented side of the spectrum while the U.S. is very linear active, or task-oriented. From this, I would expect Argentinians to immerse themselves in other classes to meet new and different kinds of people instead of being so task-oriented. Do you find them to be more relationship-oriented in other areas? Do you find that you seem to get ahead more by who you know, or is it more merit based?
-Emily K
Emily,
DeleteYour comment for sure touches on something that I am pretty sure I did NOT mention: that is, that many students are also working at the same time. Some of them work 8 hours and then go to night class, so they only take a few courses per semester. In other words, school is not the sole focus in their life. There, your expectation that Argentines immerse themselves in other classes etc is confirmed.
We go out to coffee (as most people do) between 4 and 8 because dinner is so late. Time seems to be made for that - they meet with friends and socialize. Mate, the drink of Argentina is a very social drink that a huge majority (el grueso as we'd say here) partake. So, they definitely care about each other and stopping and saying hello to someone is signing yourself up for a few minutes conversation.
That was pretty brief, but within school and out of school, they absolutely maintain relationships.
As for getting ahead more by who you know, I think that has a lot to do with it. Right now I'd apply that probably to the current presidency to make it simple. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was the wife of Nestor Kirchner, the former president who died about 5 years ago. The people aren't happy with her now, (my hosts for example) because she's not DOING anything. But because she was the wife of the president that they really did like... she has an upper hand.
So yes, it seems to be quite a bit of who you know. As for me, I am staying relatively conservative with what I'm trying to do because of my coursework, so I'm not feeling blockaded.
I hope that helped, if not, tell me. Really.
Angela