In France, kids start school very early : school starts at age 2 (for 52% of children) or 3 (for almost 100%) and children spend 2 or 3 years in maternelle (kindergarten). School is compulsory until age 16. In primary schools, French kids spend more hours a year (almost 900, like Italy and the Netherlands) than other European countries (less than 700 for Austria, Germany and Finland) : in France, less days of school (vacations are a national value) and more hours per day. Contrary to a frequent American stereotype, learning by rote does not exist or hardly (it was true in the 19th century).
All professors in public schools and universities are employed and paid by the state. The Ministry of Education is, by far, the largest employer in France and (it is said) the second in the world (after the Red Army!). An outstanding feature of French education is the authority of teachers. The French don't regard childhood as an age of innocence but see it as an age of ignorance. Children must be set straight and corrected.
"Grandes écoles" are close to the labor market and, contrary to the universities, their graduates have little (if any) problem to find a job.
witten by: Mayce G. Geisler
