American vs. European Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American vs. European Education - Research Paper Example However, it is not merely the United States educational system that has changed as it is important for the reader to understand that the past 250 years of history have provided deep and intrinsic changes to the European system as well (Ingrassia 669). Nations have been born and have been absorbed, forms of government experimented and failed; ultimately, this has led to a nebulous and ever-evolving approach that Europeans have sought to contend with. Whereas the American approach has changed a great deal over the past several decades, it can be definitively argued by the researcher that the American model is more or less unchanged when compared to the European model (Kim 69). From the sociological perspective, it has been observable that the European individual approach to education is much different from the way that the individual and parental approach has evolved in the United States. For instance, from a review of the extant literature, researchers have noted that with regards to the European system, the parent is more likely to provide a supportive and encouraging role but not typically be overbearing and highly involved; choosing instead to praise accountability and personal efforts as the ultimate good (Sy et al 15). Conversely, the same researchers have noted that with respect to the United States system of education, parental involvement on the whole is something of a mainstay; causing the educational system to be predicated on the somewhat untenable grounds of the combination of shareholder emotions, feelings, and needs. Although it is not the intention of this author to make a series of value judgments with regards to what system has the most value for the shareholders, it is impossible not to point out... This paper approves that the approaches themselves cannot be counted as right or wrong; rather, they are merely indicative of the sociological and geographic separation that defines the means by which the respective systems have evolved. However, regardless of the lack of the researcher’s ability to make a value judgment on one being better than the other, it is highly interesting to note that when the systems were combined, the shareholders were able to experience an increase in educational attainment and efficiency. This synergy between the systems bodes well for the educator that might be seeking to combine certain elements of the European approach into his/her practical application of knowledge. The researchers conversely described the key components of the European approach as Humboldtian idealism. However, when the two were mixed and after the growing pains ceased, all individuals involved experienced a higher degree of efficiency and information transfer as compared to before. This essay says that the research has sought out a model of a mixed approach to education as it exists within the system so that the author and the reader may draw a level of inference with regards to how well these two can harmoniously exist. With reference to the mixed model, the student has selected the University of Leipzig in Germany. This particular combinational approach has created a great deal of growing pains for the students and the other shareholders within the system of education; however, ultimately, it appears to be experiencing a resounding degree of success.

The Development of Sustainable Energy Sources in the United States Essay

The Development of Sustainable Energy Sources in the United States - Essay Example Glaciers have been melting and shrinking, weather patterns are changing, sea levels and rising, mosquitoes are spreading and corals are dying from the acidification and warming of the oceans and seas (Hansen et al., 2008, p16). According to Hansen et al. (2008), the world needs to lower the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere by 350 ppm or lower in order to avoid further- and possibly catastrophic effects of climate change (p16). While other people may see such re-orientation of the power industry as an unnecessary and expensive push, I say that it is about time that the United States does its share in the global effort to mitigate climate change and its effects. In fact, such step is, from the global political perspective, long overdue. The United States has consistently avoided signing binding treaties on climate change mitigation. There is a certain level of global consensus, evident in the Kyoto Protocol, that developed nations must bear a heavier responsibility in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) as a result of more than a century of industrial activity. However, the United States (U.S.), as major world superpower refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which binded 37 industrialized countries and the European community in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2005. In the Copenhagen Accord, the U.S. only committed a 4% reduction of GHGs from 1990 levels by 202 0 (Biello, 2010, paragraph 1) a targeted way below the commitment of other countries such as China, Brazil and the European Union (paragraph 3). From a business- and rational economic perspective, investing in the development of new energy sources and abandoning oil reserves in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska may easily be seen as wasteful, and even risky. However, given the fact that fossil fuels are finite resources, the country has no choice but to develop renewable energy sources that could replace existing energy sources before the latter  totally becomes depleted.