Students come to America from other countries for a variety of reasons, some economical – and some purely educational; others make the journey to experience a different culture’s lifestyle.
Many countries place a very high value on American education. Jason Tam, born in Hong Kong, says he moved to the Pacific Northwest because he disliked the education system of his homeland.
“In Hong Kong, it’s just copy, copy, copy,” Tam said, “But they don’t teach us how to use it.”
Tiffany Zhao, a student originally from China, moved to America when her mother married an American man. Though her main motive for moving was not education, she too thinks that American education teaches more things that are applicable to everyday life.
“In China we only know how to work on campus,” said Zhao, “They don’t teach us how to use it in real life, just in school.”
Zhao says she feels that American education gives more general knowledge, from fixing cars to just knowing random facts, a view shared by many international students. Zhao feels that Chinese education focuses more on book learning, not application to real life.
Sara Kim, a student from South Korea, says that most high level businesses in South Korea use English as their main language, so developing language skills is one of her main reasons for coming to America.
“If we speak english more fluently,we have a better chance of getting a better job,” said Kim, “If we have a high GPA, we have a better life.”
Kim says that after this quarter, she plans on returning to her country to work for a year, and then coming back to America to go to a university. Kim also thinks that American education focuses more on learning than South Korean education does. Kim says that in South Korea the focus is on lectures and memorization.
“In Korea, opinions are either wrong or right, like math.” Kim said.
Yena Kim, another South Korean student, said that in South Korea, your education controls your future.
“They see my resume, and if I don’t have a degree from a university, they reject me,” Yena said. She also says that her parents place a lot of importance on her grades. Yena agrees with Sara regarding education in South Korea.
“Most of South Korean people judge by our higher education,” said Yena, “We don’t focus on learning, but on test scores.”
Yena plans on transferring to New York State University to major in advertising before returning home. She, like many other SFCC students, attends college halfway around the world from her homeland to better her chances at a good life.
Students interested in interacting with their international peers are welcome to visit the international club. The club, though primarily aimed at foreign students, allows American students to engage in group activities with students from other countries.