Random Synapses

After the democrat-liberal coalition has won the elections of 2004, I was expecting some major changes in the government’s politics, as the former social-democrat ruling has kept the education system in a continuous chain of experiments, annual changes and lack of long-term planning. Therefore, I studied the new government’s plan regarding education policies for the next 4 years. (It is available online in PDF format and Romanian language on the Romanian Government’s website.)

And I was not happy.

Firstly, it’s vague — doesn’t name institutions or governmental bodies responsible for each action and there are no specific, measurable targets. Secondly, it sounds too good to be true; it looks as if it is based on a thorough analysis of the current situation by a few reputable research agencies or at least its own research, however it doesn’t name current weaknesses it addresses and the specific measures to repair them. All in all, it’s more of a political statement to improve the image of the governing coalition rather than a thorough analysis, a list of specific targets and a plan of measures.

The programme speaks frequently about rural education and how it should be improved. I can only admit that the education in rural areas often makes one think of an underdeveloped country. Schools are in poor shape and insufficient, unsanitary, without heat or even glass sheets mounted in the windowframes. Even my tiny personal collection of books is more than what those children have access to in the village “library.” The government plans to rebuild these schools, to provide transportation for students in rural areas to and from school (some have to travel a few kilometers to the school in a nearby village) and to provide housing and transportation for professors and educators. All this by allocating 6% of the GDP. Compare it to the current allocation of 2% of the GDP for education, which barely covers the salaries and minimum investments. How will it be financially possible? I don’t think anyone in the government thought that far.

Rural education gets the spotlight, numerous actions are prepared for repairing this deficitary area of the education system. In my humble opinion, this “positive discrimination” is not a good idea. The world has seen the results of positive discrimination in other countries, which have led to a minority obtaining more rights and advantages than a majority. Establishing certain advantages to investments into rural education is good, but not if it affects the higher-quality education in cities and university centres across the country. They may be taking the first step towards patching the rural education, but also undermining the high-performance urban education.

The programme emphasizes continuous education and investing in educators, instructors and professors through better training instead of increasing wages. OK, I’m fine with this, but could they be more specific? Why aren’t these investments in training correlated with establishing higher standards for the quality of education they provide? I’d really like professors to be continuously tested and kicked out of the system if they fail to meet minimum requirements, especially in their field of specialty.

This comes hand in hand with my next problem: the unclear status of the student. So far, the student is the passive receiver of education as the state provides it through schools and universities. The student has no mind of its own and is there to listen, obey and shut up. Hello, people, this is the 21st century, will you dump your middle-age ideas and catch up? The student is the paying customer of an institution which provides training services to him or her! Even that it’s not the student that actually pays for these services but his or her parents through the taxes they have paid for years, it doesn’t matter: the student is the reason these institutions exist, and his or her will is a command to the institution. This is the only way to make education competitive in terms of quality. And the government refuses to place the students to the top level and keeps the old hyerarchy of professors doing as they please.

Here are some other bad ideas. Transferring the university dormitories and canteens from state ownership to private ownership will not make them better and cheaper; instead, the government will only lose control over the management of these facilities and instaurate local private monopolies in terms of housing and board for college and university students. Stating that a nation-wide system of evaluating students’ performances will be created is not enough; who will create it, how, what is the deadline, who will be consulted about the principles governing this system? Computer classes are mandatory in schools now, especially in rural areas; but, the government forgot that most professors are clueless about computers and that many villages don’t have electricity, telephone lines, gas pipes, running water and sewer yet, so a computer lab is really an impossible dream. Not to mention that nothing is being said about public acquisitions of such computer equipment and how will private computer resellers have equal access to winning contracts to supply these computers. Universities are still unable to benefit from the experience of industry professionals by inviting them to sustain lectures to students, which is a big loss to high specialty programmes in economics or computer science, to name just two.

If I was talking about English a week ago, now I have proof that practicing English pays off.

A month ago I went on a short trip to Bucharest to take the TOEFL test. The test was computer-based, had 4 sections (listening, structure, reading and writing), and it was adaptative — answering correctly a question brings up a question with greater difficulty and more points, while an incorrect answer is followed by an easier question worth fewer points. This makes the evaluation more accurate. Essay writing was a test for grammar, vocabulary and ease of communication in written English on a given topic, under time constraints.

The test results have arrived in mail yesterday:

• Listening — 30 points out of 30;
• Structure — 30 points out of 30;
• Reading — 28 points out of 30;
• Essay writing — 6 points out of 6.

Overall score is computed only on the first three sections, so my TOEFL score is 293 points out of 300. That’s 97.7%!!! I probably missed one question worth two points, but making a single mistake in an exam is a reasonable expectation after a night on the train. I am extremely pleased with this result. Back in 1997 my score was 87%, but the structure and grading method were somewhat different. As a comparison, a result of 87% meant that I scored better than 93% of the Americans in my age group taking the same test. With a 97.7% accuracy I could probably become an English professor in any American university in a snap of fingers! That would certainly be fun, haha!

Starting this year, the TOEFL test will also include a speaking section. My test will be valid for two years, then I’ll have to take it again. The reason for this limitation is that most people continue to learn and practice English and 2 years later they will most likely get better results in tests. By then, I am considering taking University of Cambridge’s exam for at least the Certificate of Advanced English if not directly the Certificate of Proficiency in English. Cambridge tests are more difficult, they take longer to complete and require intensive preparation for them. A broad English vocabulary is a requirement, conversational English is insufficient to pass the test. But, the certificate has a lifetime validity, unless it is replaced by a newer one.

Some of you may have wondered why is this blog in English instead of Romanian. A friend even mentioned the fact that an English blog doesn’t sound “real” and is more difficult to read and reply to. Some of my friends have been looking for good Romanian blogs too and asked me why I opted for English.

Sorry guys and girls, but I had to make this decision when I got started. English only? Romanian only? Perhaps different categories for each language? I was running around in circles, until I took a different approach. This blog exists for my own needs of putting thoughts (random synapses) in order through writing. The fact that it is public is only a secondary “feature.” The simplest explanation is that I wanted my audience to be global, not to narrow it down based on the language I used. Perhaps there are people out there who don’t speak Romanian, but find a grain of intelligent ideas among my rants and written ramblings. I want them to feel welcome here as well.

Another reason for writing in English is the need for practicing this language. It’s been almost 20 years since I first opened an English book. Throughout the years, English became my second language and I love it. But, I miss the opportunity to practice it as much as I’d like. Pronounciation and accent have become rusty and I notice it in the rare occasions I get on the phone or meet someone speaking English. At least my writing skills should be kept to a higher standard. Therefore, blogging in English helps tremendously.

Nevertheless, I have no idea who is reading these lines except for the numerous search engine spiders appearing constantly in the server’s log. I know of a few people who visit my blog and even have linked to it (thank you for considering it interesting enough) but there must be others who prefer to lurk. I’m extending an invitation to you to comment on this issue and argument your preferrence regarding the language used in my or any blog. You may use English or Romanian, whichever you feel most comfortable with.

18 hours of the new year have already passed. It’s been a good night; I was alone at home, got some good music playing, didn’t abuse food, watched fireworks shot by neighbours and enjoyed some cool champagne. The reason I was alone was because on Monday, January 3rd, classes start again — last 3 weeks of the semester, with papers and projects to turn in, end of semester tests to take, and prepare for two weeks of final exams. It’s really not fun to get back from a party, eyes still red from the cigarette smoke, tired and not over the hangover yet, and trying to catch up with work again. To me, it’s kind of difficult to get back to work with such an abrupt interruption. I’d rather not mess up my pace, and postpone the partying till February, after taking all exams and completing the semester. So, since Christmas, I’ve been working on assignments, researching on the Internet and trying to keep a productive activity. And it paid off, because nobody was online these days; most Internet subscribers in the city were out partying, so I had all the speed to myself for better productivity.

The year 2004 ended with a feeling of satisfaction for its accomplishments. Most recent success was the completion of the second semester of my degree programme at Grantham University, getting only top-level scores on tests and completing the semester with a 4.0 GPA (maximum) which promoted me on the Dean’s List with the best students of the University. The Associate of Science degree should arrive in the mail soon, too, and there’s not much longer till I get the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science either. I have been very pleased with the quality of instruction received from GU, the study materials are excellent and the topics covered by assignments are challenging. The only aspect I’m not too happy with is the amount of time it took me to complete these two semesters: four years. As a distance learning student, I get in contact by e-mail only with my professors; there are no classmates, all students are working on their own. This lack of peer interaction strongly reflects in the difficulty to stay motivated and to get myself to study continuously. I’m also enrolled in two day-time universities which take up most of my time with class attendance and working on assignments, so there’s little time to dedicate to my studies for GU. I have been trying to do some time management, but there’s so many hours in a day, and working for all demanding activities of 3 universities is no easy task, even with my pleasure to study.

This year will bring a change of pace: I should be graduating from one of the day-time universities in July, and from the other one in February 2006. Apart from regular work, there’s a license exam I’ll have to pass, and a large research paper to prepare for graduation. This is another reason I skipped partying this week, to start early on researching the subject of the paper. This is also the reason I have decided to quit participating heavily on online discussion forums (bulletin boards) a couple of months ago. No TV, no chatting, no useless debates on various topics with people I’ve never met in person; blogging will become my recreative activity.

My keywords for 2005 are: focus, efficiency, time management, self-motivation, and finally success. Regarding personal goals, I’ll work on a more positive attitude, fewer rants and complaints, and milder sarcasm. Yeah, I know, it sounds like going from “fun” to “dull,” but I’m just trying to turn from picky, grumpy and pissy to constructive, optimistic, useful fun.