British Professors vs. American Professors

Now that I am pretty deep into my blog about London, I haven't even spoken about my classes or my professors. I was so wrapped up in exploring the city of London and other European cities that I forgot about school! Even though it seems like I spent most of my days in walking through Hyde Park or shopping on High Street Kensington, I took a full course load when I was in London. Since I attended a Fordham University program, I was required to take 5 classes. I had class 3 days a week with Mondays and Fridays off for traveling to other cities in Europe. Out of my 5 professors that I had while abroad, 4 of them were British. My British professors taught Investments and Security Analysis class (finance), Philosophical Ethics, Ethics in Business, and British Writers. All of these professors had similarities and differences to American style teaching.

To start off, the biggest difference between American and British schooling is the grade system. In America, anywhere between 90-100 is considered an A, 80-89 is in the B range, 70-79 is in the C range, and so on... In England, it is quite impossible to receive an A. The British professors did not believe in office hours, where students spend extra time with the professor if they are confused about a topic or want to go over a paper. The most time that one of those professors would spend after class is 15 minutes to briefly discuss any issues or questions that the students had. Despite their lack of enthusiasm towards students, these professors were extremely passionate about the subjects they taught. I truly believe that the culture in London is geared toward history and this plays a significant role in the style of teaching in the U.K.

My British Writers professor (I won't disclose the name) was the most passionate and inspirational professor I have interacted with abroad. He spoke with such poise and pleasure when our class discussions revolved around Shakespeare that he made me enjoy reading Macbeth. Although American professors have a significant amount of experience before they start teaching, it seemed evident that the English professors in the U.K. spent time working with famous playwrights and actors, such as Judy Dench, which proved their knowledge of British writers and their influence.

Not only is there a difference between the teaching styles in America and London, but there is a difference in the students. American students want the highest possible grade they can get. They don't think about what grade they deserve. All they want is a high GPA. On the other hand, British students want to learn and spend the time studying and really getting to understand the material being tested. I'm not saying that American students don't want to learn, but I am saying that they want to learn in the easiest way possible.

After having both of these experiences, I really can't say which teaching style I prefer. I do have to say that for me, I was taught by British professors in a class filled with American students. There were many other factors that affected my view of British vs. American style teaching. For example, some students weren't as focused on our classes since we were abroad and many were interested in traveling to as many countries as possible. I would love to sit down with one of my British professors and get to know their perspective on teaching a class of American students.