world class

[Alan]

Hi,

I've just come from watching the Sunday breakfast show on BBC tv, mainly concerned with current affairs and of course politics. The person being interviewed was the recently appointed government minister responsible for early education in schools. Despite the fact that the present UK government has been in power now for over 10 years, the minister was getting enthusiastic about how everything was going to be improved in his area of responsibility until education in the UK would be 'world class', a mantra that he kept on repeating. In fact it is an expression much favoured by politicians nowadays perhaps with the intention to make all the voters listening sense a certain thrill at the anticipation of reaching that standard. Then you stop and think about it and start asking yourself: well, where are we now, then? To me it is a meaningless description in the sense that it doesn't, on reflection, mean a thing to me. How would you react to these words - world class? And what does the expression mean to you?

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Your Choice

[Lost_Soul]

Maybe he meant "American class". As far as I know American universities are on top of the list of the best universities in the world - I read this fact in a local newspaper. Actually it was a shock to me to find out that the best university in my country (situated in Mockow) is below 300 on the scale. (and the one I graduated from is not on the list !)

[Alan]

Hi lost_soul,

Oo -er , your remark could easily be construed as a red rag to a bull for me. I'm sure it wasn't, was it?

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story A day in the life of a stately home owner

[Lost_Soul]

Hi, Alan
Ops, seems like I brought trouble upon myself.
Sorry, my remark was not meant to offend you in any way. I just quoted a passage from my local newspaper.
To tell the truth, the results published in that newspaper exasperate me, but alas, there's little I can do about it..

[NinaZara]

In Japan, I am beginning to see that if they want to be 'world class', they actually want to be 'world class' their way. This can be either, they want people to follow their way or, they want to be 'world class' that has been somewhat adapted to their way. In a word, I would say they don't want to change their way.

Come to think of it, what is 'world class', anyway?

Maybe I was answering your question with the term 'globalization' in mind. Because the Japanese has a different way of adapting to globalization. This can be seen at their stubbornness of not wanting to learn English.

[Prezbucky]

Alan

In the US, "world class" = top-notch, high-quality, very good, etc.

This is a world-class team. = This team is very, very good.

He has world-class speed. = He is very fast/He is an Olympic sprinter etc.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Jamie (K)]

[Alan]

Hi,

It's interesting to read how different countries regard schooling in other countries. Although I am personally now far removed from secondary education in terms of occupation and also family since both my children are now pushing 40, I get the general drift from practising teachers that this present government in the UK is too preoccupied with getting teachers to fill up forms and getting their students to run through too many tests so that the main business of 'teaching' for all of them is constantly being sidelined. This produces monumental irony in the minds of bystanders when we recall that the mantra in 1997 from the then prime minister (Blair) was that at the top of his list of priorities was; Education,education, education.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Adverbs

[Jamie (K)]

[SkiIucK]

"World class" symbolizes the best. In other words, the British minister meant that the students will get the best education, thus becoming the most qualitative employees/ers, entrepreneurs, politicians, etc.

[Ralf]