Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:50     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


Have you considered that maybe he's right?



And? What is gained by him spouting off to his host family? Knowing when to STFU is a gift more people should learn, regardless of their nation of origin.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:46     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Tell him US still kicks Germanys ass in current inventions - the iPhone, social media, AI, etc etc

The school he attends is not representative of all America obviously, where US leads again:

https://www.uniranks.com/ranking/top-country

Take that Germany
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:45     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


"He’s not taking any math or science classes"
Doesn't he have to?


Probably not. Most exchange students have already graduated from their home HS and the host HSs don't really have any expectations of them nor do the students need any credit. I suspect this is why he signed up for easy classes in subjects he finds enjoyable.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:26     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:He's not wrong so what's the problem you hate his honesty or you hate the truth?


+1
I think he sounds genuinely concerned. I would be, too.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:24     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


Why? He is telling the truth and you need to face it. He is only 17 and has more discernment than most people here.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:22     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


I’d point out that STEM is the primary focus and classical liberal arts is fading away. If you are in the DMV, point out that there is a split in education with the higher stat kids tracking toward the Asian model of highly competitive, high stats and acceleration while the humanities are being pushed down to the more vocational level. Offer to sign him up for multi variable and honors chem at a local community college if he needs more challenge.

Schools don’t teach history and geography anymore.


Yup. My high stat, highly competitive, super accelerated, Asian DS doing STEM in HS - was taught history and geography by me since 4th grade. Why? Because I was using the curriculum and textbooks from other countries. Though to be honest - homeschoolers in USA probably are using core knowledge curriculm and doing just fine.

Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:18     Subject: Re:I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
- School is laughably easy
- Curriculum is substandard,
- School year is very short
- Instruction is substandard,
- No real testing,
- No textbooks,
- Massive grade inflation,
- Incompetent and burnt out teachers / stupid, checked-out and uneducated parents
- STEM and Foreign Languages are very poorly taught by incompetent teachers
- Students are disruptive and there is poor discipline in the classroom
- Students are not differentiated
- No one fails. It is a conveyor belt system, which is producing illiterate students. School is childcare.
- The only kids who are actually learning and thriving are being supplemented at home.

- Immigrant mom.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:04     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
True or not, sounds like he would benefit from learning about the importance of emotional intelligence to be successful in life! Academics alone mean little without being about to navigate social nuances with grace.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:32     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


I’d point out that STEM is the primary focus and classical liberal arts is fading away. If you are in the DMV, point out that there is a split in education with the higher stat kids tracking toward the Asian model of highly competitive, high stats and acceleration while the humanities are being pushed down to the more vocational level. Offer to sign him up for multi variable and honors chem at a local community college if he needs more challenge.

Schools don’t teach history and geography anymore.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:26     Subject: Re:I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:He’s not wrong.


But he's also from a system where only 31% of 16-year-olds would continue with formal academic education, as opposed to 100% of students here. So of course the general high school population seems skewed to him. Two-thirds of the students he's in class with here would have dropped out of academia by this age in Germany.


While this is true, if you compare only the subset of kids who are college or university bound, the American system is showing a lot of problems right now, because kids are showing up to college here way more underprepared than they used to be.


This is confirmed that current college students are lacking math skills, it’s the COVID effect from trapping our kids at home for so long. Thank you teachers and democrats for the disservice you’ve done to a generation of kids


Covid may have accelerated this, but the trend actually started before COVID. I actually think it was the result of abandoning the "no child left behind" policies, which is the fault of both parties who didn't like them for different reasons.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:24     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
He's not wrong so what's the problem you hate his honesty or you hate the truth?
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:24     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:Part of this experience is an opportunity for you to learn about his culture, right? Well, I do think Germans are more direct. I also think, as an American, that he is absolutely right about the American public education system. It is sad, but true. Perhaps you could show an interest and learn what the German schools and parents are doing right, and perhaps we could learn to do better for our kids over here.

To the PP above who says AP levels are "actually reasonably good," sadly this is not true and it really depends on the school. At our local public school, anyone can take AP classes, there is no requirement for the school to demonstrate proficiency by making students sit for the exams. I believe this is why we now have college students who lack basic middle school math abilities, despite the fact that some of them have taken AP Calculus! A study in the UC system actually found this to be the case, and they have had to adapt and offer remedial basic math courses for college students.


I didn't know that AP level difficulty is dependent on school district. It makes sense. In our HS, only top students are allowed in the AP classes (WA state no less) and most kids sit for the exams. I think they tried to change this, but parents were against. I'm actually very happy with our school district. I've read that some students in the UC system are now sent to take remedial math courses in college. Students like this would never see a university in Europe (at least not the state universities, which are paid for by taxpayers). If it's "rude" to point it out, so be it. This is what happens when the university education is "free", only the top students get to go.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:22     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:He’s from Germany. He 17 and has quite an ego. His English is formal, but excellent and he also speaks German and Spanish fluently.
He’s not taking any math or science classes while he’s here because he doesn’t like those subjects.
He comes home from school every day telling me how the Americans can’t read, don’t know geography, history etc. I’m really tired of hearing it.
Help me survive this until June!


"He’s not taking any math or science classes"
Doesn't he have to?
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:21     Subject: Re:I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:He’s not wrong.


But he's also from a system where only 31% of 16-year-olds would continue with formal academic education, as opposed to 100% of students here. So of course the general high school population seems skewed to him. Two-thirds of the students he's in class with here would have dropped out of academia by this age in Germany.


While this is true, if you compare only the subset of kids who are college or university bound, the American system is showing a lot of problems right now, because kids are showing up to college here way more underprepared than they used to be.


This is confirmed that current college students are lacking math skills, it’s the COVID effect from trapping our kids at home for so long. Thank you teachers and democrats for the disservice you’ve done to a generation of kids
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 12:19     Subject: I’m tired of my exchange student talking about how easy school is here and how dumb the American kids are.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Part of this experience is an opportunity for you to learn about his culture, right? Well, I do think Germans are more direct. I also think, as an American, that he is absolutely right about the American public education system. It is sad, but true. Perhaps you could show an interest and learn what the German schools and parents are doing right, and perhaps we could learn to do better for our kids over here.

To the PP above who says AP levels are "actually reasonably good," sadly this is not true and it really depends on the school. At our local public school, anyone can take AP classes, there is no requirement for the school to demonstrate proficiency by making students sit for the exams. I believe this is why we now have college students who lack basic middle school math abilities, despite the fact that some of them have taken AP Calculus! A study in the UC system actually found this to be the case, and they have had to adapt and offer remedial basic math courses for college students.


To be fair the kids at UCSD who test into elementary or middle school math were not reporting AP scores. They had As in Calculus at their high school.


At our school kids take AP calc all the time without even having to take the AP calc exam. They can have AP Whatever Class on their transcript and get by with grade inflation. No need to demonstrate real AP skills.