14th March, 2032

Dear Mr. Jacobs,

I have felt very much honored to receive your WEN (World Email Network). Even though I am conscious that your children are being educated in South Africa, I strongly think that sending them abroad to continue their studies in a foreign country would always be a rewarding, positive experience. In answer to your petition, I have the pleasure to introduce you to the current educational system in the EU.

Actually, my sister, my brother and I have a lot of experience concerning European education. I have just started my working life as a journalist in the scientific department of “Nations”, which ten years ago was called “El País”. Now it is a digital, international newspaper very well-known all over Europe. When I ended high school, I studied a four-year degree in journalism: I spent three years in my home country, Spain, and another one in Brussels, Belgium, enjoying an Erasmus. There, I was given a part-time job by the EOCSGE (Erasmus Official Centre for the Support and Guidance of the Students) that allowed me and my family to pay the expenses of the Erasmus, not covered by the program. I combined my theoretical exams with short-term internships, necessary to obtain the required number of credits. When I finally got my degree, I decided to start a two-year master in scientific journalism. After getting my degree, I was awarded with a six-month internship by the EHEA (European High Education Area) in Brisbane, Australia. Again, I had the great opportunity to get into the profession in depth. Moreover, my eldest sister is a current member of the EHEA which step by step is fulfilling its objectives. Also, my younger brother is willing to go abroad after finishing high school, with an open-minded mentality. So we can all assure you that the EU is a great place for your young children to study, who will be greatly welcomed in the huge multiculturalism they would come across here. They would also find a coherent educational system of higher education, in pursuit of excellence.

When I was born in 2007 a social, economic and political crisis broke out in Spain as well as in Europe. Nevertheless it was the wakeup call that we needed to make notice that the European Union needed to be changed into a fairer, more equal and caring society. So I have experienced the fast and successful evolution of the European educational system. The most relevant advance that has taken place is the approval of communitarian educational politics which are being applied by all the member states of the EU. This important fact has led to the development of an almost completely homogenous educational system, which, at the same time, allows free mobility of students and teachers. A great example is my master degree, which has the same recognition anywhere within the European frontiers. Nowadays, there is a common essential mindset found in the society. Every European citizen is conscious that education is the main asset of a country in order to compete in the international market and to build up a civilized citizenship.

As a recent student, I can assure you that the current educational methodology has abandoned the typical memorization techniques used some years ago. Nowadays, students learn basic matters of life as to think, to relate, to coordinate, to work in groups, to discuss, to reason, to synthesize, to integrate, to argue and to use logic and critical thinking. Teachers focus their lessons on the development of curiosity, creativity and experimentation. The student´s participation also plays an important role in the classrooms. Each year, the EHEA together with the European Commission and the 49 member countries, gathers the respective ministers of education and a variable number of teachers from each country .Together, they share motivations, teaching and learning techniques and methods, etc. They also update the system for the coming year, including new ideas to attract the curiosity of the students.

On the other hand, every educative institution must have at least 5% of European foreign teachers or professors paid by their respective governments, to promote multiculturalism. This percentage is usually over-passed, as many teachers want to work in another country at least once in their professional career. The figure of teachers and professors has My Europe Julia Fuentes Álvarez de Buergo IES Fortuny 4th Prize 6 acquired a great appreciation by the society over the years. Only the students with higher academic results are able to practice this profession which requires certain indispensable values.

I hope this information will help you to make a decision regarding your children´s education. I also wish to have them here to witness the improvements that the EU is doing to reach an ideal educational model conserving its motto: UNITED IN DIVERSITY.

Best regards. This is the European Union I once dreamt of when I was 15 years old.