
'One million babies' created by EU student exchanges - antr
http://yahoonewsdigest-intl.tumblr.com/post/98180077267/one-million-babies-created-by-eu-student-exchanges
======
Jun8
Media is summarizing a 220+ page report of analysis of Erasmus' impact to "1M
babies!".

Here's a site with a better summary ([http://europa.eu/rapid/press-
release_IP-14-1025_en.htm](http://europa.eu/rapid/press-
release_IP-14-1025_en.htm)) where you can download the PDF of the report. The
executive summary contains some interesting facts.

~~~
pslam
Indeed. The media report is an odd spin, considering the headline of the EU
report is:

"Erasmus Impact Study confirms EU student exchange scheme boosts employability
and job mobility"

The part about "1 million babies" is buried several paragraphs in as random
statistic, but the author turns the entire story over and runs with that as
the lead.

I think the submission should be changed to the EU report, as it's far more
informative than the blog re-write, and has less of a smelly spin to it.

~~~
yurylifshits
On the other hand, without "1M babies" headline this link would be less likely
to appear on Hacker News )

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AndrewOMartin
There's a reason the Erasmus program (through which I've met some really great
people) is often known by the students as "Orgasmus".

All things considered, this is one of those positive headlines we so rarely
see these days.

~~~
dominotw
what is so positive about spawning babies?

~~~
viraptor
Unless they're unwanted and accidental - what isn't positive about spawning
babies? Specifically in the context of people leaving their own country to
discover other cultures. It shows how easy it is to just be great humans
together, without artificial segregation based on country boundaries.

~~~
drivingmenuts
> what isn't positive about spawning babies?

Overpopulation.

~~~
guard-of-terra
Europe doesn't have this problem and the program doesn't concern Africa or
India where they have this problem.

------
rmc
That's a good way to reduce nationalism in Europe (which has sometimes led to
wars).

~~~
guard-of-terra
I doubt that Europe has much inter-Europe nationalism already. That is,
between different nations of Europe.

And I'm not sure this program affects nationalism between locals and
immigrants. It may do so, since a lot of university students are immigrants.
But on the other hand, it is also true if you study locally.

~~~
jkrems
If you think there's no inter-Europe nationalism I'm not sure where you live.
There's a bunch of it. In my environment (German) growing up it was mostly
about French, Polish, and a bit about British people. Sure, straight racism
mostly happened towards e.g. Turkish immigrants but that's where it stops.

~~~
cyphunk
racism toward Turkish is where it starts in Germany (even those 2nd or 3rd
generation born in Germany). Where it ends is the institutionalized
discriminatory education system [1]. But this mostly gets swiped under the rug
as even liberals in Germany have trouble accepting the problems.

1.en:
[http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/st...](http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/standing-
up-for-equality-germany-schools-english-20131024.pdf)

1.de:
[http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/gl...](http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/gleichberechtigung-
an-deutschen-schulen-fordern-20131025.pdf)

~~~
kghose
That pamphlet makes for some scary reading, but is this typical of all of
Germany? Perhaps some folks who are living in Germany can comment?

~~~
cyphunk
I live in Berlin, Germany's largest city and most liberal(?) city, which is
where the PDF is largely focused. The problem is that unlike a media-
hyperbolic society such as the US where meme's travel fast, Germany is a bit
more civil and people mostly mind their own business. This brings its own
benefits and problems. The problem being that most citizens believe the state
of discrimination to be what they have seen (as you will notice from many
comments of Germans here and other places). When in-fact in a meme based
society eventually stories of real discrimination would become more widely
understood.

When I talk to people here about the problem of discrimination in the
education system few believe it at first. A stalwart all people here hold is
that their education system is "great". The stats even for the general
population, not accounting for different classes or races, brings that into
stark question. Until you relay to them the stories then they start consider
it more closely. Then they may start to see that the Gymnasium system meant to
promote excellence is actually just a Cast system. Being that promotion to
Gymnasium is dependent on a letter from a students teacher. If nothing else
tacit discrimination a result of the natural psychology to favor the familiar
helps found unfair results.

Prior to the Information Era the Gymnasium / Hauptschule system had a function
as professional labor was highly valued. This is no longer the case and not
getting into a Gymnasium has stronger psychological effect than it would have
before. This system, for this era, is discriminatory at its base.

Consider The Pygmaliom Effect [1] (aka self-fulfilling prophesy) that proves
measured aptitude is dependent on confidence and attention within the
education system. Here in Germany you have a system that reaffirm the
predefined bias against immigrants and you don't give them attention so they
don't perform as well.

At least in Berlin, there is evidence that teachers and headmasters of
Gymnasiums are just blatantly racist. Consider the arguments some made against
Affirmative Action for Gymnasium enrollment in 2011 [2]:

    
    
        Headmasters have objected, saying this type of policy would be
        "a disservice" to poor children, that they would not be able
        to keep up academically. The headmasters have also expressed
        concerns that children of working-class families would not
        feel welcome at gymnasien. Wolfgang Harnischfeger, headmaster
        of a well-known Berlin gymnasium, has stated:
    
            It can be noticed in children as young as kindergarten
            students, that children take after their parents. They
            emulate their language, their way of dressing, their way
            of spending their free time. Kids from Neukölln [a poor
            neighbourhood] would not feel good about themselves if they
            had to attend a type of school that mainly serves students
            from social classes different from their own. They will
            not be able to integrate. Every field day, every school
            party will show that".
    
    

Effectively this headmaster is saying his school is racist so immigrants wont
feel comfortable. The situation is not going to get better. In 2011 Berlin
finally reformed their system requiring %30 of seats in Gymnasium be randomly
selected. From any angle you look at it, this measure is too little and
completely awkward. It doesn't address the ability of teachers to keep
qualified students out by not giving them a letter. It doesn't deal with the
structure in Gymnasiums that segregate children. It doesn't deal with the
problem that very early in your life you are told whether you are worth of
University or not.

I feel most Europeans want to protect their idea that whatever problems they
hear about in the US, that they don't have anything similar. It's convenient
and comfortable but absolutely blind.

1:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect#Rosenthal.E2....](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect#Rosenthal.E2.80.93Jacobson_study)

2:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnasium_%28Germany%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnasium_%28Germany%29)

------
cyphunk

        showed that 27 percent of people who took part had met
        their current life partner during their stay abroad. 
        Thirty-three percent of Erasmus students hooked up with 
        people of a different nationality than their own, 
        nearly three times the rate of students who had not 
        travelled.
    

Obviously to meet people of a different nationality you have greater chance
when leaving your own country. Next, there is probably something to meeting
their partner suitable for starting a family during a certain period of their
life that may coincide with Erasmus. So, not sure this statement or this part
of the study means anything at all.

------
chiph
The steam engine also did much to promote distant relationships and increase
genetic diversity. You were no longer limited to dating someone from the local
town or county -- in a few hours journey you could meet someone far away.

------
tehwalrus
Interesting point about the EU's actual argument - that Erasmus students are
more likely to be employed - is that (as I remember from _my_ (entirely
chaste) Erasmus summer, there was some competition for the places, and better
students (or students who were better at presenting themselves) won.

I predict that it is not Erasmus that creates jobs, but students who win
Erasmus places also win jobs that were already there.

------
mhandley
There's a slightly more balanced summary article about this report on the BBC:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29310930](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29310930)

------
OedipusRex
"Thirty-three percent of Erasmus students hooked up with people of a different
nationality than their own, nearly three times the rate of students who had
not travelled."

Hooked up is the scientific term now. But in reality it's just human nature to
want to couple up, combine that with the romantic notion of being in a
different country and you have a fairy tale.

