USA/CZ STUDENT SURVEY

Before I left for the Czech Republic on Dec. 8th, I surveyed my five 8th grade classes.  I had about 90 USA students that participated. I had 10 questions that ranged from easy answer to minor thinking to some deeper questions.  I think a majority of my USA students took the survey seriously so the results for the USA students are on the left.               It took me my entire five hour plane ride from Seattle to New York (where I had a layover) to analyze and tally the results.  Let me just say, it wasn't easy!       Also before I left I had emailed the survey to Ms. Kubesova and made it applicable to the Czech students.  She had about 130 Czech students complete the survey.  (She had a couple other teachers give it to their classes as well, which is how the numbers were higher)       Just like my flight from Seattle to New York, it took me about 5-8 hours on my flight from Amsterdam to Seattle to tally the Czech responses.   The flight staff kept walking by me (since I was sitting on the aisle) and staring at me.  Finally one came up and asked me if I was a teacher because they  couldn't figure out what I was doing.  I responded that, "yes, I am a teacher and the grading never ends."  So true, so true.        Once I had the surveys tallied for both countries, I then had to create a chart to show off the results.  I am not super technologically savy so I apologize if this following chart is hard to read.         There is a spot for comments at the bottom.  I would love to hear your thoughts/comments on the survey results so feel free to send a comment :)       Enjoy.... USA	Czech
Place to Visit: USA     41%          Hawaii   14%          California  8%          Arizona 2%          Florida 2% Other responses:  Yellow Stone, Stevens Pass,                 Montana, North Dakota Europe    27%        Paris  8%        Italy 7%        Germany 4%        Other responses:  Hungary, Sweeden, Czech             Republic, Ireland, London Bahamas  5% Australia 3% Mexico  2% Other responses:            Chile, Russia, Space, Africa, China, Egypt, Canada      As you can see by the results that both students in the USA and the Czech Republic want to visit USA.  The second choice is visiting Europe	Place to Visit: USA     40%           New York 9%           Florida 3%           Las Vegas 2%           California 2% Other responses:  Seattle, Yellowstone, Alaska Europe    28%          France 9%          Switzerland 4%          Spain 4%          Sweden 2%          Scandinavia 2%         Other responses:  Czech Republic, Belgium,             Greece, Germany, Amsterdam, Ireland,              Finland, Rome, Norway, Slovakia Japan 1% Canda 1% Australia 1% Africa 1% New Zealand 1% Other responses:   Brazil, Egypt, China
Favorite Television Show: Reality TV  29% Glee  10% Tosh O. 5% Sponge Bob Square Pants 5% That 70’S Show  4% Bevis and Butthead 4% Pretty Little Liars 4% Smallville 3% Criminal Minds 3% Sports Center 3% Other responses  Degrassi, Community, South Park,  Pokeman, Big Bang Theory, Hawaii 5-0, Leverage, Futurama, SNL, Silenty Library, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Castle, 2 ½ Men, Drake and Josh, Desperate Housewives, Lie to Me, Prison Break, House This one was a tough one to analyze because almost every student in both the USA and the CZ like DIFFERENT television shows.  There was about 90 USA students surveyed and 130 Czech students.  The only thing in common is that they like some sort of television show.	Favorite Television Show: How I Met Your Mother 21% Particka (Whose Line is it Anyway) 12% Big Bang Theory 12% Friends 6% Simpsons 7% Kraus’s Talk Show 4% Comeback 4% Top Gear 4% House 4% Dr. Who 3% Survivor 3% Futurama 2% Fear Factor 2% Mentalist 2% Sama Doma 2% Hells Kitchen 2% America’s Got Talent 2% Other responses:  Married with Children, SNL, Family Guy, Czech’s Got Talent, Star Dance, Beevis and  Buthead, Red Dwarf, My Name is Earl, 2 ½ Men, Fringe
Jobs: Medical Field 19%         Vet 6%         Doctor 6%         Nurse 4%         PT 4% Arts  9%         Musician 5%         Interior Design 2%         Dancer 2%         Other responses:  Make-up artist,          photographer, author, cosmetology Sc       Sciences 12%        Engineer 6%        Astronaut 2% Other responses:  pathologist, marine biologies,            astronomer Se        Service Industry  8%        Military 7%        Fire fighter        Food Industry 6% Other Responses:  Wedding cake designer, Starbucks, Baker, Chef, Food Tester           Computer/Tech  5%                   Graphic Design 2%                   Other responses:  IT, Microsoft Dental 2% Education 1% Again almost every student wants to be something different.  A major commonality is that many students want a job in the medical field.  The categories are actually quite close in percentages (obviously with a few minor differences)	Jobs: Medical Field 32%         Doctor 20%         Psychologist 7%         Dentist 4%         Vet 3%         Other responses:  PT, healer Lawyer 16% Arts 10%        Actress 2%        Journalist 2%        Artist 2%        Other responses:  theater, dancer, designer,            musician Sciences 6%        Biologist 2%        Other responses:  astomonmy, pathologist,            scientist, theoretical physicist Education 5% Services 4% Business 4% Computer 3%
Do on the Weekend: Friends  52% Be outside 11% Sports 10% Sleep 10% Computer 5% Family 3% TV 2%       This category was actually a fairly easy one to tally.  Most USA students want to hang out with their friends.  In fact over 50% of the students said they want to hang out with their friends during the weekend.  Only 11% said they wanted to be outside doing something active.  If you tallied both "outdoors" and "sports" for USA students, about 21 percent of the students like to be active during the weekend.          The Czech students also like being with their friends (23% claimed) but an interesting lower percent said they like to be active outdoors (19%).  Having lived in both countries I know the students are busy during the school week (USA students with sports and CZ students with academics)  so they like to unwind during the weekends.	Do on the Weekend: Friends 23% Sports 16% Relax 12% Sleeping 10% Partying 10% On computer 7% Reading 6% TV 3% Outdoors 3% Playing musical instruments 2% At the pub 2% Other responses:  Concerts, movies, theater, dancing, drawing, chess
Proud to Be an American: Freedom 60% Freedom of Religion 10% Our rights 10% Freedom of Speech 6% American food 5% English language 3% Education 3% Other responses: Traditions, military, no slavery, play sports, family, lifestyle, law enforcement, McD’s, constitution, can be own self, no terrorism, music, everything       This category was interesting to look at.  Out of 90 USA students about about 45 actually answered this question.  How is it that they can tell you what they like to do on the weekend or what their favorite TV show is, but they can't think deeply to comment on why they are proud to be an American.  When asked the superficial questions, more USA students answered the survey questions, but when asked to think more deeply they avoided the question.  Most USA students commented that "freedom" was what they were proud of, but I am not confident that if asked to explain what that means, they could.     There was no surprise in the CZ students' responses.  People of the Czech Republic are very proud of their beer and that is passed down from generation to generation.  Tied for second was history and hockey.  Czechs are very patriotic for their culture and hockey is a big part of that so no wonder it came in the same for 2nd.	Proud to Be a Czech Beer 34% Hockey 13% History 13% Nothing 8% Czech language 5% Food 4% Nature 4% Beautiful Girls 3% Prague 2% Scientists 2% Everything 2% Sports 2% Other responses: Memories, folk songs, wine, anthem
What would you Change about America Economic problems.  22% Taxes 12% Fast food 10% Homelessness 8% Racism 8% No alcohol in stores 4% Getting into foreign conflicts 4% Drive at a younger age 4% Obesisty 4% War 4% Other responses: Gas prices, health care, technology, time school starts, smoking, stress, over population, laziness, crime, drugs When analyzing the data, USA students would change the economic issues which is understandable since we are in an economic depression.  I thought it was interesting that some students reflected that Americans eat too much fast food.  Of course some students were not able to think critically and responded that America should change the start of school.  Hmmm...     Czech students would change all the corruption in the government and with the politicians.  It is a well known issue in the Czech Republic.  They have only been a Democracy for 21 years so they still have some issues to deal with concerning their political internal structure.	What would you change about Czech Republic Government/Politicians 49% Nothing 11% Be more friendly 5% Corruption 4% Education system 4% Near the sea 3% Other responses:  Image, criminals, larger mountains, homelessness, economy, legal system, health care, envious behavior, color of flag, soccer   team, more fast food
Hero: Family Member 30% Super hero 24% Sports Player 10% Military 5% Historical Figure 2% Teacher 1% This category disappointed me the most.  I was very happy to see that a family member ranked the highest as a personal hero.  I believe "mom" and "dad" scored about evenly so no playing favorites there :).         What disappointed me was that in both countries "Super heroes" ranked high on the personal hero scale.  For USA, 24% of the students ranked a super hero as their personal hero and 35% of Czech students ranked a super hero or fictional TV/Movie character as their hero.      There are just so many profoundly inspirational people, either historic or real life, out there and I personally find them more as a role model that some fictional super hero..but I digress...I didn't fill out the survey and shouldn't insert my opinion...just saying...	Hero: Family Member 25% TV/Movie Character 20% Super Hero 15% Actor 10% Sports Player 10% Historical Figure 8% Musician 5% Self 4% Nobody 1% Doctor 1% Preacher 1%
Musician: Eminem 13% Lil Wayne 10% Justin Bieber 6% Slash 4% Mac Miller 4% Bruno Mars 4% Avril Lavigne 4% Taylor Swift 3% Nikki Minaj 3% Other responses: Sean Adams, Keith Urban, T-Pain, Kings of Leon, Foster the People, Michael Blube, John Mayer, BW, Adele, Cold Play, Gorillaz, Rhianna, Pink, Amberlin, Rodney Akins, Gym Class Heroes, The Fray, Peter Gabriel, Tech 9, Hollywood Undead, 30 Sec to Mars, The Glitch Mob, LMFAO, Lady Gaga, Toby Keith, Papa Roach, Beetoven, Psycho Stick, Mackie More HA...I think I am completely dating myself with this category because honestly I don't know who most of these musicians are.  Of course the 90 USA students each liked a different musician as well as 130 Czech students each liked a different musician.  It was really hard to tally. At least there were SOME commonalities so I could gather some percentages.	Musician: Michael Jackson 7% Lincoln Park 6% Simple Plan 3% Ozzy Osborne 3% Ray Charles 3% Tomas Klus 3% Avril Lavigne 3% Bon Jovi 2% Nickleback 2% Freddie Mercury 2% Beattles 2% Rhianna 2% Smack 2% Bob Marley 2% Gerard Way 2% Eminem 2% Black Eyed Peas 2% Bruno Mars 2% Adele 2% Other Responses: Jan Cukor, Armstrong, Pitbull, Kabat, David Gueta, Elton John, KoKo, Slipknot, Guns N Roses, Astonautilis, Evanencese, One Republic, Czech Folk Music, Elvis, System of the Down, Lizzie Devine, Alice Cooper, Bryan Adams, the Game, One Direction, AC DC, Muse, Taylor Swift, Bowie, Public Enemy, ABBA, Pink, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lennon, Shakira, Nick Jonas
Athlete:         David Beckham 12%         Lebron James 4%         Payton Manning 4%         Eli Manning 4%         Kobe Bryant 4% Other Responses:  Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Travis Rice, Marcus Truant, Freddy Montero, John Brockman, Adrian Peterson, Ichiro, David Rice, Tim Teebow, Sue Bird, Hope Solo, Josh Hamilton, Devon Williams, Randy Johnson, Reggie Bush, Brenden Smith, Ashley Penny, Ray Rice, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Usain Bolt, Dan Hardy, Tom Brady,  Drew Brees, Michelle Kwan, Lauren Jackson, Aaron Rogers, Shawn White For this category, just read what I wrote for the past category.  I didn't know who most of the people were.  I started to categorize them by sport, since 90% of the students each liked a DIFFERENT athlete but after awhile I got tired of doing that so left it as it was.	Athlete:       Usain Bolt 43%       Roman Sebrle 13%       Barbara Spotakova 9%       Martina Sabikova 7%       Jan Zelesny 4%       Jana Komrskova 4% Other Responses: Petr Cech, Stephan Holmes, Jet Li, Jagr, Messi, Evgena Kanaeva, Kobe Bryant, Valenta
Movie Comedy 28%       Step Brothers 8%       Hangover 4%       Anger Management 3% Drama 18% Action 15% Avatar 4% Animated 9%       Tangled 3% Horror 5%       Paranormal Activity 4% Kids/Family 5% Fantasy 4%       Harry Potter 3% Sci Fi 4% True Story 4% This category took me the LONGEST to tally.  Like the athlete and musician category everyone likes a different movie.  There was NO WAY I was going to list every single movie so luckily I have seen all the movies that the students chose so I put them into sub categories.  There seemed to be the same categories for both countries, even though the movies within those sub categories were different.  There was some similarities though.  Both countries liked Avatar and Harry Potter :)	Movie Drama 40%       Forrest Gump 5%       Twilight 5%       Love Actually 4% Action 27%       Lord of Rings 5%       Inception 4%       Sherlock Holmes 3%       Avatar 3% Comedy 11%       Friends with Benefits 2%       American Pie 2%       Scary Movie 2% Cult Classics 9%       Pulp Fiction 4%       Black Swan 2%       Inglorious Bastard 2% Family/Animated 5%       Simpsons 3% Fantasy 3%       Harry Potter 3% Sci Fi 1%       Stargate 1%
Subject in School Math 31% PE 25% Science 10% English 9% History 7% Art 6% Choir 3% Band 2% Spanish 2% Tech 2% Shop 1% Health 1% Having taught in both countries, it was great to see that no matter what country you live in, the education taught is very similar (as far as subject goes).             There is no major commonalities but a lot of differences.  A loose similarity is the favorite subjects are core classes and the least favorite classes are the electives.       Most USA students chose math as their favorite subject and only 9% of the USA students liked English whereas most Czech students chose learning a foreign language as their favorite subject, with English being their favorite.  More students in the USA liked PE (but maybe because we do more sports through school???) than Czech students.	Subject in School Foreign Language 27%       English 17%       French 5%       Spanish 3% Science  16% PE  14% Math  13% History  9% Czech  5% Art  5% Geography  3% Pyschology  2% Computer Science  2% Music  1%