That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about broad "liberal arts" curricula that touch on a variety of subjects. In France, it would be very unusual for a math student in university to take classes on philosophy, literature, etc. (ok, maybe some easy English classes for practical reasons, but that's it)
Yes I of course agree that high school doesn't teach you everything you need to know about your topic of specialization. But a good high school education in advanced European countries is basically comparable to undergrad liberal arts/distribution requirements at average American universities.
BTW, NYU is not typical; it's an elite school. You can't compare your experience there to typical colleges in the US.
I know. There's a reason that I chose to attend college at a US university rather than in Europe.
The point of the liberal arts curriculum isn't, in my view, necessarily to give you a basic grounding in different areas. As you point out, a good high school education is typically sufficient to gain such a grounding (for example, any chemistry I know is from high school). Instead, what a good liberal arts education allows you to do is to explore specific disciplines outside your core specialization. These explorations are not necessarily to give you a general understanding of the field, but instead expose you to interesting ideas in alternative fields far beyond what you'd learn in high school. For example, I still don't know much about theater—but my class on comedies has given me some interesting ideas for how to incorporate humor into a bot I'm developing.
Distribution requirements are not comparable to a "good high school education" in Europe. That's grossly overvaluing the quality of European education and undervaluing American universities.
> BTW, NYU is not typical; it's an elite school. You can't compare your experience there to typical colleges in the US.
I'm aware. But the typical college experience in the US doesn't really include the liberal arts.
I went to New York University.
> Also, I did IB too, and anecdotally I think it's dramatically easier than the French high school diploma.
French exams are notorious for their grading. That doesn't mean the education actually includes greater depth. Anecdotally, my friends who went through the French education system have a keen appreciation for difficult exams but aren't any more knowledgeable than me.
I don't think you could convincingly argue that an IB-level of education isn't a "functioning" education system though.
After all, even in France you do in fact have higher education beyond high school.