BERLIN — It's back-to-school time, and before you know it, the debate about if, how and why America's schools are “failing” will fire up again.

Despite all the doom and gloom, after a year studying in Europe, I have grown confident that the American approach to education is a model the rest of the world should seek to emulate.

Our system is supported by two major strengths: unrivaled resources at our universities and a reach-for-the-stars mentality that builds students up instead of tearing them down.

While European institutions of higher education benefit from a rich intellectual heritage that goes back centuries before our country even existed, many also have infrastructures that seem to have changed little since the days of Galileo.

A perfect example is the Humboldt University in Berlin, where registration is still done by hand, the Gutenberg-era copy machines rarely function, classrooms are overflowing and the buildings desperately need a makeover.

The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel recently ran an article deploring the state of Germany's universities, under the headline “Rotten at the Core.” Universities here don't even have the money to keep up with basic repairs, let alone begin massive building projects. Similar problems plague universities across Europe.

Compare that with American universities, with their never-ending construction projects, state-of-the art new buildings and low teacher-student ratios.

Of course, we pay for those resources, and we run the risk of making education unattainable for some. But it's also true that you get what you pay for, and in most European countries, university students pay nothing.

Then, there's the can-do spirit instilled in American students.

I'll always remember Ms. Curry telling my eighth-grade science class at Richardson's Westwood Junior High that if we'd “shoot for the stars,” we'd surely at least “land on the moon.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, such encouragement is rare.

In her book French Toast, Paris-based American journalist Harriet Welty Rochefort writes about the challenges of raising her sons in the French education system, recalling that a teacher once told her pre-kindergarten son he was a zero.

Based on my experience in Europe, that comes as no surprise. In general, teachers here are more like tough-as-nails football coaches than perky cheerleaders.

As a result of such a supportive system, Ms. Welty Rochefort said, she feels that American students are more confident about their futures than their European counterparts.

“Generally speaking, if you compare a French student and an American student, the French one probably knows more facts than the American,” explained Ms. Welty Rochefort, who teaches at the prestigious Paris Institute of Political Studies Institut des Sciences Politiques in Paris.

“But guess which of the two is self-confident and ready to go? The American,” she said.

The down-side, she warned, is that American students are sometimes not prepared to handle criticism.

“Life isn't just about patting people on the back,” explained Ms. Welty Rochefort. “People have to be able to accept that they have done substandard work.”

That sentiment was echoed by several European educators and employers, who praised American students' go-getter mentality but also pointed to a deficit in basic knowledge.

I was reminded of this when I introduced a visiting European friend to a principal at one of the Dallas area's most prestigious high schools. After learning that my friend was from Switzerland, the principal replied, “Oh, I have always wanted to visit Scandinavia!”

While our schools may not excel in geography, they are certainly not failing.

As we debate how to further improve our education system, we need to focus on our strengths: developing ambitious, confident and independent thinkers supported by top-of-the-line universities.

It never hurts to take a look at what folks elsewhere are doing, of course. (For example, the much-praised Scandinavian school systems could offer some ideas. In Sweden, students get to choose which high school they attend. A wide selection of specialized schools includes not only the traditional college preparatory tract but also vocational programs ranging from carpentry to flight school.)

And we should take a page from the European book and stop over-praising students who produce less-than-stellar work. We'd also be wise to back up students' can-do spirit with a stronger grasp of concrete facts.

Making sure principals know where Switzerland is might be a step in the right direction.

A German Academic Exchange Service Undergraduate Scholar, Dallas native Clayton M. McCleskey spent the past academic year studying at the Humboldt University in Berlin. This fall, he will be a senior at The George Washington University, majoring in international affairs. His e-mail address is cmccleskey@gmail.com.