The system of secondary education in the United States is not at all similar to the Russian one. Not only the duration of training differs (12 versus our 11 years), but also pedagogical methods, curricula and much more. Understand what is school education in the United States.
Methods and programs
One state standard education in the US does not exist. The formation of the curriculum in the most general form (the list of basic disciplines, the dates of the beginning and end of the academic year) is carried out by the Council of Education under the state administration. At the same time, all the specifics, like teaching aids, volume and nature of the material taught, school employees determine independently.
This means that each educational institution freely dispose of the time of their students as they see fit. A variety of programs and teaching methods in American schools, on the one hand, makes it possible to choose an educational institution that meets the individual needs of the student. On the other hand, the breadth of choice greatly complicates the life of parents and, at times, only makes it difficult to find a place to study.
Type of ownership
School education in America is represented by 2 types of educational institutions: public and private schools. Most of the country's population studies in municipal institutions, since education is free for local residents. The government of the country is in charge of financing such institutions. Private schools, which cost a lot of money, are self-supporting.
For objective reasons, free public schools, as a rule, cannot boast of either a particularly high academic level or an advanced material and technical base. In this sense, the private sector has more opportunities, and the quality of education in them is usually better.
Students from overseas can study at both public and private schools in the United States. In both cases, you will have to pay for training - for non-citizens of the country in the States free education does not exist. Of course, the cost of education in a public school in the United States is much lower than in a private one. However, it should be borne in mind that American universities are more willing to take graduates of private boarding schools. A's from a public school won't make much of an impression on admission committee, in contrast to, say, "fours" earned in a prestigious private.
Structure
Secondary education in the United States has a 3-stage structure. At the age of 5-6 years, the child enters elementary school, where he studies until the 6th grade. The elementary school program usually includes several academic disciplines (arithmetic, reading, writing, basic sciences), as well as music, physical education and drawing.
From 11-12 years old, middle school begins. Students are required to study mathematics, English, history, natural sciences. In addition, each student is offered 2-3 elective subjects (foreign languages, art, etc.)
Even more freedom in terms of choosing subjects is given to the children by high school. From 9th to 12th grades (14-18 years old), students independently form their own curriculum, additional items become even more. As a rule, by this time, children already more or less imagine what they want to do in the future, and choose those disciplines, knowledge of which is necessary for entering a university.
Last 2 years of study at high school teenagers prepare for the final SAT test, based on the results of which college admission is made, and also, if desired, attend advanced courses in some of the subjects - Advanced Placement (AP). The AP program usually corresponds to the program of the first year of study at the university, so after admission, the university may count this course as already completed.
It is worth noting that the division into elementary, middle and high school is not conditional in the States. Unlike Russian schools, where both first-graders and graduates are under the same roof, in the United States, each age group is entitled to a separate educational institution- with own building, teaching staff and administration.
extracurricular activities
The goal of the secondary education system in the United States is to educate a versatile personality with an active life position. Therefore, in American schools, much attention is paid to extracurricular activities of the student.
Children spend a lot of time in an educational institution - and the point here is not at all the number of lessons.
The guys are actively involved in sports: physical education lessons, similar to those that take place in a Russian school, end with American schoolchildren in middle school. High school students do not have "phys-ry". Each high school student chooses the most interesting sport for him and goes in for it quite professionally. Fortunately, the technical equipment of educational institutions (gymnastics halls, courts, football and basketball fields) allows for training at the highest level.
In addition to sports, many interest clubs usually work on the basis of an American school: someone plays in the theater, another visits a debate club, and a third studies the basics of painting.
But homework in the States is given a little. At the same time, often, its implementation also requires the child to be present at school - the guys prepare reports and work on creative projects, sitting in the school library.
Progress control
In America, a letter grading system is used: A, B, C, D, F, where A is the equivalent of the Russian "five" and F is the "two". By the way, each of the ratings, except for F, can be accompanied by a + or - sign. Based on school grades, it is formed GPA GPA (grade point average). This indicator is usually required when entering a university.
Another important form of performance monitoring in the system school education in the US is a test. American children get acquainted with the annual testing procedure towards the end of elementary school. Test results affect how prestigious the next educational institution will be in a child's life. The better the student studied in middle school, the higher the class will be high school. The higher the scores in high school, the higher the GPA, which means more chances to get into a good college.
In addition, tests (which, by the way, are developed by the city or state board of education) are not only a way to assess the performance of students, but also a test of the effectiveness of the work of the educational institution's staff.
The system of secondary education in the United States is mainly aimed at preparing the child as effectively as possible for studying at the university. That is why studying at an American school is a great start for children from abroad who would like to get higher education in the States.
When in 1990 her parents told Sasha Zueva that she would have to go with them to the USA, she burst into tears: she really did not want to part with her classmates. Now Sasha, who recently turned 17, lives in New York, studies at a private American school and communicates with new friends. She comes to Russia only for summer holidays. On her last visit to Moscow, Sasha told the "i" correspondent how she lives and studies in America.
Seven years ago, my dad was offered a job in the USA, at UNISEF - the World Children's Fund.
I felt good in Moscow, besides, I did not know English. But let's go.
In August we flew to New York, and in September we had to go to school. My parents said that the American school was better than the Russian one at the embassy, because there I could learn the language.
And I was placed in a public American school not far from home. I ended up in a class where there is not a single Russian. For two weeks I sat in the classroom in silence - I did not understand anything. Then I was transferred to a lower class, there were three Russians. Parents decided that it was more important to understand the language than mathematics.
At first, I didn’t do any tasks: I just wrote out the words from the book and drew pictures for them. And for a whole year I went to a tutor who "set" me grammar. Gradually, I began to read and talk, and a year later I understood everything without difficulty and did my homework myself.
The school was not very strong - there were few good teachers. Almost all of the lessons we sat in the same class, and did not move from one room to another, as in Moscow. And the classes were taught by the same teacher. When we came to the class, we didn’t even know what the lesson would be - until, for example, she said: “Well, let's do math.” It’s good that we didn’t have to carry textbooks with us to school - we left them in our desks.
So I studied for two years - the fourth and fifth grades (at the same time I completed the sixth grade as an external student at the Russian school at the embassy).
The fifth grade was the last in this school, and my parents began to think about where I should study next. Our friends advised me to choose a private school.
There are three good private schools in our area. In one there were a lot of Russians, in the second there was a very developed atmosphere of competition. Both didn't work for me. I liked the third - Fieldston School, where they sent me. But to be honest, my parents were not very interested in my opinion, it's just that in this case our views coincided.
To transfer from a public school to a decent private one, you need to have good grades, a testimonial from the former school and also pass a test in English and mathematics. All this should be done in January-February, since the results are already announced in March.
They wanted to assign me to the 6th grade, but I protested - I was tired of being the oldest in the class. Then I was credited with the sixth grade of the embassy school and accepted into the seventh.
Fieldston School is an expensive school, but it has a fund from which some students are paid part of their education - based on exam results. And I would not say that only children of rich parents study there. The school has guys from absolutely terrible areas. Teachers try to make everyone friends so that social differences are not noticeable.
But all the same, the poor are friends with the poor, and the rich with the rich. I'm friends with mediocre people.
At first, I was a bit aloof. I was embarrassed that many schoolchildren live in their homes, and I live in an apartment. And when I went to school for the first time, I was very afraid that they would not accept me well. I thought there were only millionaires who only knew that they turned up their noses. But everyone was very friendly. I remember that during lunch I went into the dining room, and although I didn’t know anyone there, all the guys waved their hands at me: “Come to us!”
Later I learned that many schoolchildren - including the children of wealthy parents - earn extra money in restaurants, at firms - wherever they can.
The school was very big: 720 people! There are 100-120 people in each class, this is, in fact, something like a course or stream at a university.
Each student has his own schedule - depending on what you want to do. Therefore, in English, I sit with some guys, and, for example, in mathematics, with completely different ones. And every year the composition of the class and the teachers change.
In grades 7 and 8, it is necessary to go to mathematics, biology, and to physical education - as many as five times a week. In different quarters it was necessary to attend drawing, dancing, acting and ethics. And the choice could take two of the four languages - Spanish, Russian, French or Latin. I chose the last two.
For some reason, it seems to me that languages are taught in the USA rather poorly - Americans do not have a vital need to know a foreign language, because there are few countries nearby that speak other languages. The only popular foreign language in New York and generally in the USA - Spanish.
In my school in America, the older the class, the more freedom. If in the seventh and eighth grades there are almost no electives, then in the ninth grade you can choose, for example, between natural history and biology.
In the tenth, a choice of chemistry or physics is offered. And in the eleventh, I decided to study biology at the university level. Every school has these "advanced" courses - and the grade you get for them on the exam at school counts at the university as the current exam mark for the first or second year.
From the first to the last year of study at my school, there is always mathematics. And also English: it includes various courses in literature and history. For example, the entire tenth grade we studied American literature, and in the eleventh grade we chose between Japanese, Latin American, Russian and others. I took European literature of the twentieth century. I read (naturally, in English) one book each by five writers: Kafka, then another writer from Czechoslovakia - Kander; Flaubert, Camille, but I don't remember the fifth. Of course, I did not take Russian literature - why should I read Russian books in English?
At our school, classes last 50 minutes. Lessons start at 8:30 and end at 3:30 at the earliest. Studying, I must say, is stressful, but we often rest - in addition to holidays, there are also American national and Jewish holidays (there are many Jews at the Fieldston School, and if they do not go to school, then there is almost no one to spend classes with).
I also like that in America students are not called to the blackboard. Homework can also be omitted, but it will pop up on control work. It is very important for the teacher how you participate in class discussions.
At the end of the term, teachers write reviews about the students. They usually write about me: “Sasha is a quiet girl, she hardly participates in discussions” ... But they don’t ask me themselves - they don’t want to embarrass me: you never know, or maybe I don’t like performing?
In general, the atmosphere is democratic, although it cannot be said that there is no discipline at all. I remember how surprised I was when I went to the school cafeteria with the class for the first time. The class is built in two lines, the procession is led by the teacher. In front of the stairs, he commands like a general: "Stop!" - and everyone stops. Then he says: "Forward!" - and everything goes smoothly. And in Moscow, as soon as the bell rang for recess, we ran into the dining room like crazy, in a crowd.
And of course, students in America are never rude to teachers. And if during the control the teacher leaves the class, no one even thinks about cheating!
There are things that are strictly prohibited. Recently, two sixth-graders were expelled from our school, who, standing near the school, were smoking "weed". And two more students of the 11th grade who came stoned to the lesson. Now they will not receive a diploma - but this is a tragedy. But almost all the guys there smoke cigarettes - starting from the age of 12. It's even strange: children in America smoke, but adults don't. I don't smoke on principle.
My girlfriends and I (I have four of them - a Ukrainian, a Belarusian and two Americans) have fun in a different way. We visit each other, sometimes we go to Manhattan. Parents let us go - they know that we will not go to a dangerous place.
We often go to the cinema: cinema halls in America are better than in Russia, but the ticket is more expensive - 8 dollars. We dine in restaurants, go to discos. From there we take a taxi home. On public transport I don't like to ride, especially the subway - it's terrible in New York.
The school almost does not hold events that would make everyone friends. But the boys are still friends with the girls. And in our school, I noticed a strange phenomenon - boys in the twelfth grade often look after girls from the ninth grade. Everyone condemns this: it is clear what the big boy wants from the little girl.
Although in the US, as in Russia, boys lag behind girls in development. American boys are also less courageous than Russians, and even without initiative. They are waiting for the girls themselves to begin to show them signs of attention. And they provide. It is not customary to write love notes, but you can always show a person that you like him ...
As for me, I'm not up to my personal life now: this fall I'm going to the twelfth grade. And at the beginning of the last academic year, American students take a general exam - mathematics and English, and its results can be sent to universities (according to the rules, a student has the right to send them to 7 universities of his choice). You can also take tests in other subjects. I will see in which subjects I will have the best results and send them to the universities.
Along with the test results, you need to send an essay on a topic provided by the university. For example: "If you could meet one of three people - from the past, present or future - who would you choose and what would you talk about with him?" Or: "What do you think about the upcoming presidential elections?"
I don’t want to go to Harvard - I was there on an excursion, and I didn’t really like the students. Too smart and ambitious. But just in case, I’ll submit documents there - I want to work in Russia, so it’s better to graduate from a university that people in Russia have heard about.
At first I wanted to become a doctor. But then I realized that it is more interesting for me to work with people themselves, and not with their insides. My dream is to work as a psychiatrist in prison, to help people whom everyone has given up on.
In fact, I can change my mind a hundred times more: in US universities, you choose a specialization only in the third year. Or in general, all 4 years at the university, I can do mathematics, and then go to medical school.
I'm only seventeen years old. Let's see how life turns around.
Alexandra ZUEVA
Finishing high school is the responsibility of every US citizen. On this moment in the United States of America, 85% of the adult population has completed school. And only 15% either do not have a basic education at all, or have an incomplete one. In comparison with other developed countries, this is a very good indicator.
The average stage of American education covers the age from 6-7 to 17-18 years.
US school levels
elementary school
Education in elementary school for American children begins at 6-7 years of age. It all depends on the laws of the particular state or school the child goes to. For children who want and can go to school a year earlier, "zero grades" (KinderGarden) are provided. Here the child is prepared for classes, for communication with peers.
Elementary School teaches writing, reading, arithmetic, basics visual arts. There are music lessons, physical education.
The assignments are creative and interesting. For example, students may be asked to describe what they saw on the street while walking. It can be a flower, a park, some unusual tree or a house. This is how young children develop creative thinking.
The standard class size in elementary school is 25 people. One teacher works with them. Only classes in creative or sports subjects are taught by another person.
Middle school
Children aged 11-12 study here. In middle school, different teachers teach different subjects. At this stage, children are introduced to the liberality of American schooling. They can already choose the lessons they want to go to. Music, foreign language, fine arts and a number of other disciplines to choose from. However, at this stage there are still compulsory disciplines: mathematics, English, history, physical education. There is another subject called "science". Here, schoolchildren receive knowledge of their areas such as chemistry, biology, physics, geology, astronomy.
At this stage of education, children are divided into two streams. On one schoolchildren study, whose performance is at an average level. On the second - those who study perfectly. It is believed that the second stream is more honorable, since there children are given a greater load than in the first one, students learn the material better, they are more capable and smart.
High school (high school)
This is the last school stage in the life of an American child. It starts at the age of 14-15 and lasts for three years. The freedom to choose disciplines is increased here. As a rule, mathematics is required to study (it must be studied for at least two years), English (four years), natural sciences (three years). Exact disciplines may consist of branches of mathematics. Social subjects may include narrow areas of knowledge. For example, the history of a certain area or region of America in the 19th century, world history and so on. Each discipline is taught in different levels: from the basics to a fairly serious university level. As you can see, everything here is quite individual.
In high school, students are offered a large selection of electives. Depending on the interests, the student can attend, say, music, healthy lifestyle or business lessons. All of them are also divided into several areas.
Such a training scheme stimulates the activity of children. You will never see the same group of children attending the same elective in an American school. Students are constantly changing. Thus, a teenager grows up comprehensively developed, sociable, open to new people, knowledge.
A separate subject is such as physical education. More precisely, there is no such discipline at all. In US schools, children go in for a specific sport. It could be basketball, swimming, football or athletics.
In high school, students have semi-official names among teachers and in general the whole society, depending on the class in which they study. Ninth graders are called freshmens (newbie), tenth graders - sophomores (sophomore), eleventh graders - juniors (junior), then - seniors (senior).
Unlike the system familiar to us, when a graduate graduates from school and only then submits documents to a university, in the USA the system is different. There, a student already in grade 11-12 knows not only where he enters, but also the results of admission. While at school, he prepares and passes entrance exams to a university (SAT or ACT).
Classification of schools in the USA
public schools
Free high schools that are on public funding.
Public schools are subordinate to school districts (with the exception of the state of Maryland). It is an administrative-territorial unit of the United States. It is created by the government of a particular state and is a syndicate of legally independent organizations. In territory, the boundaries of school districts are identical to the boundaries of counties or towns. Overall, there are almost 15,000 school districts in the United States of America.
School districts regulate, in fact, all the rules for schools. This applies to training programs, rules of conduct, standards for entrance examinations, student assessments, and so on. All of these standards can be discussed and challenged by the school board. In turn, it includes the board of trustees, the board of education, the school committee. Including the parents of the children. The school board is elected by vote of the residents of the district.
The districts are above the entire system of Public Schools of America. They run elementary school, middle school and high school.
Private schools
A fairly popular type of school in the United States. Education in them, of course, paid.
For children with unique abilities, talent or gift in the United States of America, there are separate schools. However, getting there is difficult. The child needs to prove that he is better than his peers in any business. There are also schools for children with various disabilities: in particular, this applies to children with impaired hearing, vision, physical development.
An interesting fact is that twins or twins study in different classes. This (and many other things) forms independence.
We all have a different attitude to school - but I think most remember school years with love and gratitude, because the school largely determines our future. life path. In Russia, the day of the beginning of the academic year has become an official holiday - the Day of Knowledge. And how are children taught in different countries of the world, how do schools abroad differ from ours, Russian ones? These questions are of interest to many, especially those who have children. school age.
General information.
I became quite familiar with American “education” because my grandson is American by birth, lives in Houston, Texas, and in a year completes a full twelve-year school course. The United States does not have a unified national education system. Each state has its own standards of education. And while regulations are issued by both the federal and state governments, often in schools located just a few kilometers from each other, but reporting to different school districts, programs can differ. Local schools are managed by the Councils of Educational Districts, something like our RONO (district departments public education). Secondary education in all states is compulsory, although there are some differences, in some places they study from seven to nineteen, in others from six to eighteen, elementary school can be five or four years. Children go to public schools - Public schools - where they live, outside their school district You can only go to private schools. Every child, regardless of nationality, religion, gender, physical condition, English proficiency, free complete secondary education is guaranteed. Even if you came to the US with a child of school age on a visitor visa for 3-6 months and brought him to the nearest school, he will be accepted without any problems.
The US public school system is three-stage and includes elementary school, middle school - Middle school and high school - High school. Sometimes the middle and higher are combined under the general name High school, but are still divided into two levels - grades 6,7 and 8 are Junior (junior), and grades 9-12 are Senior (senior) High school, with separate buildings. Schoolchildren here are called students - Student.
In elementary schools in Houston - Elementary school - they study from the age of six, from grades 1 to 5. There is also a preparatory, or zero class, which is called preschool. It can be both at school and in kindergarten. Classes are usually led by one teacher, but often there is also an assistant teacher. Sometimes, especially in grades 4-5, some subjects are taught by other teachers. The number of students in classes in the state of Texas cannot be more than 24 people. This rule applies to all schools. The number of elementary schools is much larger than schools of other levels, because they are relatively small in number - 400-600 students, they are in almost every residential neighborhood (community, neighborhood).
In middle schools, they study for three years, from grades 6 to 8. Children aged 11-12 come to this school, graduates of several elementary ones. Here the lessons are taught by subject teachers. Most high schools offer the same set compulsory subjects Keywords: English, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, physical education. But the Boards of different school districts have different opinions about how many academic hours should be devoted to the study of these subjects. Physical education classes are already moving to the level of sports teams, students choose one kind of sport: American or European football, basketball, swimming, athletics, etc. There are no only classes in strength sports such as boxing and different types struggle.
The third, final, stage of training, " graduate School"- High school, grades 9-12, is more like a college than our usual school. In Houston, these are very large schools, sometimes with over 3,000 students. There are 3,500 students in the school next to us in the new residential microdistrict "Clean Lake" - "Clear Lake". There are about the same number of students in the school closest to our village, it consists of a complex of buildings, huge parking lots (many high school students drive cars themselves) and several stadiums - a whole campus.
Start and end time of the school year, as well as vacations, in different schools does not match. For example, the last academic year in many schools it began on August 18, and the last one - on the 24th, in some schools from the middle of the week, on August 13. There is no holiday, "Knowledge Day", about the beginning of the school year. A week before the start of classes, the school notifies all parents and invites them to a general meeting. It usually takes place in the gym, everything is very casual, businesslike. The director introduces the rules of conduct at the school and the responsibility of parents. Each student or his parents is given a sheet with the number of the student's personal locker - in order not to walk around the school with a backpack, everything must be left in the closet, only what is needed for this subject is taken to the lesson. Also, a schedule of lessons for the first week and a list of necessary stationery and study supplies are issued.
Lessons in schools start very early: in elementary at 8 am, and in Middle and High school at 7-30, the school bus starts to collect children at 6-15 or 6-30, at 7-00 they are already dropped off at the school. The teachers at this time are already in the classrooms, helping to deal with the material, if the student did not learn something in the previous lesson and will come for help. The duration of the academic year is 175 working days with a five-day week and 5-7 lessons daily. For weak students in one or two subjects, summer schools "Summer school" are assigned for 3 weeks, according to the results of the classes, a test is taken in them. And already the District Council decides whether to transfer the student to the next class or leave it for the second year.
Principals, teachers, and teacher assistants are hired by the district administration, which reports to the Board, which includes parents of students. The profession of a teacher in the United States is very prestigious and respected. Getting a job at a school is much more difficult than at a university. The country has a multi-stage (up to 24 categories) wage system school teacher. This or that stage is awarded depending on the level of professional qualifications, performance and length of service.
The salary of a novice young teacher with a bachelor's degree in different states ranges from $ 30 to $ 35 thousand per year, and an experienced, with experience, with a master's or doctoral degree (PHD) is about $ 60 thousand. There is a system of incentive bonuses based on the results of the year, for holding various competitions, olympiads, events, etc. The main advantage is in the very high level of social protection of the teacher, in medical insurance and pensions, which are paid by the state. Therefore, the average American teacher lives in his own house, has a good car and can afford vacations in resorts. School principals receive about twice as much, depending on the type of school and the number of students. Paid leave - 20 working days - is provided only to the headmaster. Teachers have vacation all the time summer holidays but unpaid. And during the school year, teachers can get 10 days of paid sick leave. During the summer holidays, teachers can improve their professional and educational level. Unfortunately in Lately schools are undergoing large reductions in the number of teachers, which will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in the quality of education and an increase in the number of students in the classes.
As in our schools, teachers in the United States write lesson plans - they are required, and once every four weeks they are submitted for review. Once a month, official meetings of the director and all teachers of the school are held - like we have teachers' councils, and once a month the director meets with each teacher individually for a conversation on various issues. The entire academic year is divided into two semesters and is divided into six-week periods. At the end of this period, points are given for each subject, (Texas has a 100-point grading system) and grade sheets are sent to parents. In the same place, the teacher notes what changes are in the study - improvement or deterioration.
Material support.
Approximately 88% of students study in US public schools, Public schools. They are funded by federal, state and municipal budgets. The state annually spends 7.5% of GDP on education, the education of one student costs about $8,500.
12% of children study in private schools, the material base of which is formed at the expense of parental contributions, various funds and donations. Four out of five private schools are religious, run by a church (Catholic, Protestant, Baptist), synagogue or mosque. These schools, in addition to general subjects study the foundations of religion. Religious schools pay less than other private schools, discipline is stricter, and many parents find that the quality of education is better than public schools. Most private schools have a uniform dress code for students. In these schools, more attention is paid to aesthetic education, theatrical and musical groups are created, more various excursions are held,
The cost of education in various private schools is 12-13 thousand dollars per year, and may exceed $30 thousand. The family of my acquaintances pays 29 thousand for the education of two children in a private school - 13,000 for the 1st grade and 16,000 for the 5th. But in addition to this fee, there are many additional costs for all kinds of events. So a good education is not cheap. Schools in the United States do not have numbers, but are named either by location or by famous people, sometimes the name of the person who founded the school or sponsors it, for example, Cinco Ranch High School, or Barbara Jordan Elementary school.
The educational and material base of schools in Houston is admirable. Well-equipped natural science classrooms with laboratories where students perform a variety of work in chemistry, biology, physics, etc. Classrooms with single desks have a TV and a computer. In computer classes - high-speed Internet. The huge amount of multiplying equipment is surprising, since almost all assignments are given to students by teachers in a printed form. There are classes for music lessons, dance classes, theater studios, creative works applied arts, libraries. Almost all schools have student orchestras, musical groups and choirs, drama studios that perform in front of a wide audience. Each school has gyms, sometimes several - separately for gymnastics, for group ball games, many schools have swimming pools and even gyms. And of course, large school grounds with playgrounds for younger children, with stadiums where there are basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, since sports in American schools are one of the main disciplines.
Once in one of the TV shows, in my opinion, on NTV, in response to the question: “What would you like to see our Russian school?” one of the participants in the program said that he would like her to have a level of education like in the UK, material support like in the USA, and teachers like they were in the days of the USSR. Of course, the level of knowledge is affected not only by material support, but, you see, it is easier for teachers to work, and for children to study in small classrooms, with good equipment and visual aids.
As for the nutrition of schoolchildren, it is organized much worse than in our country. In elementary and middle grades, many kids bring lunch boxes with them. There are canteens, or rather buffets, in schools, but they don’t cook food there, they bring it ready, then warm it up. The choice of food is very monotonous and the prices are much higher than in cafes outside the school. Usually it is 2-3 types, for example - a piece of pizza, or a chicken sandwich, or fish fingers, or chicken nuggets. And in small packaging cookies, crackers, chocolates. And a drink, most often iced tea, or bottled water. All sugary carbonated drinks such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola are banned in schools as unhealthy. Payment in the buffet goes through a computer device from the student's individual account. Parents each month transfer a certain amount to the child's account, where, in addition to the name, the class and identification number are indicated. You can, of course, pay in cash.
The grandson is now studying in the 11th grade of High school. Daily lunch costs him 5-6 dollars, but at the same time he remains half-starved, since for this amount he takes two slices of pizza and a drink, or a sandwich and tea. He tells us indignantly: “Why is everything so expensive at school? We take a large pizza from a pizzeria for 5-50, there are 8 pieces, they bring the same one to school, but they already sell it for $ 1.75 per piece! At the same time, the son recalls how tasty they cooked in the Soviet school cafeteria when he was studying, and a full meal cost only 35 kopecks!
Textbooks and notebooks.
What really surprises me in American schools is textbooks, or rather their sizes, and the absence of normal notebooks. The textbooks are so huge and heavy that there are two copies for each student, one is used in the classroom, and the other is given out for home. Imagine Volume Big Soviet Encyclopedia, or any large encyclopedic dictionary - and so, school textbooks for American schoolchildren are larger in size, and most importantly, due to the fact that they are printed on thick paper and hardcover, the weight of one book exceeds 2 kg, and some even 3 kg weigh (I weighed!). Try carrying them in your backpack daily! Issues textbooks school library free of charge, on the cover (as it was with us before) a sign is pasted, where every year the name of the student is written - the user of the book. At the end of the school year, the books are handed over, if it is in poor condition, you will have to pay the cost of the textbook. Incidentally, he is already the sixth user of his grandson's World History textbook, but the book is in excellent condition.
In elementary school, at least until grade 3, children hardly use textbooks at home. They receive all homework assignments either on leaflets in a printed form or in workbooks. These notebooks are of a large format, like magazines, and in most tasks, especially in lower grades, you just need to tick off the correct answer, as in a test. And no one requires accurate performance of tasks. Someone puts the sheets in a folder, and who, after checking by the teacher, crumpled, puts it in his backpack, then throws it away. Up to the senior classes, everyone is allowed to write with pencils, no one writes with fountain pens. Many schools do not require or teach cursive writing, only block letters.
discipline and order.
Schoolchildren, as well as all over the world, are not perfect, and may violate discipline, rules of conduct. But in the United States, parents, when determining a child for school, sign a document that clearly states how the student should behave, what measures of influence can be taken, and what kind of behavior the child is responsible for.
The teachers here are not disciplined. To do this, there is an office - the office, where 2-3 administrators on duty are constantly working. All data for each student in the computer. It would not occur to any student to dispute the mark with the teacher, as is often the case in our school, or to explain that "I did my homework, but I forgot it at home ...". No job - zero points. And that's it. At the lesson, they may not listen, doze off, talk quietly, but no one dares to be rude to the teacher, to argue with him. Cell phones are not allowed at school. And if there were the slightest violations of discipline, the phone rang, someone hit someone (God forbid!), Scolded - the teacher sends the violator to the office. Then the administrator or someone from the management is already dealing with it. At school with lower grades denunciation is encouraged - children report to the teacher about all the violations of their fellow students, this is not considered bad form. This then passes into adulthood - to report a neighbor to the relevant authorities if you see that something is wrong with him, for example, he bought an expensive car, but he himself does not work, or does not clean his front yard as it should be - a normal phenomenon. Vigilance is quite in the spirit of Stalin's time.
There is also a system of punishments for students. For a couple of minor sins, they can be sent to a "penalty class" - depriving them of the right to attend classes for two or three days. The student is at school, sits in a separate “penalty” class, has no right to leave without the knowledge of the teacher on duty, and independently performs the tasks given to him. Senior students may be deprived of lunch. When gross violations disciplines, or often repeated ones, can be excluded from school for one or two weeks, and no one cares how then he will make up for the missed time. In High school, the amount of material for each subject is calculated in credit hours, as in universities. If you didn’t get hours for the semester - it doesn’t matter, due to illness or for another reason, you will have to go to summer school, (Sammer school) for three weeks, or in the evenings to study this subject for two months three times a week. These classes are paid for by the parents. Usually for three weeks Summer school the fee is $ 200, and evening classes during the academic semester are cheaper - $ 100-150. Sometimes you have to travel to another school during the summer, as students who fall behind are drawn from all over the school district.
Violent offenders may be transferred to a special school. Sometimes it comes down to the police. There was such a case with the son of our friends, a student of the 7th grade. I don’t know what prompted him to do such an act, either he wanted to assert himself among his classmates, or he argued with someone, but during the break he rolled toilet paper in the toilet and set it on fire. And he quickly paid it off, but one of the "comrades" managed to inform the office. The police were immediately called and a case was opened. The parents were summoned to the judge - there were two options: either pay a fine of $ 280, or the guy worked for two weeks after school - for example, sweep the street near the school, collect garbage, cut the grass on the lawn. Parents preferred to pay a fine, although, in my opinion, let him wave a broom. And if a student once got noticed by the police, then this record is stored in his personal file for 5 years!
Do not think that schoolchildren are all goodies, do not fight, do not smoke, etc. But not at school, everything is outside its territory. The grandson recently said that two boys started fighting in the school yard, high school students ran up and ordered to quickly leave the limits, otherwise there would be no end of trouble. Fights are not uncommon, especially since almost half of the students with hot Mexican blood, but go to fight, fight away from school. It's no secret that teenage drug use is a big problem in the US, and high schools routinely test students if there's a suspicion... but that's not the topic of my article.
Now more about each level of schools.
Elementary School.
Children come to the first grade after preparatory, already knowing letters and numbers. The set of subjects in elementary school is somewhat similar to ours: they study native language- reading and writing, mathematics, basic sciences - Science, approximately like our natural history, drawing, music and physical education. Some schools have computer literacy lessons. There are no literature or reading lessons like we have. In the classroom, there are various small books on the shelf, the teacher says - whoever wants, let him take and read. Poems are not taught by heart. There is no calligraphy in most public schools either, they write all the time in pencil and block letters. No one pays attention to the handwriting and neatness of the work done. And there are no ordinary notebooks either, as I already mentioned. The teacher gives all homework assignments printed on sheets of 4 formats. This teaching method surprises me - why translate so much paper, if everything can be asked from the textbook?
The volume of mathematical knowledge is far behind in terms of the level of our schools, the multiplication table is taught only in the 3rd grade. But there are tasks for memorizing the correct spelling of words - they call this "spelling" (spelling bee), i.e. you need to quickly spell the word, or write it down when the teacher pronounces it like that.
In “science” lessons, children are often asked to prepare some kind of “project” on their own: write a short story with drawings, pictures on a large sheet of drawing paper and then tell it in class. Topics can be about solar system, stars, animals, professions, etc. On some days, about once a week, students in grades 1-3 are allowed to bring one favorite toy with them, they also need to be told about it in class. In general, a lot of attention is paid to the fact that the child overcomes shyness and learns to speak in front of the class. Health days are often held in elementary school, competitions are held at the school stadium, and there are many excursions to museums, the zoo, and the suburbs. At the end of the school year, tests are held, and according to their results, some children can be transferred to a class for especially gifted, with enhanced teaching of one or another subject.
About three years ago, for several months, I helped a young mother from St. Petersburg look after her son, who was then in the 3rd grade. Mom left for work very early, and I took him to school, and after school I met him in the school lobby, because children cannot go to elementary school without adult accompaniment, especially in grades 1-4. Parents must notify the administration how the child will be delivered to school. If the distance from home is more than a mile, then the school bus picks up and transports the children. Parents or accompanying persons may bring. But the administration must know personally the person who leads the student, so they immediately introduced me, wrote down my data. Grade 5 students can come by bike themselves if the house is close to the school. There are special places for bicycles.
In elementary school, parents are very Active participation in various extracurricular activities. I had to attend such events several times. The festival was very interesting at the end of February, I don’t remember what it was dedicated to. He passed on Saturday. An entertainment town with inflatable attractions was installed in the school yard, various sweets were sold on stalls, sausages were fried on a huge grill and hot dogs were cooked, contests and competitions were held. Music was playing.. I was surprised by the commercial orientation of the event - everything was paid. Children at the entrance bought coupons for 20 cents each for a certain amount - how much cash the child had. Then these coupons were used to pay for rides, sweets, drinks, etc. For example, jumping on a trampoline cost 5 coupons, shooting at a shooting range - 4, a drink also cost a certain number of coupons. And in the large hall, an exhibition and sale of children's works was launched - there were aprons, pot holders, embroidered napkins, appliqués, drawings, plates and flower pots painted by children, photo frames. Most of the children were with their father and mother, so there were no less parents than children, and everyone had fun and joy.
Middle school - Middle school.
In Middle school, from grades 6 to 8, all the same subjects remain mandatory as in elementary school. Mathematics becomes more complicated, but is not divided into algebra and geometry, as in our school, this is approximately the level of 4-6 grades. I watched the 8th grade Middle school test - fractional numbers, exponentiation, coordinate system, area of figures. There are no such subjects as physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, geography, and even more so drawing. There is a subject "science" (science), which is taught by one teacher - in one textbook general information in physics, chemistry, botany and zoology. Added as a social science, US history, with elements of geography. These are the main items. Students who do well in all these subjects can choose an additional foreign language, theater, playing musical instruments, singing, etc. Thanks to this, almost every school has its own brass band and choir, they perform both at school and city events, for example, during matches in stadiums. Most secondary schools have special classes for gifted children - gifted and talented, studying according to a complicated program.
High School - the senior level of high school.
The last step of the American compulsory education- High School is one of the most important and crucial moments in the life of American schoolchildren, where the final process of personality formation takes place. Pupils, or as they are called here, students, have the right to choose the subjects that they will need in their further studies, but there is a certain minimum that is mandatory for everyone. Accounting for the volume of subjects is in credit hours, as in college. There are specialized High Schools, for example, a school of arts or a school with a mathematical bias, where applicants are accepted after the relevant exams, regardless of place of residence.
High School, of course, are also different, some are better, others are worse. Sometimes parents change their place of residence in order to arrange their child in a good school.
My grandson is lucky, he lives in an area with a very good school - Cinco Ranch High School, which ranks 3rd in the ranking of schools in Greater Houston, and is among the best schools in Texas and the USA. Geographically, this is the Katy Independent School District. Katy is a satellite city of Houston, a prestigious area populated mainly by employees of oil companies, i.e. the middle class is quite high level. That High schools are very large here can be seen from the following data: there are 38 elementary schools in Keti district, 16 middle schools, and only 6 High schools.
Cinco Ranch High School was built and opened in 1999. Its construction cost $37.5 million. The school is simply huge, with all its buildings covering 433,000 square feet or 40,200 square meters. Now it has 3,066 students, including 70% white, 13% Asian-Pacific, 12% Hispanic and 5% African American (data from the school's website).
The school stadium will not yield to the best city stadiums. There is an indoor pool with 6 lanes of 25 meters, excellent gyms. By the way, during the holidays, even summer holidays, students can come to the gym at any time during the day for independent training. Entrance to the school by special individual magnetic cards. An outsider cannot enter just like that. If parents go to talk with teachers, then you must first agree and obtain the appropriate permission from the office. The school has huge parking lots for cars, as almost half of the students in grades 11-12 arrive in their cars.
I'm not talking about equipping classrooms and computerization of the school! In addition to classrooms and classrooms, the school has a big library, a music studio, a dance class, rooms for orchestra rehearsals - there are several of them, and a small theater. The school has several websites on the Internet. Almost all teachers of basic subjects also have their own websites. Parents and students can find information and assignments on the subject there, if something is left unclear in the lesson, or classes are missed, as well as questions to prepare for the next test.
The volume of subjects for the High school course is as follows: natural sciences are studied for 3 years, including a year of chemistry, a year of biology and a year of physics. 3 years of mathematics: the first year is algebra, then geometry, the third year is algebra again - an introduction to analysis and mathematical analysis. And those who wish can take solid geometry and trigonometry in the 12th grade. Literature is studied for 4 years, and social sciences for 4 years: world geography, world history, state structure USA, Foundations of Democracy; and 2 years of physical education in any school team. For the academic year, 6 compulsory subjects are selected, for students at the same parallel, they may differ. And there are no cool teams like in our school. There is one group of students in mathematics, another in history, and a third in foreign language lessons. AND class teachers also no. There is a teacher, they call him chancellor, who is responsible for the entire parallel, something like our head teacher, they turn to him on all questions that arise, he talks with parents if necessary.
In the 9th grade, my grandson had such a set of subjects: American literature, physics and an introduction to chemistry, algebra, world geography, Spanish, physical education (swimming). In the 10th grade, he studied literature, geometry, biology, world history, computer (first semester), Spanish, and an interesting subject "Human Health". I decided to give up physical education for that year, I got tired of swimming, I didn’t choose anything else, I decided that I would get these hours in the 11th or 12th grade. In the second semester, instead of computer literacy, he took the subject of "oratory", they call "speech". In the 11th grade, instead of world history, there is the history of the United States, with a detailed examination of the Second World War. Instead of Spanish, the grandson took German as a second language. And, as expected, neither Spanish nor German really learned - foreign languages are taught as badly as in our schools. They have a very interesting subject in the 11th grade - Aquatic science - something like biology on aquatic organisms. Knowledge is tested by written surveys - quizzes - quiz and tests, there are no oral answers at the blackboard, as in our schools, at all. Sometimes teachers give the task to prepare something like an abstract, a small written assignment with illustrations, printed out on a computer. There is no benefit from such work, given the widespread use of the Internet.
The grading system is 100-point, but it also has letter designation: "A" - 100 - 90 points, "B" - 90 - 80 points, "C" - 80 - 70, "D" - 70 - 60, and below - the student is not certified.
At the end of each subject, all students are tested, which is checked by a computer, and the computer gives a grade. Attendance and grades earned during the course are also taken into account, so when there are many passes, and the student does not get a certain number of points, he will either have to study in the summer or retake the same course in the next academic year.
The school pays great attention to various extracurricular activities, students take an active part not only in sports, but in various clubs of interest, in circles, in the school council. Approximately once a month, various kinds of concerts and performances by school amateur groups are organized. Once I was at a performance - a musical, where about 70 students from different classes participated, attending a theater studio and a school choir. The performance was a success, and it was felt that the teachers had invested a lot of work to organize such an event.
Many high school students combine their studies at school with work - they get 2-3 hours a day, in the evenings or on weekends at McDonald's, in various pizzerias, in stores for laying out goods, as nannies. So, for the most part, High school graduates are usually already well prepared for adulthood.
Mothers are such mothers. It doesn't matter where we live, in Moscow or New York. We all want our children to be healthy and happy. It is fashionable to talk about the difference in mentalities and approaches to education and upbringing. Well, what really? Watching and learning from other people's experiences is always helpful. Ready to learn about school life on the other side of the Atlantic?
In contact with
Classmates
There is no September 1st
If we have been preparing for the First of September since the beginning of July, then in America this day generally goes unnoticed and no one is preparing for it. No flowers and bows, poems and gifts for teachers.
The school year in each state begins on different time. In one it may be as early as August, in the other closer to mid-September. Children just come to class and start learning without any solemn rulers. Like this: without excessive emotionality, rather pragmatically.
Grades and homework are not the main thing
All my friends in Russia study every day electronic diary their children and, after several bad grades, they rush to ask the teacher for his opinion on the reasons for the decline in academic performance.
In the US, moms aren't obsessed with daily grades and perfect homework. This is not an end in itself. It is more important that the child understands that it is necessary to work, that any effort aimed at achieving a result is valuable. Any.
Foreign languages are not taught in elementary grades
IN Russian schools now learn languages from the second grade. My eldest daughter changed two schools in Russia, and there was no option to learn any other language than English.
And in American public schools in primary school do not study languages in general. Only in high school The student can choose a foreign language of his choice. There is no such close attention to the study of languages in America, so most of the natives speak only English. Or learn Spanish, especially if you live on the West Coast. This is due to the proximity of Latin America.
Language courses and training in the United States are considered the lot of migrants. When applying for a school, they will be asked to pass a knowledge test. in English if the child was born in another country.
No one tries to skip gym
Few Russian children go in for serious sports within the walls of their school. Physical education is generally considered to be a secondary subject.
In America, there are serious sports sections right at school. They allow children to prove themselves in the most popular sports in the country. And if a girl chooses handball, and a boy chooses sports ballroom dancing, then no one will be surprised: self-expression is welcome in everything.
Being in a school team is not just cool, it is prestigious and very promising. There is always a chance that a scout (a sports club manager who is looking for young and promising athletes) will come to your team's final match and offer you an athletic scholarship to your dream college.
After-school clubs have serious sponsors
Now schools in Russia, like schools in America, offer a sufficient selection of circles for every taste. In the Moscow region, the average cost of eight lessons per month is from 2000 rubles, there are very few free clubs.
In America, children themselves decide which circle they will study in, and enroll in it on their own. The most popular sections have sponsors who allocate funds for staging musicals, creative and scientific projects. The clubs themselves are usually free, but parents can pay for outdoor activities, costumes, props.
Parents also receive certificates
In Russia, all the activities of the parent committee come down to the collection and distribution of funds for the needs of the class.
In the US, being a parent committee mom is very prestigious. Such mothers go to meetings in the administration, they know everything and everyone, they have weight in making decisions about the development of the school.
At the end of the year, the director will definitely thank the parent committee for the work done and, in front of the entire school staff, will present a diploma and other distinctions. Of course, mostly non-working mothers are included in such activities. But they carry out this kind of “social work” with incredible enthusiasm and dedication. In society, this is also perceived as work.
Temperature and cold do not exempt from lessons
In the US, a runny nose and cough is not considered a reason for missing classes. The doctor will see you if the child's temperature approaches 39 degrees. Everything else is rather a minor deviation from the norm.
