What lessons are taught in American schools? School education in the USA

In the last article we got acquainted with. This article will tell you about secondary education in the States. Namely, what documents are needed, what methods exist to get into such a school and much more, read below.

general information

The academic year in an American school is divided into two semesters. A school day can last up to 6 hours, including a lunch break, each lesson lasts 25 minutes (one module or block).

The school day lasts until 14:40, and begins differently for each school (more on this below).

A child can get to school either with the help of a free school bus or with a student brought by his parents.

Holidays such as Christmas or Easter, as well as summer holidays, children spend at home.

American schools pay enough attention to physical development, so students have the opportunity to additionally engage in swimming, basketball, tennis, golf, etc. Competitions between city and regional schools are required.

During the entire period of study, schools are required to host extensive cultural events and programs.

For an additional fee, there are “extended hours” where your child will be played educational games or helped with homework.

There are always police officers on duty at the school before the start of the school day and at the end. Additionally, in the mornings and at the end of the school day, school staff go to intersections and, as traffic controllers, help students cross the road.

Choose a school you can based on its rating, which is in the public domain, and is determined based on the students’ results at the end of school.

Documents for admission:

• Visa;
• Medical certificate in English (translated), as well as information about the last medical examination;
• Results of English testing and interviews;
• Some schools may also require a transcript or report card with grades for the last 1-3 years, as well as a recommendation from an English teacher.

Knowledge of English

Any student, upon admission to either a private or a municipal school, must pass an English language test. If a child does not speak the language well, he may be transferred to a preparatory class, in which such gaps will be actively made up.

Structure:

School curricula may differ from state to state because America does not have a uniform curriculum. By the way, all schools are located separately from each other.

After graduating from grades 9, 10, 11, the student has the right to go to a technical school, thus, in addition to general education program, the teenager already has the opportunity to obtain any specialty (designer, preschool teacher, electrical engineer, etc.)

• Zero grade (preschool kindergarten). Age 5-6 years.
• Primary School(Primery or Elementary School). Grades 1 to 5, ages 6-11 years. Lessons start at 08:40.

Before the start of the school year, all children take an IQ test. Based on this test, children are divided into several groups depending on their abilities. Upon reaching third grade, each child is tested annually. There are classes for children with better academic performance, where subjects are studied in more depth and vice versa. Until the fifth grade, children are allowed to move around the class, or even conduct a circle under open air, and then they ask you to write an essay about a leaf from a tree or a beetle on a tree. Actually, this approach is one of the differences between American schools.

Most subjects are taught by one teacher, except visual arts, music and physical education. As a rule, writing, reading, natural and social sciences, and arithmetic are studied.

• Averageschool(Middle School orJunior High). Grades 6 to 8, ages 11-12 to 14 years. Lessons start at 08:00.

By the fifth grade, all children sit at single desks, and lessons already look familiar to us. In American schools there are compulsory subjects(mathematics, English language, subjects of the scientific and natural cycle, physical education, social studies and art studies) and elective subjects (each school has different elective subjects, for example, journalism, theater arts, rhetoric). Each subject is taught by a separate teacher.

By the way, every year, children are distributed into new classes, so each next year, students are studying in a new team.

• High School. Classes from 9 to 12 grades, age from 15 to 18 years. Lessons start at 07:30.

Students are given even more freedom to choose what subjects to study. Thus, each student studies according to a program chosen by him. That is, total attendance is checked every morning, after which the students go to the required classes.

Also, high school students can choose additional subjects in an in-depth course.

But in order for a student to be awarded a certificate of completion, there is a certain list of subjects that he must learn and successfully pass.

By the way, in college, as you know, you have to pay for each course you take. But not everyone knows that some subjects studied in school can be the same in college. Therefore, a student can pass such additional subjects with excellent marks after graduating from school and no longer study them in college in the future.

Schoolchildren study on a 100-point scale, where points have letter values, namely:

How to get to school

There are three ways to enroll in an American school:

1. Private school.

Most private schools accept foreign students without any problems. In order to get into such a school, it is enough to contact the school yourself to find out all the details, or contact a private office (intermediary). The approximate cost per year can range from $10,000 (depending on the state and the school itself).

1. Exchange program.

Selection for such a program is usually carried out in several stages: a written exam, testing and an interview. In addition to language knowledge, adaptability is also taken into account during such a competition. After successful selection, the student is given the opportunity to live in an American family and study in a public school.

Publications about educational problems in our country evoked a lively response from readers. Along with comments and questions, the editors received requests to talk in detail about how the western school, from which, it seems, our officials are copying a plan for remaking Russian education. It would be nice to talk about the American school. American films have taught us the idea that American school education is terrible. However, everywhere and always there is good and bad. And if we’re going to talk about it, let’s talk about a positive experience. A long-time author of our magazine, Valerian Matveevich Khutoretsky, who has been living in America for many years, prepared a detailed article for Chemistry and Life about how a good public school in the USA is structured and operates. This year the twin granddaughters of Valerian Matveevich graduated from it, so the information is, as they say, first-hand. We hope that the article will be interesting and useful not only for teachers, but also for those who care about the fate of school education, that is, all our readers.

There is no need for illusions - in America there are a ton of schools where they re-teach how to read and calculate fractions in class, and girls get pregnant already in middle school. But this applies mainly to schools in large cities. Many of those who work in big cities try to live in neighboring small towns, where the quality of life is higher. We are not talking about an American school in general, but only about a good public school in a good suburban area. The middle class lives here, which includes licensed repairmen, small business owners, managers of various ranks, realtors, etc., and not only, as is commonly believed in Russia, doctors, lawyers and “programmers” of all kinds. Real estate (house and land) in places with good schools can be twice as expensive as housing that is the same in other respects, which serves as a barrier to the appearance of unwanted neighbors. Personally, I have never been able to understand what comes first - the increased price of real estate or the high level of the school, but they are undoubtedly connected. Note that good schools can be found in poor places, and bad schools can be found in rich ones. When choosing a place to live, smart people who have or are planning to have children look at the rating of the local school. And there are ratings for everything in the world.

What schools are there?

Schools in America are private (private; if boarding, then boarding) and state or public (public). In the 2009-2010 school year, 10% of the total number of US schoolchildren and preschoolers, or 5.5 million people, attended private schools and kindergartens. Some children do not attend school at all (home schooling) for some reason, for example for religious reasons or to finish school faster. Private schools provide a good education, but tuition fees start at $10,000 per year. The upper limit of payment is unknown, but 35 thousand is a real figure. Public ones are free.

Education at school is divided into three stages: primary (from the first to the fifth grades, with which there is a compulsory zero grade, kindergarten), middle (grades 6-8) and higher, and high school in America (grades 9-12) should not be confused with high school in Russia, where universities are called that way. If translated exactly, then high or secondary school is a “high” school, and higher, tertiary or post-secondary (college) is “higher”, and none of them is the highest. Let's call her eldest or something. Each of the schools of all three levels is a completely independent institution, usually in a separate building and with its own teaching staff. If in a town there is, in addition to one or two secondary and several elementary schools, also a high school, then it also has an education department (Board of Education), which determines what, how and with what textbooks to teach in this district. In another town the program will be slightly different.

A really good school has many dozens of different courses, many of them taught at the university level. The choice of foreign languages ​​is something like this: Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese, German, Italian. The dropout rate at a good school is essentially zero, while in New York City, only 76% of white students and 56% of black students graduate from public high school. New Jersey has an average public school dropout rate of 1.7%.

There are also special schools for children with disabilities - in both directions. They are attended by either especially gifted children (admission by competition!) or children who require special attention - blind, deaf, or severely retarded in development. Disabled children and children with mild behavioral and developmental disabilities attend normal schools; The twins are separated into different classes. There are specialized schools, for example, the Stuyvesant physics and mathematics school, which is abbreviated as Stuy, in Manhattan (analogous to Moscow schools No. 2, 57, 179).

The most expensive back-to-school purchase is a computer, which lasts at least four to six years and costs about $800. In a year, office supplies are spent at most $100. Lunch costs $2-4, but you can bring food from home. To receive a free lunch, you just need to submit an application. Because the " good school"in a good area" is a vague concept, let's put it this way: the US Department of Education has awarded Blue Ribbon awards to 74 of the 490 high schools in New Jersey. Thus, we can assume that the share of “good” schools is approximately 15%.

Teachers and budgets

Teachers belong to a trade union, their salaries increase with experience and do not depend on personal achievements. To work as a teacher, you need a certificate from the state; without this, you can generally teach a lesson only in the presence of a “real” teacher. Most states will recognize a certificate issued by another state. According to a survey by the National Association of Science Teachers, in 2007, about half of high schools and one-third of middle schools had a shortage of science teachers (here called "Science"). In difficult situations, they hire a subject specialist (chemist, physicist, etc.), and he attends certification courses in the evenings for a year, while teaching classes at school. When studying at a four-year college, you can take the appropriate set of disciplines and receive a diploma and teaching certificate. About a third of the courses should be related to school work, the rest - general education and scientific specialization (mathematics, chemistry, etc.).

There are also special teacher training colleges, where teachers are trained, most often for primary and high school. Not everything is always smooth with them; many of them are not accredited by anyone. How graduates of unaccredited colleges find work, I don’t know. Maybe they are the ones who produce teachers for “bad” schools in large cities and remote villages? All teachers at the school go to a two-day professional development conference once a year, and classes are suspended during this time. Another day or so a year, a teacher undergoes additional retraining, but then someone replaces him in the classroom. In a good school, ten percent of teachers have a doctorate (candidate of sciences), 73% have a master's degree. The teacher's workload is five lessons per day, 25 per week.

In theory, schools should be maintained by municipalities, and in a good place, 87% of the funds actually come from the local budget, and only 11% from the state budget and 2% from the federal budget. In a bad school (usually in a poor area), the picture is different: only 13% comes from the local budget, 74% from the state budget and 12% from the federal budget. average salary teachers (half earn more, the other half less) in a good school are 81 thousand a year, in a poor area - 59. The budget of a good high school with four hundred graduates, which will be discussed later, is almost 40 million dollars a year.

When the New Jersey government cut subsidies to good schools due to the crisis, residents of some districts with such schools voted for voluntary tax increases to maintain high standards of teaching. It should be noted that not all of these residents have children, but a good school increases the price of real estate in its area. My point is that they are not necessarily altruists, they also vote to preserve the value of the property they own, even if it means paying extra in the form of a slightly higher tax. Both state and national governments are much more interested in preventing bad schools from becoming terrible than they are in maintaining the standard of good schools.

Textbooks, schedule and electives

An American elementary school differs from a Russian one not only in the presence of air conditioning, which is found in almost all US institutions, and in the shuffling of classes every year. There is no strict discipline here in primary school: children are not prevented from walking around the class, they can study while sitting in a circle on the floor, some can read on their own. They are taken to a clearing near the school, and then asked to write something about what they saw: about a piece of bark in the grass, a worm or a beetle, etc. However, by the fifth grade, everyone is already sitting at single desks and the lessons have an almost familiar look to us. .

In high school there are no classes at all as permanent groups: students move to different groups for different subjects, some of which they choose themselves. Basic subjects, including those included in “Science” - biology, chemistry, physics and Earth sciences (geology, rocks and minerals, Earth's crust etc.) - remain mandatory. To have the right to choose a more complex program in a subject, you need to get an excellent grade in it in the previous year. From the 7th grade you can take an increased level of complexity in mathematics and English. In the 8th grade, the choice of subjects of an increased level of complexity is expanded and freedom is given to choose some optional subjects: cooking, for example, there are a lot of applicants, including boys.

In high school, over the course of four years, you must take three courses of more complex and varied (to choose from) “Science” and three courses in mathematics. In the 9th grade, science is “Fundamentals of Chemistry and Physics”, in the 10th grade - biology. At least one of scientific courses must have laboratory work, a good school - that's it. The choice is that you can either take courses of varying complexity (see below), or choose narrower subjects, that is, it could be ecology, not biology, astrophysics, not physics, etc. Mandatory in high school are four annual courses of English language and literature, physical education, social and historical sciences and at least one art course. In what order what to go through is a matter of taste, so it’s normal for tenth graders and 12th grade students to sit in the same class. Each year-long course taken is worth five credits. Some subjects are completed in one semester (2.5 credits). Another 15 credits (three annual courses) must be taken from many additional courses, but you can simply take one more course per year from the required ones. The amount by graduation must be at least 120 credits. University education is structured similarly: the total amount of credits and a list of compulsory disciplines, the rest is optional.

All students are called students - why not? But when you first hear about kindergarten students, you, of course, have fun. Each year of both high school and college has its own ordinal name: freshman - first year, sophomore - second, junior - third, senior - fourth.

School textbooks are published on thick paper and are richly and usefully illustrated, although this makes them very heavy. They are handed in at the end of the school year, since they are also expensive (more than $100 if you want your own copy), then they are passed on to another student. To solve the problem of heavy backpacks, many states have already introduced laptops that combine all textbooks, diaries and homework. Each student has a locker in the hallway, which is emptied at the end of the year.

School starts after the first Tuesday in September, Labor Day, and ends on June 24. The school year is divided into four quarters that do not involve holidays (the four Thanksgiving holidays in November, the Christmas holiday from December 24 to January 3, the second to last week of February, and the week in early April). Classes run five days a week. In high school, the day consists of eight lessons lasting 43 minutes. In four minutes between lessons, you need to have time to move to the desired subject room (the word “office” here means closet), and the school is long, because it only has two, rarely three, floors. So the traffic in the corridors after the bell is very, very busy. After the fourth lesson, 20 minutes are allotted for lunch.

At the end of the school year, each student makes a list of subjects, including their level of difficulty, that he wants to take for the next year. Since one of the eight lessons is physical education, these are seven subjects. So he puts together a program of seven courses and coordinates it with an advisor (see the chapter “Advisors”). The office arranges the schedules of all students and sends everyone a ready-made schedule for the next year. You can't change the teacher, whoever you get will be the one.

This schedule includes the room number where you will be staying all year. For example, the first lesson every day and all year will be physics (room 129), the second is always history (room 215), the third is geometry (room 117), etc. The exception is physical education, which is four days a week. Usually, double laboratory work is carried out at her expense once a week. Thus, five lessons per week are allocated for each subject.

Since there are no classes, then, in our understanding, there are no class teachers either. Each student is assigned to a Home Room, that is, a classroom. After the second lesson, the same teacher comes there for five minutes (therefore, the second break is five minutes longer), conducts a roll call and makes sure that all students listen to the current announcements on the radio; if necessary, he gives them educational materials or any forms that need to be filled out and then submitted to the office or nurse (a doctor’s certificate for participation in competitions, permission from parents for an excursion, etc.). If the teacher has nothing to add to the radio broadcast, then he dismisses the students for recess.

Typical lesson and homework

A typical lesson is a lively lecture. The teacher engages students in discussion of a topic proposed in advance or presented during the lesson. Those who want to raise their hand and speak, the teacher encourages, sharpens the questions. Participation in a discussion is not a survey; there are no oral tests of knowledge here. Some teachers do not evaluate it at all, others, especially in language and historical disciplines, taken into account at your own discretion. This form of “voluntary survey” is aimed at consolidating what has been learned and developing one’s own opinion, and not at maintaining fear: if they call you, they won’t call you. The lesson is often illustrated by showing slides through a projector from the teacher’s laptop, experiments and fragments of films in foreign languages.

Homework is all written and submitted in class or online - every day. You can be sick, grab a couple of days for the holiday (a note from your parents) - please, but homework must be submitted, and without delay, for all the days of absence. Occasionally, instead of, or even together with, homework, larger assignments - “projects” - occur. Usually they are humanitarian. For example, write a short play on French and perform it in class (and repeat it in parent meeting). Or organize a discussion “Are you for or against the co-education of boys and girls?”: one group of students collects arguments “for”, another group “against”, and the rest of the class judges. Often they are asked to create presentations (Power Point), for example, on the topic “Periodic Table”. Each represents the element assigned to it: position in the periodic table, properties, applications.

Team work is seen here as an important skill acquired in school, so both projects and class work are often carried out by two to four people. In computer science (fundamentals of computer science and computing), teamwork is the rule, not the exception. The task of the project there is stated in the very general view: write any application for iPhone or come up with a game. The guys themselves get together in groups of two or four and work together, sometimes all year long. If something doesn’t work out, they go ask questions to other groups, or the teacher tells them who to consult.

The total grade for the project varies among different teachers, but in general it remains at the level of a large test work. Everyone’s contribution to the project is usually not allocated, everyone gets an equal share. In addition to homework, there are tests (short, quiz, 5-20 minutes; more detailed, test, 40 minutes) and exams.

Grades and Difficulties

Exams appear at the end of middle school, and in high school they are held every six months. Cheating on exams and tests (but not cheating on homework, especially at the end of 12th grade!) is virtually unknown. In-school exams, which are compiled by teachers themselves, can be quite legitimately corrected if it turns out that the majority did not cope well with a particular task or the exam as a whole. Then scaling is carried out: those students who scored the highest percentage of correct solutions, say 95%, are given 100% credit, and the rest are given 5%.

The number of tasks or questions is measured in dozens; The time allotted for the exam is 90 minutes. Not all, but usually most of the tasks are tasks of choosing the correct solution from the proposed answers. There are no special days set aside to prepare for the exams, and the exams themselves take place four days in a row, or even two a day.

All grades are given in a letter system: A, B, C, D and F, with pluses and minuses added. For correctly solved 93% or more they give an A, 90-92% - an A with a minus, etc. Only 60% of correct answers (D-) will still be counted, but less is already an F (failed).

Grades are given at school, but they are not communicated in class, only to parents and the student. (Although many other cities in the country maintain a system of ranking students.) Now parents are simply given a password to a site with their child’s current grades.

Although other people's grades are unknown to those around them, closer to graduation, everyone's position in the educational hierarchy is not only known, but also accompanies the student's application for admission to the university. It is impersonal and represents the percentage of ten in terms of academic performance in which the student fell according to his average score: first ten, second ten. Getting into the top ten adds a diploma of “High Honors” to the certificate, in the second and third - “With Honors” (Honors). Each graduating class has the best student of the year (valedictorian), sometimes two, who are given the honor of making a speech to the graduates at the ceremony. Another category of awards consists of prizes from numerous scientific (Intel, Merck, Google, etc.) and artistic and humanitarian competitions and olympiads.

Submission of documents to universities ends on December 31, and by April 1, all universities send their decisions, and those accepted only need to ensure that they are not expelled from school before receiving a certificate. Therefore, in the second semester of the last, 12th grade, only enthusiasts or those who complete AP courses study (see below). The competition for admission to universities primarily takes into account the average score for the 10th-11th and the first semester of the 12th grade - the so-called GPA (Grade Point Average), which includes grades in all subjects except physical education and health, but including art subjects. Therefore, there are many people who want to improve it, and the main way to do this is no, not just to study well. To do this, you still need to increase the level of difficulty of the subjects you take.

Each subject in high school has four levels of difficulty. The names of these levels differ not only from state to state, but even from county to county. A fairly typical set: College Level or Advanced Placement (AP, AP); Accelerated or Honors; CPA or standard; and CPB or essential. The last two stand for “College Preparation” A and B. “A” means the usual, typical level, “B” is a little lower. In the certificate, these levels have different weights. If the maximum in CPA and CPB is estimated at 4 points, then the maximum in Accelerated (Honors) gives 4.33, and in AP - already 4.67 points. Selection for the Accelerated level is based on previous assessments; For AP, in addition, you must pass the entrance exam.

In addition to the assessment, many advanced courses have prerequisites: to take Advanced Algebra 2, you must pass Algebra 1, and to enroll in AP Physics or AP Statistics, you must complete Algebra 2, so your choice must be planned well in advance. To stay at the Accelerated level for the next year, an average score of B minus is enough, but in order to move from it to the AP level, you need to have an annual A, and occasionally they can take an A with a minus. AP is the highest level, corresponding to the first year of university. The first three AP courses (European history, biology, art) are allowed to be taken in the 10th grade, then more, and some courses are available only in the last grade.

The most prestigious universities will not seriously consider certificates with a GPA below 4.25, and this is unattainable without honors and AP courses. But most universities and colleges in the United States count a high school AP course as a course taken at the university. Many schoolchildren use this opportunity to obtain a bachelor's degree not in four years, but faster, which, given the rapidly growing tuition fees (recently about 10% per year), can save tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, taking a lot of AP courses is a plus when considering an application for admission to universities, and the competition for the most prestigious colleges exceeds ten people per place.

They say that there was a girl at school who was able to take 16 AP courses. My granddaughter's friend passed 14, but not with maximum grades, which lowered her main indicator - GPA. Unfortunately, she was not accepted into any of the prestigious universities she chose. The adviser (see below) got her into a university of a lower rank, where she initially did not apply, although for full support (full ride): she pays nothing for tuition or living expenses.

Private exams

Grade point average (GPA) is important for admission to universities, it is evidence of the quality of mastering school material, an indicator of stable interest in studying. After this, the second most important indicator is the results of exams conducted by private organizations. Their goal is to determine how ready a student is to continue studying in college, that is, to evaluate his abilities and work skills, and not the sum of his accumulated knowledge. For them, the school provides a place and teacher supervision on a free day.

These exams cost money and are only taken by college-bound students, but at a good school that's pretty much it. There are essentially two such exams: SAT (Sholastic Assessment Test) and ACT (American College Testing), although the more common SAT has additional varieties. You can take either or both of them and in any class. The SAT is administered by the same organization, the College Board, that tests and scores AP exams.

The regular SAT (there are also subject SATs or SAT II, ​​which assess knowledge in chemistry, physics, economics, language, etc.) consists of three parts, each of which has a maximum weight of 800 points: this is critical reading. , which includes testing the student’s ability to analyze texts, in particular, to compare two texts by different authors on a similar topic; writing - the ability to choose the right means to convey thoughts, in particular, in 25 minutes you need to write an essay, preferably five paragraphs with an introduction and conclusion; and basic mathematics. In addition to tasks for choosing from four possible options, the SAT also contains tasks that require a free-form answer, and the difficulty of the tasks varies. It's 3 hours and 45 minutes long, and time is rarely wasted.

Of course, testing agility using such a system is reminiscent of an exercise in solving speed problems and thus allows you to assess only the ability to solve problems that do not require deep thinking, but such problems, in fact, are to be solved in college. By the way, the ability to concentrate for four hours is also an important skill in college. This exam is good for ranking students for admission to decent, but not the most prestigious, universities. It is held many times a year, it can be retaken, however, since 2011 it costs 50 dollars (last year it was 25). In accordance with the future specialty, the university's SAT requirements vary depending on the specialty that the applicant has chosen: if you are a future artist, then you may not be interested in the mathematical section at all.

So, the graduate receives two important documents: a record of grades with GPA and SAT and/or ACT results. The third required component for admission success is recommendations, and the most important of these is the school reference. Guidance Counselors, who write this reference, play a prominent role in school life. They give students advice on behavior at school, choosing subjects for the year, changes in personal schedules, but, of course, their main job is admission to universities. Their task is to know the students, and there are 50-60 of them per advisor in the graduating class alone, so they distribute questionnaires to students, communicate with teachers about their students, and simply encourage them to come in more often. With the question “Why does my Vasya get a D in geometry?” You can go straight to the math teacher, but everything else goes to the counselor; there are no class teachers at school.

When applying for admission, social activities are taken into account - sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A system of recommendations is practiced from those places where the applicant has worked, as an employee or as a volunteer. Individual teachers, as well as extracurricular teachers and coaches of art, ballet, sports, religious schools, studios and clubs can give their recommendation - at the request of the student, of course. All recommendations are sent directly to admissions committee(Admission Office) of the university, the recommended one does not see them.

Almost all universities require several recommendations and two or three short essays on a free or given topic: from the standard “Why our university?” to exotic things like “How could you use the ability to write backwards?” These essays are not entrance exams (although they are practiced in some places); they are additional, in addition to recommendations, material for studying the personality of the applicant.

When selecting students, achievements in any type of activity, especially competitive ones, are valued. A future chemist who has a diploma from a laureate of a piano competition has an advantage in admission. Why? Because this diploma shows that a person can achieve something, win, and we will teach chemistry. Sports achievements are welcomed, but to varying degrees in different universities. In some, promising athletes are searched for, invited, and fully or partially exempted from tuition and living fees. In others this is a plus, but all other things being equal. A system of interviews (interviews) is widely practiced, which are often conducted by former graduates of this university who live or work near the applicant. There is another scheme: a representative of the admissions committee comes to places where there are many applicants and conducts interviews with them at one of the nearby schools.

At the end of the 11th (not the last!) grade, the student usually has a list of potential universities for admission, agreed with the adviser. It has three approximate gradations: at the limit of the possible, your own level and reserve, where it seems that you should definitely take it. Typically the list consists of 10-15 titles. More would be nice, since many 2011 graduates received one or two offers in response, some received nothing, but everything has a price: in 2011, each application cost $75, plus sending out SATs to every college beyond the first five - more fifteen (results will only be accepted from the organization that conducted the exam).

Colleges are chosen not only by the Internet or the very informative printed Fiske Guide to Colleges, which includes only the top 300, less than 10% of the total. On holidays and weekends, many parents with children travel around the country, attending open days in prospective places of future study, in order to see for themselves where the child will live, what to eat, what and how he will be taught.

Mathematicians, chemists, humanists

The problem with the American school is mathematics. Intimidated by her bogey, teachers introduced “connected math” in high schools, which “intelligibly,” that is, using ready-made formulas, teaches how to calculate the area of ​​a barn or the perimeter of a fence. Although high school would be a good time to hone your abilities abstract thinking. As a result, children develop not understanding, but fear of the very discipline that is designed to create a simplified, idealized image of complex phenomena in the natural sciences. If at home they understand what is happening and help the child, then you can go a year ahead: get an “excellent” in the seventh grade and in the eighth take a simple, but at least reasonable algebra 1 instead of Connected math. Rigorous mathematics appears only in geometry for 10 years. th grade or AP courses in mathematical analysis (Calculus).

The computer classes at the school are quite well equipped, but not luxurious. There are two of them in the mathematics department (for geometry and computer science) and two in the art department, where lessons in architecture and computer graphics and design are taught. Computer science classes teach the programming languages ​​Visual Basic and Java and relational databases.

Natural science subjects are taught at a quite decent level. Compulsory chemistry in high school is the Periodic Law, atomic structure, valency and bonds, molar ratios, expression of concentrations. Biochemistry is taught in a biology course and includes metabolic cycles, the structure of carbohydrates, proteins and DNA. A one-year AP chemistry course in high school includes gas laws, structure of crystals and solutions, acidity and basicity, redox reactions, structure of molecules (s- and p-bonds, hybridization, fundamentals of orbital theory, chirality, isomerism), equilibria, the Arrhenius equation and kinetics, principles of organic and analytical chemistry. Mastering such a course at school is serious work, however, the same applies to biology and physics courses.

IN laboratory work They use both simple instruments such as electronic scales, burners, pipettes, burettes, and the old reliable Spectronic 20 spectrophotometer, developed back in the late 50s and modified many times. If anyone remembers the Soviet SF-4, then the Spec is even more compact and simpler. The results are averaged: “one experience is no experience.”

However, the majority of school graduates choose humanities for their future: politics, business, art, psychology, languages, so the humanitarian component of American education is at a very high level. World literature, cinema and society, the Middle East, Russian history, macroeconomics, US government, six levels of Chinese, four levels of Spanish - these are just a few offhand examples of the humanities courses offered. From the early age Students learn the structure of not only the sentence, but also the entire essay. A school essay in high school in any subject consists of more than just an introduction, discussion and conclusion. The location, purpose and volume of each phrase in it are defined and reinforced by repeated practical repetition. In high school creative writing classes (there is an elective), children write one page of free text every day or a story once a week.

Although high school is only compulsory for two years foreign language, colleges usually require at least three years, and those intending to enroll are forced to follow this.

The children started learning French in the 6th grade (in elementary school they took Spanish quite to no avail), they know it well enough to easily read in the original “ The Little Prince» and ask about the road in Paris. The subjects of aesthetic education (painting, drawing, cinema, dancing, music, drama, etc.) are all right here, but we won’t talk about them in more detail. Working part-time in a movie theater in the summer, my granddaughter now doesn’t so much tear off ticket stubs or sell popcorn as she paints the glass of the entrance panel with scenes from new films - she was well taught drawing and painting, therefore.

Not just lessons

At the end of the school year, in elementary, and in some places in secondary schools, they organize a Strawberry Festival - a celebration in the schoolyard with many attractions, lotteries, competitions (what a squeal there is during a tug of war!), prizes, ice cream, hot Great Danes. At this time, strawberries actually ripen, but these days this has nothing to do with the holiday. The police take part in the general entertainment: they measure the speed of throwing a baseball with their radars. One of the teachers is sacrificed: they are seated over a transparent box with a target filled with water, and if someone hits the target, the hatch opens and... the victim has fun with everyone else - it’s hot.

In middle school and especially in high school, where there are no permanent study groups, social life separates children into groups, “cliques.” The school has a parent committee; parents are invited to almost all events, except discos. Entertainment does not overshadow studies, but creates a favorable background. School magazines publish literary works and drawings by students, usually from advanced homework assignments. The school library subscribes to 140 journals, including some scientific ones. In the halls and corridors there are exhibitions of schoolchildren's works, popular concerts of school orchestras, sports competitions with other towns, but the central event of the year is the production of a musical, which brings the whole school together; Even a basketball game between teachers and students does not attract such an influx of spectators.

As you know, dates in the USA begin with a month, so October 23 is celebrated as Mole Day (don’t forget - 6.02x1023, Avogadro’s number). On this day, pyrotechnic outrages are staged in chemistry, and the fire alarm in the school has to be turned off. The number pi is equal to 3.14 with kopecks, so March 14 is Pi Day, recommended by the US Congress for celebration throughout the country. Since the word “pie” sounds exactly the same, on this day pies are brought to mathematics, naturally in the shape of a circle, preferably homemade. There they are carefully cut, and then there is no more mathematics. Every student studying physics in high school must build a bridge (for a toy car) out of wooden toothpicks and PVA glue, 25 cm long and weighing no more than 60 grams. Then, in an atmosphere of general excitement, bridges that previously passed the qualification minimum strength are broken according to strict rules. For the strongest bridge, and good ones can withstand 50 or even 70 kg, they give an award, which is mentioned in the application for admission to college.

It's impossible not to admire the typical suburban school stadiums, with full-size football and baseball fields, tennis courts, running tracks, lighting and bleachers for hundreds of spectators. It is equally impossible to list all the clubs (circles): discussion, cinema, chess, philosophy, botanical, ethnic, etc., etc. To create a new club, it is enough to find a teacher who is ready to attend its meetings (this is included in duties of teachers), and, if necessary, collect or earn money for its operation. It’s not uncommon to see notices near schools like “We wash cars for $5 to raise funds for the fencing team.”

Children under 12 years of age are prohibited from being left alone - they can easily be deprived of parental rights, but from the age of 13 a child has the right to work, and many begin to earn extra money as tutors or looking after small children. It should be noted that the work of older schoolchildren is more the rule than the exception. This is also an opportunity to get acquainted with different sides of life (how do you like it - a month to groom the paths in national park in Alaska, then a week-long excursion around this state?), and a way to earn pocket money. Even millionaires don’t just give them away: it’s not pedagogical.

In religious and even sanctimonious America, both religion and the promotion of atheism are not allowed in public schools. In general, the district's interference in educational process- rarity. But here's an example: a provincial school district in Pennsylvania voted to introduce in school, in addition to evolutionary theory, also creationism (more precisely, the so-called intelligent design theory). The violent protest of educated teachers and parents led to the second “monkey trial” - a trial that had to be decided by the US Supreme Court in 2005.

But at school they teach a tolerant attitude towards various kinds of “otherness”, from race to sexual orientation. Asian children in a good school make up about 10-15 percent, African-American - about two. Racial tensions in a good school are usually not serious. At any rate, my granddaughters' friends include all races.

Motivation of schoolchildren

My smart granddaughter, back in the sixth grade, asked her Chinese friend, an excellent student: “Why bother for an A (A), what’s the difference if it’s an A with a minus?” “The difference will be in the college you can go to,” was the immediate answer.

There is internal motivation when a person cannot live without knowledge and understanding, even in conditions completely unsuitable for study, like Socrates, Lomonosov, our late contemporary, mathematician (and not only, he did a lot for biology) I.M. Gelfand. A similar, albeit not so large-scale, phenomenon is the students of special schools in Russia and America.

External motivation is, first of all, family attitudes and the desire to enter a more prestigious college. Teachers, peers, and friends also play a big role in the development of such motivation: “Who will you get along with…”. This is the external motivation that creates the environment in which students of good schools find themselves. A young, middle-income American family has a choice: buy (in installments, of course) a luxury home in an area with a mediocre school, or a modest house in an area with a good school. Those who choose the second option find themselves in a circle of like-minded neighbors: people who value the education of their children above personal convenience. In this environment there will be the best teachers who receive higher salaries in a good school and work in a normal human atmosphere, there will be peers who have been selected for motivation, if not internal, then at least under the pressure of their families. I don’t see much difference here with Russian good schools, lyceums, gymnasiums, etc.

There are plenty of people who don’t want to study everywhere, it’s a matter of the degree of reluctance. I don't have quantitative data. I’ll say this: in a good school, not everyone is eager for knowledge, but there is no such thing as someone trying to disrupt a lesson. When half wants to study, and the other does not know what she wants, then the study goes quite successfully. If half of the class actively does not want to do anything, then the few who want to learn have a hard time. It is difficult to expect a child to be highly motivated to study if he eats only once a day - at a free lunch at school, since his parents spend everything on drugs or drink. There are cities where children who receive a free lunch make up the vast majority, even if it is not their only meal of the day.

Conclusion with an afterword

I am only talking about my experience and am not trying to convince you that the American school is the best in the world. I started the story by saying that there are absolutely terrifying schools and there are probably no fewer of them than good ones. But I emphasize that next to my granddaughters’ school, there are some bad schools and schools of the same level as theirs. I visited them, talked to parents, read reviews about them, looked at their ratings. Ours is not exceptional.

The American school system is not perfect, but at its best it meets the needs of modern post-industrial American society. Essentially, the choice of training options in it is free only in one direction - where it is more difficult. Whatever is easier is a must. Although, perhaps, there is another choice: if you don’t want to study, don’t study (after your 16th birthday). Not all students can fully use the opportunities provided to them; they need a natural minimum of abilities and constant attention from, yes, “family and school.” The best American schools are good, but there is no system that provides equal opportunities for development for everyone. And where is it, or at least was it?

Having roughly finished these tales, I sat down to read “Chemistry and Life” for June 2011 and discovered the article “What to teach in chemistry lessons?” It seems to me that my notes are quite consistent with some of the thoughts expressed in it. The humanitarian bias in American school education has already led to the fact that specialists in computer and even some natural sciences and technologies have to be imported. This is easily feasible in the US due to higher wages and better work organization. Even in the future, Russia does not have such an opportunity to retain the remaining ones, so it needs a school education system that is self-sufficient, much more scientifically oriented than in the United States. After all, it is possible to retrain from a technician to a humanities specialist, but it is not possible to go the other way.

Khutoretsky M.V.
“Chemistry and Life” No. 10, 2011

The secondary education system 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. Let's figure out what school education is like in the USA.

Methods and programs

There is no single state education standard in the United States. The formation of the curriculum in its most general form (list of main disciplines, start and end dates of the school year) is carried out by the Education Council under the state administration. At the same time, all the specifics, like teaching aids The scope and nature of the material taught is determined by school employees independently.

This means that each educational institution is free to manage the time of its students as it sees fit. The 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 life for parents and, at times, only complicates the search for a place to study.

Type of ownership

School education in America it 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 finances such institutions. Private schools, where tuition costs a lot of money, are self-sufficient.

Due to objective reasons, free municipal schools, as a rule, cannot boast of either a particularly high academic level or an advanced material and technical base. Private ones have more opportunities in this sense, and the quality of education in them is usually better.

Students from abroad can study at either a public or private school 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 attending a public school in the United States is much lower than in a private one. However, it is worth keeping in mind that American universities are more willing to accept graduates of private boarding schools. “A’s” earned at a public school will not make much of an impression on the admissions committee, unlike, say, “B’s” earned at a prestigious private school.

Structure

Secondary education in the USA has a 3-level structure. At the age of 5-6 years the child enters primary school(elementary school), where he studies until the 6th grade. The primary school curriculum usually includes several academic subjects (arithmetic, reading, writing, basic science), as well as music, physical education and art.

Middle school begins at the age of 11-12. Students in mandatory study mathematics, English, history, natural Sciences. In addition, each student is offered 2-3 elective subjects (foreign languages, art, etc.)

High school provides children with even more freedom in terms of choosing subjects. From grades 9 to 12 (14 - 18 years old), students independently form their curriculum, additional items it gets even bigger. As a rule, by this time children already more or less have an idea of ​​what they want to do in the future, and choose those disciplines whose knowledge is necessary for entering a university.

During the last 2 years of high school, teenagers prepare for the final SAT test, based on the results of which they are admitted to college, and also, if desired, attend courses in in-depth study of some of the subjects - Advanced Placement (AP). The AP program typically matches the first year of college, so upon admission, the university may count the course as having already been completed.

It is worth noting that the division into elementary, middle and high school is not arbitrary in the States. Unlike Russian schools, where both first-graders and graduates are under one roof, in the USA each age group is given a separate educational institution- with its own building, teaching staff and administration.

Extracurricular activities

The goal of the secondary education system in the United States is to educate a well-rounded personality with an active life position. Therefore, in American schools a lot of attention is paid extracurricular activities student.

Children spend a lot of time in school - and it’s not about the number of lessons.

The boys are actively involved in sports: physical education lessons are similar to those held in Russian school, end for American students in middle school. For high school students, there is no such thing as “physics”. Each high school student chooses the sport that is most interesting to him and engages in it quite professionally. Fortunately, the technical equipment of educational institutions (gyms, courts, football and basketball fields) allows training to be carried out at the highest level.

In addition to sports, an American school usually hosts many interest clubs: someone plays in the theater, another attends a debate club, and a third studies the basics of painting.

And here homework in the States they ask little. At the same time, often its implementation also requires the child to be present at school - the children prepare reports and work on creative projects while 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 grades, except 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 upon admission to university.

Another important form of monitoring progress in the US school system is the test. American children become familiar with the annual testing procedure towards the end of elementary school. Test results influence how prestigious the next educational institution in a child's life will be. How better schoolboy studied in middle school, the higher class will be high school. The higher your high school scores, the higher your GPA, which means you have a better chance of getting 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 evaluate the performance of schoolchildren, but also test the effectiveness of the work of educational institution personnel.

The secondary education system in the United States is mainly aimed at preparing a child for university studies as effectively as possible. That is why studying at an American school is an excellent start for children from abroad who would like to receive higher education in the States.

Hello everyone, my dears! Are you bored? I haven’t written to you anything new for a long time, don’t be angry, I’ll improve. The fact is that I just arrived from Venice, and there, you know, there’s no time for articles, I wish I could get some sleep! 😉 Well, today we will talk about what an American school is and how they motivate students to study, what they are fed, and about the everyday life of children in school.

Today I will mainly write about elementary school, and as I receive information I will add about middle and high school. 🙂

American school - gradation

Schools are divided into:

• public;
• private.

At the same time, public schools are conditionally free. Conditionally - because the school tax is paid by every city resident every year, even if he does not have children. This makes it possible to attend school for free. Public schools can be very strong, contrary to popular belief that everything is bad there. Private schools are always paid (from $5 thousand to $20 thousand), and often have a religious bias.

How many classes are there in an American school?

• Elementary school - grades 1-5 (5-12 years);
• Middle school - grades 6-8 (12-14 years old);
• High school - grades 9-12 (14-17 years old).

All these schools are located in separate buildings, independent of each other. Some parents say that the doors at their school are locked, and you can only enter after you ring the bell and the secretary gives you a pass with your identification document. They also have metal detectors in every building. How is everything serious with them! 🙂 But at the school where my daughter studies, there are no metal detectors, our doors are open, you can come in, the secretary will issue a pass to the school (the reason for the visit is indicated in the register, for example, breakfast or lunch with the child).

Elementary school in the USA

Primary school in the USA differs from Russian school in that the subjects taught here are different teachers(at least it’s like that at our school).

Our items are:

1. Math (mathematics)
2. Language Arts (English)
3. Science (science) - essentially the initial level of chemistry
4. Social Studies (natural science, geography)
5. Art class (drawing)
6. Music class (music)
7. Physical Exercise or PE (physical education)

The elementary level of American education is more like a kindergarten than a school. Many subjects are taught in game form, and for correct answers they give goodies from the chest. 🙂 The lag of the American school curriculum from Russian mathematics - 1-2 years. However, in addition to the standard curriculum, they also study things that are not studied in Russia. Read what I like and dislike about American school.

Middle school

At this level, students have the opportunity to take a subject of their choice, and here the division into “lagging” and “advanced” classes begins.

High school

Here, students have more freedom in choosing their activities (or classes, as they are also called), but in order to receive a certificate, they must complete a certain plan. In addition to the requirements of the school, you need to take into account the requirements of your future university, because Universities usually like applicants with at least two years of foreign language classes (usually French, Spanish or German). That is, by the beginning of high school you should already have a rough idea of ​​where you will go after graduation.

American School - Grades

Many people probably know that an alternative to our Russian rating numbers are American letter ratings:

• 5 - A;
• 4 - B;
• 3 - C;
• 2 - D;
• 1 - F.

At our school, grades are also given in the form of %. For example, 100% is a grade A, that is, according to us, 5. And 60% is considered fail (not a pass). A statement of grades is issued once a month to parents and students for signature.

By the way, if in Russia a two is considered an unsatisfactory grade, then in the USA it can be either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Organization of the educational process

Students have all their school supplies and textbooks in their lockers right at school. At home, children carry only one folder (although ours is of impressive size), where tasks are placed on separate pieces of paper and information for parents. This is what the folder looks like:

If you want to tell the teacher something or ask something, you can also put a note in the folder. In addition, you can write an email to the teacher. Teachers respond to parents' letters in sufficient detail. Also, the teacher or nurse can put a note for the parents in the child's briefcase.

Children can go only to a school associated with the area of ​​residence (district). The school by your zip code or address can be found at greatschools.org. In addition, there you can see ratings, reviews about the school and racial composition. And another interesting site with ratings is schooldigger.com.

The academic year begins in August, around the 10th or 20th. Each school decides this individually. And sometimes classes begin, as in Russia, at the beginning of September. There are no lines in the USA, but some schools do Ice Cream Social, where children gather for an hour and are given ice cream. 🙂

The school day in the USA lasts up to 7.5 hours, i.e. children finish their studies around 15.00 - 15.30 (at our school classes run from 8-15 to 15-45). Lessons last up to 90 minutes. There are about 15-20 students in the class (there are 22 people in our class). A free bus takes them from and to school (it travels right through the area).

Absences (even due to illness) are highly undesirable and sometimes fraught with problems. For example, 18 unexcused absences - and you stay for a second year. We were intimidated that 3 unexcused absences - and you will receive a warning letter by mail, 5 absences - and you may even be summoned to court.

American school - discipline

In American schools, as a rule, no school uniform, some students in some schools even come in pajamas and slippers if they don’t have time to change. And no one tells them anything! 🙂 Our school only has the following requirements:

1. Shorts or skirts from the knee (or not below the line where the arm ends)
2. Closed shoulders (a T-shirt is fine, a tank top is not)
3. If you wear leggings, you need a long tunic or jacket to go with it

There are no requirements for hairstyles; you can walk around with your hair down. Some of our 5th grade girls even wear makeup (although the expression “war paint” would be more appropriate).

In schools here, no one runs, students must walk along special lines on the floor, and sometimes they are also told to keep their hands behind their backs. To be honest, when I saw them walking like that, I even felt sorry for them, they looked so much like prisoners! 😀

Any weapons, drugs (including soft ones) and alcohol are strictly prohibited (if anyone doubted 😛), there will be no warnings here, you will be immediately escorted out and you will be left without a diploma. I even have such an example. What this “example” will do with his life later is not clear. After all, the minimum education requirement when looking for any job is a High school diploma.

American School - breakfast and lunch

I would rate the food at school 3 out of 5. For breakfast we have donuts, cinnamon toast, pizza, muffins, yogurt, and cereal. Fruits include bananas, apples and pears; Drinks include chocolate milk, apple and orange juice. For lunch they give burgers, again pizza, sometimes mashed potatoes with chicken nuggets, vegetable salad, pita bread with vegetables and chicken. There are always several food options available, you can choose whatever you want. Our breakfasts are always free, lunches are $1.80 per day, but until two months later they are also free. You can pay for lunches online using a bank card. You can have breakfast and lunch with your child; for lunch with parents, there are separate tables in the dining room. This is what the dining room looks like:
After the child has eaten, he takes the garbage to the garbage containers, which is in the middle of the photo.

Well, after lunch the children always have a 30-minute rest outside. 🙂 There is a playground and swings for this purpose.

If you get hungry during class, you can easily munch on some goodies from the chest right in class. Yes, and you can lie down on the desk. Why not? 🙂

After school

When classes are over, the children are divided into two groups - car riders and bus riders, i.e. those who are picked up by their parents by car and those who will go by school bus. The teacher takes all car riders to one side of the school, where parents pick them up (parents place a card with the child's name on the windshield of the car, a school employee radios the child's name and he is taken outside). Bus riders go to the other side of the school, where they are put on a bus with a specific number.

After school there is an after-school program, which, by the way, is not a cheap pleasure. Sometimes the after-school program is one for several schools, or even all schools in the city. That is, all children are brought after classes to a specific school, from where their parents then pick them up.

Such a thing as cheerleading exists here in many educational institutions. Which schools in the US have cheerleading? Many, starting from high school, that is, theoretically, from the age of 12, children can dance for sports teams and their fans. And sometimes even from 5th grade. For example, we have already been invited several times, but we still can’t decide. 🙂

Approximate price of various classes at the school: chess - $50/month; football - $50/month; basketball - $70/month. At our school, volunteer teachers conduct free volleyball and choir classes.

American School - Holidays

Some schools have Halloween, some don't, and some schools have pajama parties instead of Halloween, where even the teachers come in their pajamas. 🙂

On Teacher's Day, students, as a rule, each bring a flower and then put all the flowers in a common vase. On the teacher's birthday, parents contribute money, just like in Russia. However, luxury gifts are not given here. Maximum flowers.

That's all I have for today. Oksana Bryant was with you, see you soon! 🙂

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