SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE USA

SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE USA

Preschool Education

Preschool education programmes maintain a close

relationship with the home and parents,

and aim to give children useful experiences which will prepare them for elementary school.

The programmes are designed to help the children learn to get along with others, and form good work and play habits.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Most Americans really believe in public education.

They want their children to go to schools that are free and are open to all.

They want their children to make friends with everyone –

children of all races, from all kinds of families, with different talents and

different interests.

There is no great difference between city, suburban, and country schools

in the United States. Public schools teach

the same subjects in the same grades across the land.

Public schools do not teach religion.

Most school buildings look the same and have the same types of

rooms inside.

At public schools students wear what they want.

They often dress in bright colours and tennis shoes.

They sometimes invent new and interesting fashions.

SCHOOL SUBJECTS

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Only about 17 percent of American children are sent to

private schools.Most private schools accept only children

who are already doing well in school and are able to work

quietly.

Classes are often less crowded than classes in public

schools. This gives children a chance to learn more of what their teachers are trying to teach

them.

Children at many private schools wear special

school uniforms, all exactly the same.

Some parents choose private religious schools for their

children. These schools each belong to a

church. They give lessons about that religion. They give lessons in all the usual school

subjects as well.

TESTS AND MARKS

In the United States students take many tests each year. If students pass these tests, they go on

to the next grade where the work is harder. There is another special test that pupils take

every year in all the schools in America. It is a different test for each grade but the same for all students in the same grade. It shows what they

have learnt that year. It also shows which schools teach well.

Most American schools give the following marks:

A – 91-100 percent, B – 81-90 percent,

C – 80 percent, D – 65-70 percent, E – 50-64 percent,

F – below 50 percent.

In high school it is possible to take some classes without marks. Then the student gets a “P” for

“pass” and “F” for “fail”.

Students get report cards four times a year. One copy is sent to the parents and the school keeps

a copy.

Seventy-one percent of American students graduate from high school. Some students

don’t want to continue their education. When they leave school they will look for a job. 40

percent of high school students go on to college.

School uniform in the USA

Pros Cons Making everyone wear the same school uniform goes against our rights.

Schools with uniforms obtain better educational results. This is because there is better discipline and so the school setting makes learning easier.

Uniform is often not practical or pleasant to wear. Designs are often old-fashioned and ugly.

Uniform is a social leveler - it makes all the children at a school equal no matter what their family background or income.

Forcing children to wear uniform can ignore their religious and cultural needs

Uniform is usually cheaper than letting children choose what they will wear to school.

Wearing a school uniform is not good preparation for working. Only a few jobs require uniforms, and many of these are low-paid service jobs

Wearing a uniform helps to prepare students for the world of work, where uniforms are often worn.

Arguments about uniforms

During the 1990s state schools in the USA began to adopt

uniforms. Later, claims that introducing uniform leads to

better discipline and educational results encouraged

other school districts and schools to make a change. Both Clinton and Bush

administrations have been in favour of school uniforms.

Boys typically wear a collared shirt, tie, and slacks of

required colors.

Both sexes usually wear a sweater or blazer (or

both) when required by regulations or weather.

Some schools have unisex uniforms—

most often a distinctive shirt,

and sometimes pants of a given color.

The girls' uniform has become an iconic figure in Western culture. The hit 1998 music video for Britney Spears' first single, "

...Baby One More Time" featured Spears and a number of backup

dancers wearing a modified version of the Catholic school

uniform.