Education in the U. S. – some facts American Studies Kirovsk Gymnasium Lidia A. Karavaeva
Levels of Education Kindergarten Elementary Middle Junior High School Higher Education (undergraduate – graduate)
All schools in the U. S. are English only despite the fact that in every school there are students who don’t speak English. Teachers are not allowed to talk to them in their native language, which is usually Spanish Academic year starts in the last week of August and continues till June. They have Fall, Winter, Spring break, as well as days-off on holidays. For example, for Thanksgiving students are off school for three-four days.
Paying for Education Private schools – fees paid by parents Public schools – free for everyone There are different ways to get financial aid when you’re getting your higher education. Most of the students take loans from the bank. By the age of 22, an average student will have at least $29. 500 debt (about 1 050 000 rubles)
Students have six months after they graduate before they must paying back their loan. This is one of the reasons why not everybody goes to the university Moreover, compared to Russian students, in general American students are more serious about their studies, because they are responsible for paying their loans
Click on the link below to watch “Honest University Commercial”
Some basic terms K-8, K-12, etc. – are general terms to describe grades. For etc example, if the school is K 5 -12 it means that there are students from 5 -12 th grade Common Core – educational standards, they vary from state to state Undergraduate – your first degree in higher education, usually three-four years
Master’s degree(or graduate school) – education that you can get after you get your bachelor’s degree SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test, a test for most college admissions (click the link to read more or see practice test) GRE – Graduate Record Examination – test required to be admitted to a graduate school TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language – test required for international students applying for any kind of education in the U. S.
Detention – a way of punishment, it requires the pupil to go to a designated area of the school during a specified time on a school day ELL – English language learner – an international student, who has to take English classes
Greek Life : Fraternities and Sororities Fraternity – an organization of male students Sorority - an organization of female students There are differences in how they choose who can join them (except for the fact that you pay a lot for that). Sorority girls have several rounds of competition, while frat guys usually choose their “brothers” in parties before the academic year. Stories about humiliating “tests” for new members are true.
Fraternity/Sorority students live on campus /very close to campus in houses, they usually wear the same type of t-shirts/sweaters with the name of their house, always Latin letters
Further readings: There are much more to discuss about the education in the U. S. Here are some resources for those interested: • Guide to the US Education System • Tour of an American High School – video • American High School - Movies vs. Reality – video • CNN facts on School violence
References: CNN: Average Student Loan Huffingtonpost: Best Education in the world – Finland US Department of Education