Téma: Education – UK, USA
Predmet: Angličtina
Zaslal(a): Help4U
United Kingdom, USA.
In these countries, there are 3 major types of schools: public, private and church. However, the system of them is completely different.
USA: the church schools are called religious/parochial schools and they are paid. There are also charter schools, which are public and free, but parents can choose the school, where their children will go. Now I would like to talk about levels of education and their length. The first school that children could attend between 3 and 4 years old is nursery school, which isn´t compulsory, so parents have to pay for it. Kindergarten between 5 and 6 years old is compulsory just in some states, but majority of children start with this type of school. At age of 6, all children must attend elementary school with 6 grades (In some states kindergarten is a part of elementary school.) The curriculum is different in each school, but it usually includes math, English and science. In some schools, children have to recite Pledge of Allegiance every morning before the start of their classes. During their classes, they are graded on a system of A-F, with A being the best. However, there is no E grade. At age of 12, pupils go to middle school for two years and they finished there the eighth grade. Students go to high school for 4 years and each year has its own name. First year students are called freshman, second year sophomores, then juniors and finally seniors in 18 years old. However, some schools allow children to leave school as young as 16. There are several types of high schools. High schools usually offer two types of programs – vocational programs, which train students for some future jobs like auto mechanic, beautician or hairdresser and specialized programs are focused on something – music, computers or business. In both types of high schools, students haven’t got oral examinations and most of test are in the form of quizzes, essays or projects. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is the most important test, which students take as juniors. It is four hour test, which quizzes student on critical thinking skills, writing and maths. It is an important part of entrance exams to college. The finish of high school is celebrated by graduation ceremony in which students dress in long gowns in colours of their alma mater, receive diplomas and toss their flat hats in the air. They also attend a dance called the prom. In 18 years old, students could get a job or go to college. They could also live school before graduation and they are called dropouts. If you decide to go to college, you have about 2,000 universities and colleges, which you could attend. There are private schools like Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton University or state universities with University of California, Berkley at the top. Students can receive Bachelor´s degree after 4 years or Master´s degree, when they continue for two more years. If they are really interested in studying they can keep going and earn their PhD or doctorate. Special group of 8 high-quality schools in US are called Ivy League schools (Harvard, Princeton).
British educational system: which is quite different from the American. The first school which children aged 3 or 4 can attend is nursery school. At the age of 5, they have to start attending primary school, which ca be state-funded or private. Both have follow national curriculum. Primary schools are divided into 2 cycles. First one is called infant school, which have to learn children basic skills like writing, reading and maths. The second one starts, when children are 7 years old and it is called junior school. It lasted for 4 years and there are more complex subjects like history, geography or science. Secondary school starts at age of 11 and ends at age of 16 (lasted 6 years). It is like American high school, but children are still called pupils. There are also 2 types of high schools: comprehensive with mixed ability or grammar with academic ability. They have to pass an exam called GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education, which consists of eight or nine exams in math, English, foreign language, science and humanities subjects. After secondary school, children can get a job or go to sixth form college for two more years, where they can pass GCE-Advanced level (General Certificate of Education Advanced level), which is necessary for university entrance. Pupils are marked from A to E, U means fail. If pupils don’t want to go to sixth form college, they also can choose a vocational education, where they take exams from practical subjects like mechanics or painting. After this school, pupils get a job and after GCEs, they usually go to university. Bachelor´s program for 3 or 4 years, but also Master´s programs are available in UK. However, most students have to pay for university and it is similar to US. Universities are subsidised by the government, but they also charge tuition fees. The most famous universities in UK are University of London, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool or York University.