AMERICAN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

 

    All schools are controlled by an elected local body known as the "school board” and by the city and state in which the school is located. Therefore there is quite a large difference between schools in different cities and states.
    The majority of all schools are public schools, i.e. publicly owned schools, financed by state or local governments. These schools are free. (Public schools in the USA never mean private schools as they do in England). Then there are also private schools which charge high tuition fees and this is why usually only children from rich families attend these schools. But nearly all private schools offer scholarships. Only those private schools which are financed by various religious groups or organizations are, however, much cheaper.
    All public schools are mixed schools (coeducational - for boys and girls), some private or church schools remain single-sex.
    School attendance is compulsory in the United States between 6 and 16 and the system of education is divided into pre-school and elementary, secondary and higher education.

    Almost all state schools are day-schools which have classes from Mondays to Fridays. The beginning of the school year vary in each state from mid-August to mid-September and the school year ends in May or June. At some schools the school year is usually divided into three terms - fall, spring, summer - similarly as at British schools, at other schools into quarters. After each term or quarter children get a report card which informs their parents about their results at school, and at the end of the school year they get a transcript. Marks in most US schools are:
 

PRE-SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

    Pre-school and elementary education includes nursery schools and kindergartens which are for children at the age of 4-6. Most of them are private. Many public schools have kindergartens attached, for the age group between 5 and 6. These kindergartens do not charge any money.
    Compulsory education starts at the age of 6. Both elementary and secondary education is comprehensive in the U.S.A. - it means that there is no selection for various types of schools (every schools learn the same subjects). Years are called "Grades" in the U.S.A. Elementary school lasts between 6 and 11 years of age. It is from the first till the fifth grade. The children at an elementary schools learn to read, write, do arithmetic, elementary science, history, geography, arts and crafts, physical education and music. The atmosphere at elementary schools is usually friendly. Teachers keep to the idea that children's happiness and interest are the two most important things.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

    Secondary education is based on the ideal of mass education with equal opportunity for all. Over 90 per cent of students continue in school until the age of 18. Secondary education is provided by Middle Schools (from 11 to 14 years of age - sixth, seventh and eighth grade) in the areas where they exist, or by High Schools which are often divided into Junior High School (at the age 11 to 14 - sixth to eighth grade) and Senior High School (at the age of 15 to 18 - ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade). Where the population is very big, Junior and Senior High schools can be separate institutions.
    In large towns or communities there may be a wide choice of secondary schools. In some places you may have the opportunity to attend a specialized schools, such as a school for science, a school for the performing arts or a high school for the navy, or to go to the central high school in the area. If a student chooses to remain at the central high school, he or she, again, may have an opportunity to choose among a variety of subjects from traditional ones such as English, modern languages, mathematics, science, history, geography, civics, physical education and from many elective subjects (European history, world political issues, Business education, Foreign languages, Music, Driver education, Health, Computer skills, home management, Black history...).
    Some schools may also offer different programs of study, some give an opportunity to choose a level of academic study which is known as a "track". The entrance to the most difficult programs or tracks, usually academic, depends upon what one would like to study in the future and upon one's marks which are also called in the USA "grades". If one has high grades and is interested in a certain field of study, one may enter the higher class, such as advanced biology or physics. On the other hand it is possible to study all subjects, but the level of instruction will not be as high. Students should take on average 17 subjects during their studies. Those who want to enter university should take over 20 subjects.
    High schools generally organize much activity outside the classroom, many of them have football, basketball and baseball teams, a group of cheerleaders, an orchestra, a choir or a jazz band, and various clubs and societies.
    High schools in the USA are comprehensive, coeducational secondary schools. The secondary school system does not include specialized vocational schools as in the Czech Republic, but some high schools may offer specialized courses or subjects, such as business, computer science, running a shop, or music and film appreciation.

QUALIFICATION

    The basic school leaving qualification after successful completion of a broad secondary school curriculum is High School Diploma given to students (18) by the individual school or local school district. After passing an examination General Education Diploma (GED) is awarded but it is very exceptional. There is no national school-leaving examination in the U.S.A. but there is a national examination used to help to select students for college or university entrance - the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) which is taken in English and Mathematics.

HIGHER EDUCATION

    Most universities and colleges offer courses of 4 years for undergraduates (the first-year student = Freshman, the second-year = Sophomore, the third-year = Junior, the fourth-year = Senior). Bachelor's Degree (Bachelor of Arts - B.A., Bachelor of Science - B.Sc.) is given to students after successful completion of four years' study. Some universities and post-graduate colleges award also Master's Degrees usually after other one to three years of study (Master of Arts - M.A., Master of Science - M.Sc.) and Doctoral Degrees after two to five years of study. Every university has its own curriculum. On the average, only about half of the bachelor degree students complete full four-year courses. Undergraduate students must select their "major ", the field in which they want to get their degree, plus a certain number of "electives" or one "minor" subject.
    The U.S.A. has both state universities funded by the individual states, and private universities (25%). The oldest and the most respected universities are usually private : Harvard (1636, Cambridge - near Boston, MA, founded by John Harvard, who was born in London and whose parents came from Stratford-upon-Avon in England), College of William and Mary (1693, Williamsburg, VA), Yale University (1701, New Haven, CT), University of Pennsylvania (1740, Philadelphia, PA), Princeton University (1746, Princeton, NJ), College of Columbia (1754, New York). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1861, Cambridge, MA) has acquired an outstanding reputation, too. On the West Coast, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) are held in high esteem, along with Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, near San Francisco. Harvard, Yale and Princeton - the best universities - form so-called "Ivy League".
    Tuition fees are rather high at American universities, especially at private ones, and federal loans are not very big. That is why a majority of the students take on part-time jobs.
    In addition, there exist special schools, courses or programmes, both for children and adults with special needs all over the country such as for the physically or developmentally disabled, for single mothers, for old people or for the people who just need a slower pace.
    Different amounts of money which each community can spend on education, and different sources of financing schools are reflected in the variety of schools, subjects or study programmes offered in the area, but basically it is possible to say that within the US educational system anyone can study anything at any age.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE USA

    Private does not mean better. But it means expensive. Public schools in the U.S.A. are paid for by money from everyone; private schools are not. Parents who send their children to private schools must pay for it.
    Parents may have enough money to pay for private school, but these schools do not have accept their children. Most private schools accept only children who are already doing well at school and are able to work quietly. Some take only boys or only girls. Classes are often quieter and less crowded than classes at public schools. This gives children a chance to learn more of what their teachers are trying to teach them.
    Public schools do not teach religion. So some parents choose private religious schools for their children. These schools each belong to a church. They give lessons about that religion. They give lesson in all the usual school subjects as well.
    Children at many private schools wear special school uniforms, all exactly the same. At public schools, students wear what they want. They often dress in bright colors and tennis shoes. They sometimes invent new and wonderful fashions.
    Only about 17 per cent of American children are sent to private 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.

AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

    If you meet a group of twelfth grade students they are all talking about one thing: what are they going to do next year? Some students don't want to go on with their education. When they leave school they will look for a job. Other students are thinking about colleges. They are each writing letters to three or four different colleges, and sending in forms.
    Colleges accept only those students who have done well at the high school. They want to meet these students before they decide to accept them. Colleges want to know why students have chosen them, and how they will pay for their college education.
    Students choose from about 2000 colleges in the U.S.A. Every school has its own special flavor. Top students may choose famous "'Ivy League" schools like Princeton, Harvard or Yale. They are the oldest colleges in the country - excellent, but very expensive. Other students choose large universities because they teach lots of different subjects. Some choose small religious colleges.
There are differences between colleges and the type of study programs they have. For example, many four-year "Liberal Arts" colleges are small and teach only the most important subjects for a general education. State universities are large. They teach many subjects and have some programs that Iast longer than four years. State universities are paid for by money from the state. Colleges are paid for privately, so students usually pay more to go there.
    Whether a student chooses a small college or a large university, the cost of higher education in the U.S.A. is rising every year. Many parents find it too expensive.
    Colleges and universities often have money for students who cannot pay, but it is not enough for everyone. Some students have part-time jobs while they are at the college. Studying and working at the same time can be very hard. But these students think it is worth all the hard work to get the college education that they want.

AMERICAN SCHOOL CEREMONIES

BLACKS AND WHITES AT AMERICAN SCHOOLS

    Can you imagine studying at a school where students design new sports shoes, drag police cars on top of the university or invent new musical instruments as part of their classes? And what is more, their T-shirts say: We are not gifted (nadaní), we are just smarter (chytřejší) than you…
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or just shortly called MIT is one of the numerous universities in the capital of American university education - Boston. But it is not just an ordinary university; this is a place where students study in classes what most of the college students would do for fun.
    Young people have many reasons to choose to study at this school. Boston is a fascinating city giving students access to every kind of social and cultural experience, not to mention the largest concentration of college students in the USA.
    There are 4,500 undergraduate and 5,5000 graduate students at MIT and the student body is very diverse. In fact, one-third of its students were born in other countries, as were three of ten professors who have won Nobel Prizes in physics, biology, economics and chemistry.
    Once students are admitted, which is not very easy since only about 24% of all of applicants are accepted for studies here, they can choose from a huge number of courses and programs. The word polytechnic is often used in relation to MIT referring to the great variety of subjects and sciences taught here. The school has the reputation of the best place for science: engineering, architecture and planning, management, humanities and social sciences. To mention just some other fields, arts, history, linguistics, literature, political science and economics are available here.
    Now, back to the fun part of studying at MIT. This college is really famous for its great support of independent research programs and practical applications. Did you know that the first microwave was produced here? One of the students, Ronald Demon, a keen basketball player designed a special kind of shoe that automatically adapts to the sports activity we are engaged in by changing the cushion of the sole. The invention was patented and added to the list of more than 1500 patents that originated at this school. The results of other creative work may vary from a new Internet software to a better mousetrap (past na myši). In one of the classes, the problem to be solved was how to drag a police car onto the top of a tall building. Another was how to measure the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge in Boston. The measurement was conducted in a special unit, called Smoot, named after one of the students whose physical proportions were taken and used to define the new unit.
    Despite all this, it is not a piece of cake to study and pass all the exams at this college. The classes are very difficult and students devote many hours to studying in campus libraries and labs. A traditional image of this school involves hyperactive and overbooked students who spend too much time with books and research and have no special social life and fun.
    Actually, one joke concerning MIT students illustrates it this way: "How many MIT students does it take to change a light bulb?" "Five. One student to design a nuclear powered bulb that never needs changing, one to find out how to power the rest of Boston using this bulb, two to install it, and one to write a computer program that controls the wall switch."