The system of education in the usa & the uk education in the usa

From America’s very beginnings education has been considered vital for the making of a distinctive American nation. ‘Americanize’ and ‘equalize’ have always been the basic aims of elementary and secondary education. Schools in the USA have served to integrate (‘Americanize’) the hundreds of various cultural and linguistic groups, religions, and social and political backgrounds represented by millions of immigrants. They have also been committed to the ideal equal opportunity in the democratic country, i.e. to the ideal of providing free public education and of educating as many Americans as possible to the best of their abilities. The belief that the future of society depends on the quality and quantity of its educated citizens is widely held, and education has been seen as a fundamental part of the American Dream.

Preschool Education

Preschooling is optional. There is a network of nursery schools and day-care centers where children are looked after while their parents are at work. In the US a kindergarten is usually the beginning of formal, state-controlled education. Most grade schools are kindergarten classes, where children (at the age of 5) attend for half a day.

Elementary and Secondary Education

Elementary education gives the basic knowledge about the world around and people who live in it. The pupils are taught to count, to read and write, to draw, to sing and to dance. Secondary schools are usually named high schools and their pupils are called students.

About 91% (about 43 million pupils) of American schools are free and public. Most of them are co-educational. The remaining 9% are fee-charging private schools. These schools are of three types:

1. schools for special children, i.e. physically handicapped, mentally retarded, or exceptionally bright children;

2. ‘prep schools’ and other, usually quite expensive schools, often providing students with intensive preparation for college;

3. the largest group, religious schools (usually called parochial schools)

Of the parochial schools, about 10% are maintained by Protestant and Jewish groups, about 90% by the Roman Catholic Church. The organization and curricula of private schools are similar to those of the public schools. The question whether private schools should receive public money is still hotly debated in the U.S., with substantial arguments for and against. In general, most Protestants and Jewish groups are against government aid to church school, citing the First Amendment to the Constitution, which demands the separation of church and state. Catholics, on the other hand, are in favour of such aid. They point out that: 1) Catholic parent with children at parochial schools pay tuition in addition to taxes supporting public education; 2) the parochial schools relieve the public schools of a heavy financial burden and educational responsibility; 3) the parochial schools meet state standards and provide a moral education rooted in American values.

The Supreme Court, however, has rejected state laws providing direct financial aid to parochial school as causing ‘excessive entanglement’ of church and state. But it has upheld indirect and limited government aid to parochial schools, such as bus transportation, school lunches, and secular textbooks.

American education comprises three levels: elementary, secondary and higher education. In most states schooling is compulsory from the age of 5 or 6 to 16 (except in Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, where it is compulsory to the age of 17 and in Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah where children must go to school until the age of 18). All lead to high school graduation at about 17 or 18. In making children of all social classes attend the same type of school as long as possible, the American high school shows best the egalitarian tendency of American education. It is a genuinely comprehensive school which mirrors the ideals of equal opportunity and equality of social status and serves, just like the elementary schools, as an integrating factor in the making of the nation.

Under the US Constitution the federal government has no power to make laws in the field of education. Thus, education remains primarily a function of the states. Each state has a Board of Education (usually 3 to 9 members elected by the public or appointed by the governor), not subject of federal control. State laws determine the age of compulsory education, the length of the school year, the way in which teachers shall be certified and many of the courses that must be taught.

All larger high schools offer an astounding variety of different programmes:

• the academic curriculum prepares children for college (the basic requirements for high school graduation are English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Computer science and a Foreign language, if students go on to college);

• commercial courses include typing, shorthand, bookkeeping;

• vocational programmes offer courses in auto mechanics, printing, agriculture, homemaking, cosmetology, marketing and sales skills.

The general pattern of education is 8 years of elementary school, followed by a 4-year high school (it is called 8-4 plan organization). It is followed by a 4-year college and professional schools. There are, however, some variations of this educational pattern. The 6-3-3 plan consists of a 6-year elementary school, a 3-year junior high school and a 3-year senior high school. Another variation is a 6-6 plan organization.

The junior high school is a sort of halfway between elementary and secondary school. It continues some elementary school subjects, but it also introduces courses in mathematics and science, and usually gives their students a chance to study a foreign language (French, Spanish or German). It usually comprises grades seven, eight and nine, though sometimes it is only seven and eight. The high school prepares young people either for work immediately after graduation or for more advanced study in a college or in university. Although there some technical, vocational and specialized high schools in the US the typical high school is comprehensive in nature. The subjects studied in elementary school are dealt with in greater detail and in more advanced form in high school. In addition one can specialize in Home Economics, Chemistry and physics, Music, Humanities, automobile mechanics, etc. high school students study 4-5 major subjects a year and classes in each of them meet for an hour a day five days a week. The US has the shortest school year in the world (an average of 180 days).

Like schools in Britain, those in the U.S. have always emphasized character building and ‘social skills’ through a lot of extra-curricula activities, including sports, student newspapers, radio stations, orchestras, bands, choir, etc. Students can also act as volunteers in hospitals and homes for the aged and do other public-service work. Such activities not only give pupils a chance to be together outside of normal classes, they also help develop a feeling of community spirit.