What is school like in your country?

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by owenc

I actually wish our education system was like the USA education system then it would be easier to get a good job because its harder here.

That's why we chant we're number 1 because that's as high as most of can count here in the USofA.

[Mac15]

Ok that's fine. I just found it odd that a b would be considered bad, I think the previous boy just went to a high intellectual school or else everyone is competitive there because a b here is not a bad grade. A bad grade Is a d.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Many private schools here are religious. I attended private Catholic primary and secondary schools. Though, it is ingrained in the local culture. I grew up in a historically Catholic Irish and Polish area. When the city expanded in the 1920s to include the area I grew up in, they already had a well developed Catholic system, so there wasn't much need to have public schools there. And in Chicago, yeah, I'm glad I attended a private system. Much better quality.

Catholic school education is better than public(government) schools in some areas of the US and worse in others. Generally, they are less expensive than other private schools and they accept any student that meets their qualifications and can pay, regardless of religious background. I don't believe the non-Catholic students are required to take Catholic religious education now, but such was not the case when I was a child.

In some places, like New York City, most parents who can afford to will send their children to private schools, even though these tend, as already mentioned, to be expensive. This has generally been because the public schools that the child is assigned is not such a good one.

Parents, middle class and above, frequently choose a community in which to purchase a house dependent upon the quality of the public schools in the area.

In some neighborhoods, because the private and parochial schools are allowed to expel students who are disruptive or who don't make the grade, these students are then left to the public school system to deal with.

There is also the issue, in the states, of home schooling. Some states do not follow up on these home schooled children at all and some require regular reporting. Many children are home schooled by parents who are heavy religious fundamentalists and resent some things taught in regular science classes, like evolution. Not all, though.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by dunno what to put here

In the UK we have..

Nursery, Reception, Primary School and High School.

Primary school runs from Year 1 to Year 6 while High School runs from Year 7 to Year 11, and then after High School you can stay on for 'Sixth Form' which is Year 12 and Year 13 IIRC.

The law changed recently meaning that this years Year 11's have to stay in some form of education until they are 18, before you could automatically leave high school in Year 11 and go work without going to college or anything.

Most schools in the country have summer holidays running from mid July to early September, in Scotland though I believe they leave in June.

When I went to school in England there was infant school (ages 5-7), then primary school (ages 7-11/years 1-5) and after that secondary school. There were 3 terms with a week off in the middle/half-term and then larger breaks around Christmas & Easter. The school year ran from the beginning of September towards the end of July.

I also went to school in the USA, France & Israel. The French system had elementary school grades 1-8 (starting at age 6) and the Israeli system used to have a similar system, but then changed over to system compatible with the USA of elementary school grades 1-6, junior high school grades 7-8 and high school grades 9-12. Finally the Israeli system changed to having a middle school (instead of junior high school) again similar to the American system which I believe starts in grade 6. A distinctive feature of the Israeli system is that there is are 2 public/state systems one is a state/public secular school system and the other is a state/public religious (Jewish religion) school system.

The French school week was Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays with Wednesdays and Sundays off. The Israeli school was a 6 day week with only Saturdays off (and Fridays a shorter school day). The French and Israeli school years run from September through June. In Israel Christmas and New Year Day (January 1st) are regular school (and work) days.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by owenc

Ok that's fine. I just found it odd that a b would be considered bad, I think the previous boy just went to a high intellectual school or else everyone is competitive there because a b here is not a bad grade. A bad grade Is a d.

A B is not a bad grade, but a 66% is - that's a D in most American schools.