The American Education System

1. The American Education System Justin Cubilo

2. Types of Schools • Kindergarten • A program or class for four-year-old to six-year-old children that serves as an introduction to school. • Public School • An elementary or secondary school in the United States supported by public funds and providing free education for children of a community or district. • Elementary School • A school for the first four to eight years of a child's formal education, often including kindergarten. • Secondary School • A school that is intermediate in level between elementary school and college and that usually offers general, technical, vocational, or college-preparatory curricula.

3. Types of Schools (cont.) • Prep School • A usually private secondary school that prepares students for college. • Charter School • A public school operated independently of the local school board, often with a curriculum and educational philosophy different from the other schools in the system. • Boarding School • A school where pupils are provided with meals and lodging. • Vocational High School • A school that offers instruction and practical introductory experience in skilled trades such as mechanics, carpentry, plumbing, and construction

4. Types of Schools (cont.) • Community College • A junior college without residential facilities that is often funded by the government. • Home School • A school operated outside established educational institutions, especially in a home. • College/University • An institution for higher learning with teaching and research facilities constituting a graduate school and professional schools that award master's degrees and doctorates and an undergraduate division that awards bachelor's degrees

5. College vs. University • What is the difference between the usage of college and university? • Nothing. The only difference is that college is used more often in American English while university is used more often in British English. • What is the difference between a community college and a college/university? • Community colleges generally only offer a two year degree at the end of which they get an associate’s degree. They also prepare students to go off to a university where they can earn their bachelor’s degree.

6. The American School System • Fill out the graphic organizer with the information that you are presented with. • Each box represents a new progression through the school system.

7. Example: • Nursery School/Kindergarten: • Transition from home to formal schooling • Children are taught to develop basic skills through creative play and social interaction • Generally for children between the ages of 4 and 6.

8. Elementary School • Generally for students between kindergarten and fifth-grade. • Children are taught the basics of reading and writing. • These skills are continuously developed. • Social studies, science, math, English are integrated into the school day.

9. Middle School/Junior High • Serve as a “bridge” between elementary school and high school. • Junior High generally includes grades 7 and 8 • Middle school generally includes grades 6, 7, and 8 • The terms are often interchangeable • Students are taught in an interdisciplinary approach by several teachers who teach the same group of students. • Students learn about the same topic from the perspective of different disciplines • Courses begin to target

10. This leads into two possibilities • High School • Vocational High School

11. High School • Educates students from grades 9 through 12 • Subclassed as general high schools, vocational high schools, or preparatory high schools. • Most are general high schools • Offer college preparatory classes for advanced students as well as general education classes. • High school curriculums vary by state. • Students have a little more freedom in what classes the take.

12. Vocational High School • Generally considered to be “post-secondary schools” • Exist to teach job-specific skills. • Considered as institutions devoted to training. • Examples of vocations that training is given for: • Car mechanics • Electricians • Plumbers

13. University/College • Institution of higher education and research. • Grants degrees in many subjects. • Offers undergraduate and postgraduate education. • Organized into a number of academic schools or colleges. • i.e. Arts and Letters, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences • Students pay tuition and fees in order to attend. • A great deal of flexibility in courses that can be taken to fulfill requirements.

14. Professional School/Postgraduate School • Schools that are attended after the Bachelor’s degree has been earned. • One generally goes to a postgraduate school in order to get a Master’s degree or PhD in a subject that is normally related to their undergraduate major. • Professional schools refer to medical school, law school, pharmacy school, etc. • These schools train a student in a specific area.

15. Pre-Reading: Vocabulary • 1. H • 2. L • 3. B • 4. E • 5. A • 6. M • 7. F • 8. O

16. Pre-Reading (cont.) • 9. G • 10. I • 11. C • 12. N • 13. K • 14. D • 15. J

17. Comprehension Questions • 1. Middle-class, white, English-speaking. • 2. Demographic shifts took place. Minority groups joined the original student population. • 3. Mexican immigrants and other Spanish speaking people. African-American children. • 4. Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Hmong, Chinese and Farsi. No, they are all at different levels. • 5. She remains constant in her enthusiasm and her vision for her teaching job. Her greatest challenge is the cultural diversity of her students.

18. Focus on the Grammar • Simple Past • How is it formed? • Verb + -ed • There are also irregular forms. • How is it used? • Completed actions in the past. • Series of completed actions in the past. • Duration of actions in the past.

19. Worksheet • 1. grade • 2. core • 3. started • 4. interaction • 5. accepted • 6. took • 7. expanded • 8. became • 9. minority

20. Worksheet (cont.) • 10. began • 11. spoke • 12. considerable • 13. intermediate • 14. constraints • 15. demographic • 16. techniques • 17. components • 18. integration • 19. levies

21. Homeschooling • 1. Able to spend more time with children, test scores are higher, able to tailor curriculum, siblings able to be closer, lessens the burden on taxpayers • 2. 6,296 ; 4,241 • 3. controversial public school decisions • 4. Notify the state, hold a high school diploma, keep attendance and immunization records on file, give an annual standardized test. • 5. Most are white, Christian, and affluent.