The USA is a country where there is no September 1st. Each American school sets its own start date for the school year. Local teachers are not as busy as Russian ones: there are 16 students per teacher. There are almost 50 million schoolchildren in the United States, a fifth of children are foreigners.

Primary School

Although there is no single one, the duration of the first stage - Elementary school - is the same in all educational institutions: children study in elementary school for 6 years.

Americans go to first grade at 6-7 years old. Children, as in Russia, undergo tests. But classes are created not of equal value, but in accordance with the abilities of each child. Gifted schoolchildren prepare to enter university from the first days of school.

Another similarity with Russian educational institutions is that admission to the educational institution is based on registration. American adults try to buy housing near a good school even before having children.

At the first stage of education, lessons are taught by one teacher, including physical education and creative disciplines. Basic subjects in primary school:

• oral English;
• social Sciences;
• reading;
• letter;
• music;
• drawing;
• physical training.

For the first 6 years, young Americans do not learn foreign languages. A significant plus of US schools: every child is enrolled here, regardless of race and citizenship. A student will be assigned to an open class, even if his parents only have a visitor visa to the country.

high school

At the second stage (Middle school), children continue to study taking into account their abilities and characteristics. Conditional classes are divided into 3 types:

• academic - to prepare for entering university;
• professional - with an emphasis on practical training;
• multidisciplinary - for students with average academic performance, based on the results of final tests, the question of the possibility of preparing the child for admission to university is decided.

In America there are no classes familiar to Russians. Each student at the Middle school stage chooses subjects independently, the composition of the groups changes at each lesson. Disciplines popular at the second stage of secondary education:

• foreign languages;
• art;
• technologies.

Required to study:

• native language;
• social and natural sciences;
• mathematics;
• physical training.

The middle stage lasts from 8th to 10th grade. Education ends with exams: approximately 30% of students enter 11th grade, the rest go to colleges or vocational institutes.

The academic year lasts an average of 9.5 months, and students study 5 days a week. Classes in the USA usually start at 8.30 and end at 16.00. There is no homework.

High school

The final stage of secondary education in America (High school) lasts 2 years. At this level, students must complete at least 20 courses and obtain credits for at least 16 of them.

6 subjects are required to study at the High school stage:

• natural Sciences;
• computer literacy;
• English language;
• mathematics;
• Social sciencies;
• foreign languages.

Additional disciplines are chosen at the discretion of the student; in US schools, all subjects are considered equivalent: chemistry, history, American literature, cooking, driving.

Secondary education ends with SAT exams - an analogue of the Russian Unified State Exam. Based on the test results, graduates are enrolled in universities. Large universities pay attention to the applicant’s extracurricular achievements: social, creative, sports.

Private schools

The US Department of Education recognizes that education received in public schools is inferior in quality to certificates from private institutions. The fact is confirmed by statistics: students of the most prestigious universities are graduates of private schools.

Parents of foreign students choose private US educational institutions because of significant advantages for citizens of other countries:

• accommodation in a boarding house under the watchful supervision of staff;
• small class size - 15-16 people;
• in-depth study of disciplines, 98% of graduates enter universities.

Many private schools accept students from 2-4 years of age. If desired, you can send your child to an institution where children of only one sex are educated.

Each private school operates according to one of three programs:

• standard state;
• international;
• developed by teachers of an educational institution.

Any program provides a sufficient number of hours for the creative and athletic development of students. Foreign students in private schools are actively taught to speak English fluently. By the end of their studies, their level of knowledge of English allows graduates to enter any American or European university.

Religious schools

Religious schools are a type of private school. Educational institutions are financed mainly by the parents of schoolchildren. Sometimes churches and philanthropists provide financial assistance.

In modern America, children of any nationality and religion are accepted into religious schools. The main difference from other educational institutions is that students are required to attend Sunday services, which are rather educational in nature.

On average, the cost of education in institutions under the patronage of religious organizations is slightly lower than in other private schools - from 15 thousand dollars per year.

Religious schools in America enrolling Russian children:

1. Lowell Catholic School(Lowell Catholic School) in Massachusetts. The institution is aimed at deep learning of basic subjects. Additionally, students have access to foreign language and computer literacy courses. Extracurricular activities: theater studio, singing, own printed publications, sports clubs. Price per year - $38 thousand.
2. Capistrano Valley Christian High School(Capistrano Valley Christian High School) is a Christian school in San Juan Capistrano, California. Compulsory disciplines are supplemented by Bible study. The main goal of the institution’s teachers is to prepare children for entering university. The last 2 years of education here are counted as completed college, which significantly increases the chances of being accepted into the university. The cost of an academic year is $20 thousand and above.
3. Perkiomen School(Perkayomen School) in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to basic training, the school offers advanced courses that give an advantage when enrolling in a university: history, chemistry, foreign languages, physics. The establishment operates creative and sports clubs: photography, theater, golf, baseball. Annual fee: $58 thousand.

Schools in America for Russians

Emigrants from Russia are often concerned about their son or daughter’s reluctance to speak their native language. One of the options not to lose contact with the Motherland is to send your child to a Russian school. In such institutions, basic subjects are taught in English, but the list of compulsory disciplines includes Russian language and literature.

For children of primary school age, analogues of extended day groups are organized: here communication takes place only in their native language. Creative and sports activities are also held in Russian.

In recent years, American employers have been interested in specialists who speak Russian; doctors and lawyers are especially in demand.

Russian schools are often opened at universities. There are also institutions of an optional nature: if you attend them, you will still have to study at a US general education institution.

Russian schools whose certificates are equivalent to American ones:

1. Free educational institution in Jacksonville, Florida. There are 700 Russian-speaking children studying at the school. Basic subjects are taught in English, with the exception of Russian language and literature.
2. Community Outreach Academy(Community Outreach Academy). The program includes Russian and Ukrainian languages. The school has strict morals: you can be expelled for fighting or smoking. The institution is partially funded by the state, the annual fee is about $10 thousand.
3. Russian school in Manhattan, New York. The establishment is considered prestigious among the Slavic population. Much attention in education is paid to mathematics and music. The cost is set individually after an interview with the student’s parents.

Single-sex schools

There are 223 single-sex educational institutions in the United States. Schools are convenient for parents who want their child not to be distracted by the attention of the opposite sex. But this is not the main advantage: American teachers claim that girls who are not ridiculed by boys show higher results in the exact sciences. Young men, who are also less influenced by stereotypes in the absence of female society, do better in the humanities.

American single-sex schools:

1. Madeira School(Madeira School) is a private girls' school in McLean, Virginia. Pupils are enrolled from the age of 14. The school ranks first in the ranking of educational institutions in the state. The emphasis in studies is on exact and human sciences, art, and foreign languages. In their final year of study, the girls undergo an internship at the White House. Madeira School has sports and creative clubs: students engage in horse riding, athletics, painting, and photography. An academic year costs $67 thousand and above.
2. Grier School(Grier School) in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Half of them are foreigners here. Girls are prepared for admission to the best English-language universities. The school has 17 advanced programs. The establishment runs one of the best riding clubs in the country. Schoolgirls have the opportunity to practice dance and art professionally. Fee per year - from 50 thousand dollars.
3. The Fessenden School(Fessenden School) is a private school for boys in West Newton, Massachusetts. The institution’s sports, educational and creative programs are created specifically for young men. Students are accepted to the school from the age of 10, foreigners in the institution - 10%. Price per year - 70 thousand $.
4. Chaminade College Preparatory School(Chaminade College Preparatory School) is a private school for boys in Missouri. Students are accepted from the age of 11. The institution has strict discipline and the concept of personal responsibility is instilled in the young men. The school offers 23 advanced programs that make it easier to enter university. The cost of an academic year is $39 thousand.

Finishing school is the responsibility of any US citizen. Currently, 85% of adults in the United States have completed high school. And only 15% either have no basic education at all or have incomplete education. Compared to other developed countries, this is a very good indicator.

The average level of American education covers ages from 6-7 to 17-18 years.

Levels of school education in the USA

Primary school

Primary school education for American children begins at the age of 6-7 years. It all depends on the laws of the specific state or school the child attends. For children who want and can go to school a year earlier, “zero classes” (KinderGarden) are provided. Here the child is prepared for classes and for communication with peers.

The Elementary School teaches writing, reading, counting, and the basics of fine arts. There are music lessons and physical education.

The tasks here are creative and interesting. For example, students might be asked to describe something they saw on the street while walking. It could be a flower, a park, some unusual tree or a house. This is how young children develop creative thinking.

The standard class size in an elementary school is 25 people. One teacher works with them. Only classes in creative or sports subjects are taught by another person.

Middle school

Children aged 11-12 years study here. In middle school, different subjects are taught by different teachers. At this stage, children are introduced to the liberalism of American school education. They can already choose the lessons they want to take. Music, foreign language, fine arts and a number of other disciplines to choose from. However, at this stage there are still compulsory disciplines: mathematics, English, history, physical education. There is another subject called "science". Here, schoolchildren gain knowledge in such fields as chemistry, biology, physics, geology, and astronomy.

At this stage of education, children are divided into two streams. One is attended by schoolchildren whose academic performance is at an average level. In the second place are those who study well. It is believed that the second stream is more honorable, since children there are given a greater workload than in the first, students learn the material better, they are more capable and smart.

High school

This is the last school stage in the life of an American child. It begins at the age of 14-15 years and lasts three years. The freedom to choose disciplines increases here. As a rule, mathematics (must be studied for at least two years), English (four years), and natural sciences (three years) are required to study. Exact disciplines can consist of branches of mathematics. Social subjects may include narrow areas of knowledge. For example, the history of a particular area or region of America in the 19th century, world history, and so on. Each of the disciplines is taught at different levels: from the basics to a fairly serious university level. As you can see, everything here is quite individual.

In high school, students are offered a large selection of electives. Depending on his interests, a student can attend, say, music, a healthy lifestyle, or business lessons. All of them are also divided into several areas.

This type of learning scheme stimulates children's activity. You will never see the same group of children attending the same elective in an American school. Students are constantly changing. Thus, the teenager grows up comprehensively developed, sociable, open to new people and knowledge.

The subject of physical education stands apart. More precisely, there is no such discipline at all. In US schools, children play a specific sport. This could be basketball, swimming, football or track and field.

In high school, schoolchildren have semi-official names among teachers and the whole society, depending on the class in which they study. Ninth graders are called freshmen, tenth graders are called sophomores, eleventh graders are called juniors, then seniors.

Unlike the system we are familiar with, when a graduate graduates from school and only then applies to a university, the system in the USA is different. There, a student already in the 11th-12th grade knows not only where he is applying, but also the results of admission. While at school, he prepares for and takes college entrance exams (SAT or ACT).

Classification of schools in the USA

Public schools

Free secondary schools that are publicly funded.

Public schools are subordinate to school districts (with the exception of Maryland). It is an administrative division of the United States. It is created by the government of a particular state and is a syndicate of legally independent organizations. In terms of territory, the boundaries of school districts are identical to the boundaries of counties or towns. Overall, there are nearly 15,000 school districts in the United States.

School districts set essentially all the rules for schools. This applies to training programs, rules of conduct, entrance test standards, student assessments, and so on. All these standards can be discussed and challenged at the school board. In turn, it includes the board of trustees, the board of education, and the school committee. Including parents of children. The school board is elected by a vote of the residents of the district.

Districts sit above America's entire Public School system. They run primary, secondary and higher schools.

Private schools

Quite a popular type of school in the USA. Training in them, of course, is paid.

There are separate schools for children with unique abilities, talents, or gifts in the United States. However, getting there is difficult. The child needs to prove that he is better than his peers in some matter. There are also schools for children with various disabilities: in particular, this applies to children with hearing, vision, and physical development impairments.

An interesting fact is that twins study in different classes. This (like many other things) creates independence.

The secondary education system in the United States is significantly different from the way we are used to. Thus, the country does not have a unified state education standard, nor does it have a unified curriculum. All this is established at the individual state level. When talking about how many classes there are in America, children often go to school for 12 years. Moreover, training begins not from the first grade, but from zero. It is worth noting that studying in such schools is available not only to American citizens. Today, there are special exchange programs that allow Russian children to study in both public and private American schools.

School system in the States

The United States has a national education system. Most schools in the country are public, although there are also private institutions. All public schools are free and are funded and controlled at three levels: federal, state and local authorities. 90% of schoolchildren study in state educational institutions. Private schools in the USA, for the most part, provide a fairly high level of education, but tuition there is quite expensive.

In addition, some parents prefer to homeschool their children. Refusal to study often occurs for religious reasons, when parents do not want their child to be taught theories with which they personally do not agree (this mainly concerns the theory of evolution) or want to protect their children from possible violence.

For historical reasons, educational standards are not enshrined in the American Constitution. It is assumed that this issue should be regulated at the level of individual states. Also, the United States does not have strict government education standards and curricula. All of them are also installed locally.

School education in the United States is divided into 3 levels: elementary, middle and high schools. Moreover, a school at each level is a completely independent institution. They are often located in separate buildings and have their own teaching teams

Duration and age of entry may vary from state to state. Typically, children begin studying at the age of 5-8 years and finish at the age of 18-19, respectively. Moreover, at first they do not go to first grade, but to zero (kindergarten), although in some states it is not compulsory. In the USA, preparation for school takes place in this class. Children are accustomed to life in a new team, methods and methods of conducting classes throughout the subsequent years of study. Children in the United States often learn in the form of an open dialogue or some kind of game. Although grade zero is considered preparatory, children are given a strict schedule. True, homework is not assigned yet.

Primary School

Primary school in the United States lasts from first to fifth grade. During this period, most school subjects, with the exception of fine arts, physical education and music, are taught by one teacher. At this stage, children study writing, reading, arithmetic, natural and social sciences.

Important: Already at this stage, all children are divided according to their abilities. This is one of the characteristic features of American schools. Before starting school, children take an IQ test. Based on this, children are divided into groups. Starting in third grade, all students are tested annually. In general, all educational results in the states are traditionally checked in the form of testing.

Depending on the student’s performance, they may be transferred to a class for the gifted, where subjects are studied more broadly and assigned more homework, or, conversely, to a class for those lagging behind, where there are fewer assignments and the course is easier.

high school

US secondary schools educate children from 6th to 8th grades. At this level, each subject is taught by a different teacher. At the same time, there are compulsory subjects and elective classes. Compulsory subjects include English, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences and physical education. Speaking of electives, the really good schools have a ton of all sorts of specialized courses. Moreover, many of them are taught practically at the university level. The choice of foreign languages ​​varies, but often includes: French, Spanish, Latin, German, Italian and Chinese.

Important: In an American school, all students are assigned to new classes every year. So children study in a new group every subsequent year.

High school

The final stage of secondary education in the United States is high school. It lasts from 9th to 12th grades.

Important: At this stage, the classes we are used to are completely absent. Here, each student is already studying according to an individual program selected by him. Every morning, total attendance is checked, after which the children go to their desired classes.

In high school in the United States, students have much more freedom in choosing classes to study. So there is a certain list of subjects that children are required to learn in order to receive a certificate. They can choose all other activities on their own.

Important: If you successfully pass additional subjects at school, the student will not have to study them in college, where he will have to pay for each course taken.

Speaking of compulsory subjects, they are set by the school council. This board develops the school curriculum, hires teachers and determines the necessary funding.

In addition, many well-known universities put forward their own requirements for the subjects that every applicant must study.

The table below shows the school system in the United States.

Popular educational institutions

The popularity of an educational institution is determined by its rating. The school's rating is calculated based on the results of final exams and is publicly available.

Thus, some of the best schools in the USA are such institutions as Stuyvesant, Brooklyn-Tech, Bronx-Science High Schools, Mark Twain, Boody David, Bay Academy Junior High Schools.

How to get to school in the USA

For a Russian schoolchild, there are two options to get to school in America:

Age restrictions

Depending on what school the student attends, there are some age restrictions. So in the case of the exchange program, free schools in the USA accept mainly high school students (grades 9-11). In the case of a private institution, a child can enter any class appropriate to his age.

Advantages of studying children in the USA

Speaking about the benefits of teaching children in foreign schools, this is not only an increase in the level of English proficiency. American schools teach a huge number of both compulsory and optional subjects. Naturally, the number of disciplines studied and the quality of teaching directly depend on the school’s rating. If a child is lucky enough to enroll in a good or even a very good institution, then all subjects will be taught at a fairly high level. In addition, American schools quite often offer all kinds of field trips to nature reserves, museums, memorial sites, or even other countries. Plus, in the States they take sports quite seriously.

Important: many famous universities in the country actively invite strong athletes. Sometimes they are even forgiven for some omissions in their studies.

And most importantly, studying abroad teaches a child independence. In American educational institutions, children are constantly faced with choices, whether about answers to tests or subjects to study. Schools in the United States initially orient and prepare children for their future profession. In addition, for any child, studying in another country is an opportunity to test their own strengths and capabilities. The competition among American schoolchildren is quite high, so the student needs not only to be smart, but also talented, be able to show his positive sides and adapt quickly.

In addition to the above, studying in the USA allows you to:

• Prepare your child for studying at the most famous universities in the country;
• A diploma from an American school is the basis for continuing education in any state;
• High school students can create an individual preparation plan that meets the requirements of the university they are interested in;
• Each student can independently choose the level of difficulty of studying each subject.

Difficulties in educating children in American schools

The first difficulty that new students will have to face is the strict rules of the institution. All school life in the States is subject to strict regulation. All school rules are communicated to every student. For violating them, the child may be given an appropriate punishment or even expelled.

The next difficulty concerns understanding the structure of the educational process - on what basis additional subjects should be selected, how to determine the required level of complexity.

The rating system in America can cause no less difficulties.

This is how American schoolchildren study on a 100-point scale. In this case, the points also have letter designations. In general, the grading scale in the states is as follows:

The importance of knowing the language

Knowledge of English is, if not decisive, then very important. When applying to either a public or private school, any student will have to take a language proficiency test, an interview, and may be required to provide a recommendation from an English teacher from a previous school or a report card from the last few years. Depending on the class of the institution, admission rules may vary.

If a child does not speak the language well enough, he may be placed in a preparatory class, where he will actively fill language gaps. Such classes can be held as a separate course for 2-4 months or run in parallel with the general program.

Documentation

To enroll in a school in the USA, a child will need the following documents:

1. Results of English testing and interviews;
2. A visa confirming the right to stay in the country;
3. Translated certificate of vaccinations and last medical examination;
4. Sometimes translated transcripts or transcripts with current scores and grades for the last 1-3 years may be required.

When in 1990, Sasha Zueva’s parents told her that she would have to go with them to the USA, she burst into tears: she really didn’t want to part with her classmates. Now Sasha, who recently turned 17, lives in New York, studies at a private American school and communicates with new friends. She comes to Russia only for the summer holidays. On her last visit to Moscow, Sasha told the “i” correspondent how she lives and studies in America.

Seven years ago, my dad was offered to work in the USA, at UNISEF - the World Children's Fund.

I had a good time in Moscow, and besides, I didn’t know English. But - let's go.

In August we flew to New York, and in September we had to go to school. My parents said that the American school was better than the Russian school at the embassy, ​​because there I could learn the language.

And I was accepted into a public American school not far from home. I ended up in a class where there was not a single Russian. I sat in class in silence for two weeks - I didn’t understand anything. Then I was transferred to a lower class; there were three Russians there. The parents decided that it was more important to understand the language than mathematics.

At first I didn’t do any tasks: I just copied words from the book and drew pictures for them. And for a whole year I went to a tutor who “taught” me grammar. Gradually I began to read and talk, and after a year I understood everything without difficulty and did my homework myself.

The school was not very strong - there were few good teachers. Almost all lessons we sat in the same class, and did not move from one office to another, as in Moscow. And the classes were taught by the same teacher. When we came to class, we didn’t even know what the lesson would be - until she, for example, said: “Well, let’s do math.” It’s good that we didn’t have to carry textbooks with us to school - we left them in our desks.

So I studied for two years - fourth and fifth grade (at the same time I finished sixth grade as an external student at the Russian school at the embassy).

The fifth grade was the last at this school, and my parents began to think about where I should study next. Our friends advised us to choose a private school.

There are three good private schools in our area. In one there were many Russians, in the second there was a very developed atmosphere of competition. Neither of these suited me. I liked the third one - Fieldston School, where they sent me. But to be honest, my parents were not very interested in my opinion, it’s just that in this case our views coincided.

To transfer from a public school to a decent private one, you need to have good grades, a reference from your previous school, and also pass a test in English and mathematics. All this needs to be done in January-February, since the results are already announced in March.

They wanted to put me in 6th grade, but I protested - I was tired of being the oldest in the class. Then I was assigned to the sixth grade of the embassy school and accepted into the seventh.

Fieldston School is an expensive school, but it has a fund from which some students pay part of their education - based on exam results. And I wouldn’t say that only children of rich parents study there. There are kids at school from absolutely terrible areas. Teachers try to make everyone friends so that social differences are not noticeable.

But still the poor are friends with the poor, and the rich with the rich. I'm friends with average people.

At first I was a little shy of everyone. I was embarrassed by the fact that many schoolchildren live in their own houses, and I live in an apartment. And when I went to school for the first time, I was very afraid that I would be poorly received. I thought there were only millionaires there who only know how to turn up their noses. But everyone turned out to be very friendly. I remember during lunch I went into the dining room, and although I didn’t know anyone there, all the guys waved their hands at me: “Come to us!”

Later I learned that many schoolchildren - including children of wealthy parents - work part-time in restaurants, in companies - wherever they can.

The school was very large: 720 people! Each class has 100-120 people, this is, in fact, something like a course or stream at a university.

Each student has his own schedule - depending on what you want to do. Therefore, in English I sit with some guys, and, for example, in mathematics - with completely different ones. And every year the class composition and teachers change.

In the 7th and 8th grades you must attend mathematics, biology, and physical education five times a week. In different quarters it was necessary to take drawing, dancing, acting and ethics. And you could choose from two languages ​​out of four - Spanish, Russian, French or Latin. I chose the last two.

For some reason, it seems to me that languages ​​are taught rather poorly in the USA - Americans have no vital need to know a foreign language, because there are few countries nearby where they speak other languages. The only popular foreign language in New York and in the USA in general is Spanish.

At my school in America, the older the class, the more freedom. If in the seventh and eighth grades there are almost no elective subjects, then in the ninth you can choose, for example, between natural history and biology.

The tenth offers a choice of chemistry or physics. And in the eleventh year I decided to study biology at the university level. Every school has these “advanced” courses - and the grade you get for them in the exam at school is counted at the university as the current exam mark for the first or second year.

From the first to the last year of study, mathematics is mandatory at my school. And also English: it includes various courses in literature and history. For example, throughout the tenth grade we studied American literature, and in the eleventh grade we chose between Japanese, Latin American, Russian and others. I took European literature of the twentieth century. I read (naturally, in English) one book each by five writers: Kafka, then another writer from Czechoslovakia - Kander; Flaubert, Camille, but I don’t remember the fifth. Of course, I didn’t take Russian literature - why am I going to read Russian books in English?

At our school, classes last 50 minutes. Lessons start at 8.30 and end at half past two at the earliest. Studying, I must say, is intense, but we often relax - in addition to vacations, there are also American national and Jewish holidays (there are many Jews at Fieldston School, and if they do not go to school, then there is almost no one to conduct classes with).

I also like that in America students are not called to the blackboard. You don’t have to do homework either, but this will come up on the test. It is very important for a teacher how you participate in class discussions.

At the end of the quarter, teachers write feedback about students. They usually write about me: “Sasha is a quiet girl, she hardly participates in discussions”... But they don’t ask me themselves - they don’t want to embarrass me: you never know, or maybe I don’t like speaking?

In general, the atmosphere is democratic, although it cannot be said that there is no discipline at all. I remember how surprised I was when I went to the school cafeteria with my class for the first time. The class is lined up in two lines, with the teacher leading the procession. In front of the stairs he commands like a general: “Stop!” - and everyone stops. Then he says: “Forward!” - and everyone goes smoothly. And in Moscow, as soon as the bell rang for recess, we ran to the dining room like crazy, in a crowd.

And of course, students in America are never rude to teachers. And if the teacher leaves the class during a test, no one even thinks about cheating!

There are things that are strictly prohibited. Recently, two sixth-graders were expelled from our school because they were standing near the school and smoking weed. And two more 11th grade students who came to class stoned. Now they will not receive a diploma - and this is a tragedy. But almost all the kids there smoke cigarettes - starting from the age of 12. It’s even strange: children in America smoke, but adults don’t. I don't smoke out of principle.

My friends and I (I have four of them - a Ukrainian, a Belarusian and two Americans) have fun in a different way. We go to visit each other, sometimes we go to Manhattan. Our parents let us go - they know that we won’t go to a dangerous place.

We often go to the cinema: cinemas in America are better than in Russia, but the ticket is more expensive - 8 dollars. We have dinner in restaurants, go to discos. From there we get home by taxi. I don't like taking public transport, especially the subway - it's terrible in New York.

There are almost no events held at school that would bring everyone together. But boys are still friends with girls. And in our school I noticed a strange phenomenon - 12th grade boys often court girls from the 9th grade. Everyone condemns this: it’s clear what the big boy wants from the little girl.

Although in the USA, as in Russia, boys lag behind girls in development. American boys are also less courageous than Russians, and even lack initiative. They wait for the girls to start showing them signs of attention. And they do. It's not customary to write love notes, but you can always show a person that you like him...

As for me, I have no time for my personal life now: this fall I am going to the twelfth grade. And at the beginning of the last school year, American schoolchildren take a general exam - mathematics and English, and its results can be sent to universities (according to the rules, a student has the right to send them to 7 universities of his choice). You can also take tests in other subjects. I'll see which subjects I have the best results in and send them to universities.

Along with the test results, you need to submit an essay on a topic given by the university. For example: “If you could meet one of three people - from the past, present or future - who would you choose and what would you talk to them about?” Or: “What do you think about the upcoming presidential election?”

I don’t want to go to Harvard - I was there on an excursion, and I didn’t really like the students. Too smart and ambitious. But just in case, I’ll submit documents there - I want to work in Russia, so it’s better to graduate from a university that people in Russia have heard about.

At first I wanted to become a doctor. But then I realized that I was more interested in working with the people themselves, and not with their insides. My dream is to work as a psychiatrist in prison, to help people who have been abandoned by everyone.

Actually, I can change my mind a hundred times: at US universities you choose a specialization only in the third year. Or, in general, I can study mathematics for all 4 years at the university, and then take it and go to medical school.

I'm still only seventeen years old. Let's see how life turns out.

Alexandra ZUEVA

I have been carrying this text for a long time, they say that they have been waiting for what was promised for three years, and now my son is going to school for the third time this September and I am finally fulfilling the promise I once made to myself to write down everything on this topic. Three reservations: first, of course, I am comparing American public schools with the school in which I studied myself, most of which occurred in the eighties of the last century, and it is possible that in today’s Russian realities everything is different. Secondly, in the USA I have before my eyes an example of the organization of schooling in Virginia, it is this state that I am writing about, despite the fact that there are significant differences in the organization of school education from state to state, there are also many similarities. Third, my son is still in elementary school, and I mainly write about it; I mention middle school and high school only in that theoretical context, in which I know, perhaps, that when I encounter it directly, there will be even more differences. So, let's begin.

1. There is no first of September in the USA. It does not exist as a national day for the start of school; there are no reports on TV on this day about how the first bell rang in all schools in the country, etc. Each state (and possibly a district within a state) sets its own start and end dates for the school year. There are places where they start school in mid-August, while others start school at the end of August or early September. Accordingly, the school year also ends differently - either at the beginning, or in the middle or at the end of June. In our state of Virginia, schools open for the new school year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in September, on which Labor Day is celebrated in the United States (like the Russian first of May). Accordingly, the start day of school is always “floating” and can fall on any day from September 2 to September 8. This year, our children go to school on September 6, by which schoolchildren in Texas, for example, will have already completed two weeks of schooling. The 2016-17 academic year will end on June 23rd. Despite such differences, or perhaps precisely because of them, the atmosphere (I almost wrote “festive”) of the beginning of the school year has been maintained since almost mid-July (i.e., just after the end of the last school year), but mostly retail, where promotions and sales with the theme Back to school begin.

In schools on the first day of school in the United States, there are no ceremonial lines or school-wide formations before the start of classes. Children just calmly get to school and go to classes. The only difference from all other school days, perhaps, is that parents (often two parents, as well as grandparents, who are lucky and have them) try to personally see their children off, and not just trust the school bus (about transporting children to and from school I will write below in more detail), bringing flowers is also not customary and does not occur to anyone. Accordingly, there is no “ceremonial” school uniform, bows for girls, etc. But I won’t reveal all the cards about the uniform yet, I’ll write below.

2. In America, no one studies from first grade to high school in the same school.. A child from 5 to 17 years old has time to study in at least three schools: elementary (from zero to 6th grade), middle (from 7th to 8th grade), and high school. All of these schools are separate educational institutions, each located in its own building, each with its own director, teachers and administration. By the way, I read somewhere that recent emigrants from the post-Soviet space, who had not yet learned all these differences, often made mistakes when filling out various forms where they were asked to indicate their education and they, thinking that they were writing “higher education,” often wrote “high school” , which in the US is simply considered high school.

3. School in the USA begins not with the first, but with the zero grade, which is called kindergarten, which translated from German means “kindergarten”.

By the way, this is another reason for confusion among newly arrived emigrants, since there is also a regular kindergarten (and not a zero-grade school) in America, but it is called preschool, i.e. preschool or preschool education. Accordingly, the child first goes to “preschool” at the age of 3-4 years, and then to “kindergarten” or kindergarten at the age of 5 years. But I will not go into details of “preschools”, since they are all private and do not belong to the public education system. Let's return to the zero class (kindegarten). Children of 5 years old are accepted there; education there is not mandatory, but is very welcome. Families with children begin to receive informational letters about a year in advance with a request to enroll their child in grade zero, meetings with parents and open days at school are organized, i.e., they are encouraged in every possible way to entrust their child to the educational system. By the way, many kindergartens offer Kindergarten, that is, there is a choice between a free public school and a private paid school. By the way, I have not yet mentioned that public schools in the United States are completely free and are financed from the local budget, which is replenished mainly from property taxes. There is no federal “Department of Education” in the USA; everything is at the discretion of the states and districts within the state. For example, we had 4 zero classes of approximately 25 people. Then, in the first grade, the children find themselves in a new team, where only about a quarter of the students were in the same zero grade, and all the rest came from other parallels. In the second, everyone will be mixed again, etc. By the way, there are no class designations as “first A”, “first B”, etc. here either, the classes are distinguished by the teacher’s last name, for example, Mrs. Smith’s first class, Mr. Brown’s first class etc. Yes, teachers also change every year, that is, there is a specialization of teachers by grade, a teacher, for example, teaches only second grade or only sixth grade, etc. Moreover, the “main teacher” teaches both reading and writing, and mathematics, and science, and social science. items of the corresponding class. There are specialized teachers only for music, physical education and art. By the way, if you have twins, then most likely they will be enrolled in different classes so that they each develop their own individuality.

5. The quality of schools affects real estate prices. Since schools are financed from the local budget, the bulk of which comes from property taxes, it would be logical to conclude that where real estate is more expensive, schools have a higher budget and vice versa. All this also affects the quality of education. There are special websites where they look at the ratings of schools in a particular area. Accordingly, when choosing a place to live or buying a home, the quality of schools in the area directly affects the price of the home in addition to all other factors. You cannot get into a school in another district without “registration”; when enrolling in a school, you must bring a bunch of documents confirming that the family actually lives in this particular district, assigned to the corresponding school.

6. The main form of transportation for students to school is school buses. As many people know, in the USA a much larger part of the population lives in individual houses than, for example, in Russia. Accordingly, the houses are located on a larger area than, for example, an apartment building with the same number of residents would occupy. That is, families assigned to a particular school live over a much larger area and the distance from school to home is often such that it cannot be covered on foot in a reasonable amount of time. No, there are, of course, lucky people who live within walking distance from the school (we are one of them), but their share in the total number of students at the school is negligible. And here the local authorities come to the rescue again, organizing not only education in schools, but also free transportation of students to it using yellow school buses, so familiar to everyone from American films. At the beginning of each school year, parents receive, along with the rest of the Talmud materials, a schedule and route diagram for school bus routes, of which each school may have several. Each student requiring transportation is assigned to a specific bus. Buses, of course, are very convenient, but they often take a long time and the distance that can be covered by car in ten minutes takes them almost an hour, because the bus does not travel in a straight line, but calls in and “collects” students along throughout the area. By the way, according to the rules of the road, all cars driving behind a school bus in all lanes (and even going towards them) must also stop if the bus has stopped and is dropping off or picking up children. Failure to comply with this rule is considered a very serious violation.

Many parents (lazy people who don’t want to get up an hour earlier) take their children to school by car. We organize this in such a way as to minimize the time such a car spends in the school parking lot. The parent simply drives up to a specially designated area, volunteer assistants from among high school students help the child get out of the car, make sure he goes straight to school, and the parent immediately leaves without leaving the car.

By the way, the number of children coming to school is strictly monitored. If the child is absent and the parent did not notify the school in advance or in the morning on special. telephone line, the school immediately contacts the parents, otherwise, God forbid, the student gets lost somewhere along the way.

Picking up children after school is also very strict: they are either seated on their own assigned bus under the supervision of teachers, or released to parents (on foot or in cars) only upon presentation of the appropriate number printed on a large bright cardboard and corresponding to the child’s number hanging on his backpack . Everyone who picks up their children on their own must receive such a number at the beginning of the school year. Plus, even before the start of the school year, special pieces of paper are filled out, indicating who can pick up a particular child, and if the number is missing, then you can pick up the child only upon presentation of an identity card and provided that the name of this person is in the school documents. In general, everything is strict.

7. School stationery is purchased in advance according to the list by parents and brought to school. The list is standard by district and differs only for each class, it includes, for example, pencils, markers, pens, scissors, glue, felt-tip pens, notebooks, erasers, folders, rulers, headphones, simple and disinfectant wipes, etc. This is very convenient, because children don’t have to carry pens and pencils back and forth in their backpack. In addition, you don’t have to be afraid of forgetting to bring something, for example, a sketchbook; everything you need is always already at school.

8. Schools do not have school uniforms. Children can wear any clothes to school, as long as they are appropriate for physical education and not too revealing. Our school has a requirement for shoes - sneakers or sneakers are required, that is, so that you can run and jump safely. For girls, there are requirements for clothing: it should not be strapless, with deep necklines, and leggings or bicycle shorts under a skirt are also required. Most children are dressed in sports style. It seems to me that this is very convenient, because you don’t have to waste time changing clothes for physical education, and plus, it’s more convenient to run in such clothes during recess. I remember with horror my changing clothes for physical education in Russian school, especially in elementary school, when I had to get out of all these skirts, tights, bows, shoes and change into a white T-shirt and some ugly black shorts with elastic bands on the legs. By the way, Americans’ love for casual clothing in everyday life apparently comes from this.

9. Teachers and school management are more open to communication and are very “close to the people.” Naturally, each school has its own website with contacts and basic information. The principal and teachers send an email every week at least, and sometimes more often. mail news from school or class, respectively. Our director, in addition to everything, sends photos of his son - a baby. Naturally, you can email the director and teachers or call them if you have any questions. The director greets everyone at the school door every morning and is present at all extracurricular activities of the school (I will write about them below). Before the Thanksgiving holiday, parents are usually invited to school for a holiday lunch, and last year I had a culture shock when I saw not only the administrator, but also the school principal in aprons and hats helping to serve food in the school cafeteria. An endless contrast with the Russian headmistress with a high hairstyle from my school, whom I could never imagine in such a role, but I remember only from solemnly delivered speeches at school meetings and from the fear of getting into her office “for a showdown.”

10. The school holds regular extracurricular activities. The school has organized and operates a PTA - Parents - Teachers Association (parent-teacher association) - this is a type of parent committee, but not separately in each class, but in the school as a whole, it has a more formal organizational structure, there are membership fees, elected leadership, reporting and election meetings and it seems they are subordinate to some higher organization at the state and possibly federal level. I do not know exactly. Well, they host a lot of extracurricular fun and educational events throughout the year - book fairs, Halloween, science fairs, reading sessions, Spelling Bee, talent shows, etc., etc. Almost every month that something like this happens. Most of these events are free or with a nominal fee of buying pizza or hot dogs, the proceeds of which go to the school's PTA fund.

11. Parents actively participate in the activities of the school. In addition to the fact that the most active parents can be members of the above-mentioned PTA, all others can also join in the life of the school, volunteer or help financially. From time to time, for example, all parents receive emails saying that donations of paper towels to the cafeteria are welcome, and over the next few days, parents can be seen bringing packs of these paper products to school. At the beginning of the year, teachers usually make a list of days when they need parental help and they can sign up and come help. For example, I went to help in an art class, where I had to help with distributing paints to children or cleaning up after. Parents are also invited to help during trips. The school also calls for volunteers to work in the school garden or to help at extracurricular events. A parent, of course, can simply come to any lesson and see what’s going on, but they just need to warn you in advance.

12. At the beginning of the year, all parents are given a School Code of Conduct against their signature. This document describes the basic rules of behavior, routine, clothing recommendations, possible disciplinary sanctions, etc.

13. If a child requires any medications, then signed permission from the parents is required, sometimes even with a doctor’s signature.

14. School lunches can be brought from home, or you can buy them in the school cafeteria by bank transfer. If you bring it from home, everything is usually put in a special lunchbox - a special handbag, the production industry of which is incredibly developed in the USA. Lunch boxes usually maintain temperature well, meaning they don’t get too hot on a hot day and don’t get too cold on a cold one. The lunch box usually contains a sandwich, a drink, some fruits and vegetables, a small dessert in the form of fruit lozenges, etc. There are small children's thermoses in which you can put something hot. By the way, at our school we don’t allow you to bring any soda for lunch; you can only bring milk, juices and water. And in almost all schools there is a ban on nuts, because many children are allergic to peanuts.

If you buy lunch in the school cafeteria (it costs about $3), then the parents must deposit money into the child’s account in advance (either by check or by card online) and then the child simply calls his number and “buys” his food. The children do not have any cash and, accordingly, there is no problem that one of the hooligans will take away the money for lunch. Cafeteria workers make sure that children take a full set - a main course (again, this will be either a sandwich, or a hot dog, or a chicken breast, or pizza), something vegetable and a drink (juice or milk).

15. If the class goes somewhere, then written permission from the parents is required. Without this piece of paper, the child will not be taken on any trip - not to the theater, not to the museum, not to nature. Plus, parents are also invited to join, but there are usually more volunteers than the required number of assistants, and a lottery is held among parents, the winners of which travel with the class.

16. The school holds book fairs at least once a year. We even conduct them twice a year - in autumn and spring. Moreover, children are first brought to the preview, they make a list of books they would like to buy, bring it home, and then they come with their parents at the appointed time and make purchases.

17. At the end of the year, an album (year book) is published with photographs of all the children. This Talmud is not required to be purchased, but many people purchase it. There are pages for each class and group and individual photographs, including those of teachers. Photography at our school takes place twice a year - in the fall and in the spring, and it is carried out with the help of a separate company that takes pictures of all the children and then distributes the photographs to parents. If you like the photos, then they pay for them, if not, then they return them back or you can re-photograph them.

18. Many charity events are held in schools. Some of them are aimed at raising funds for the immediate needs of the school, and the other part - for the benefit of other organizations. For example, there is a collection of used books and a collection of used warm clothing for the benefit of those in need. Animal shelters sometimes ask for used towels to use as animal bedding. There is a program where you can register a supermarket loyalty card for the school’s account and the store will deduct some cents from every purchase I make to the school, and it doesn’t cost me anything and I don’t lose any discounts. Many products are sold with special coupons that need to be cut out and the children then collect them and bring them to school; there is a competition between classes to see who has collected the most. For each coupon, the school again receives some cents.

19. In American schools, children with any developmental disabilities (physical or intellectual) study together with everyone else in the same school and often in the same class.

In the USA there are no “special schools” or boarding schools, which I remember were in my childhood and where, for example, children with hearing impairments or children with other health problems studied. In our school I see students who cannot walk on their own and use strollers; there is a boy with very poor eyesight who walks, helping himself with a white stick for the visually impaired. A boy with Down syndrome goes to afterschool with my son. Such children usually have an additional adult assistant at school who meets them and helps them during the day if necessary. Most likely, the school also provides such children with the opportunity to adapt the educational process in one way or another. In all other respects, such children learn and socialize on an equal basis with other students. At our school there are several separate classes for children with severe intellectual or physical disabilities, they usually arrive at school a little later and finish a little earlier, that is, their school day is somewhat shortened and I assume that they are taught according to a special program, but they they still go to regular school. There are special teachers who work only with such children.

20. Upon admission to the school, the level of English is checked and lessons are given to improve it to those who need it. In order not to go too far from the previous point, I will write that, as far as I know, foreign languages ​​are not taught in elementary school. Most likely, this is not urgently necessary (see previous paragraph). I know that there are several schools in our school district where some subjects are taught in several foreign languages ​​(Spanish, French, German, Japanese - there are 2-3 specialized schools for each language). Access is theoretically open to everyone in our school district, but you have to win the lottery to get in.

22. There are no desks or blackboards on the wall in the classrooms. In an elementary school, there are several learning areas in the classroom - students either sit at round tables for 5-6 people, or sit on the carpet near the bookshelves, or sit at computers (of which there are several in the classroom). Usually the teacher gives a task, but everyone does it in their own format - part of the class at tables, part on the carpet, etc. No one requires the kids to sit with their hands folded on the table in front of them and not move. On the contrary, movement in the classroom is encouraged. By the way, there are no breakdowns into 45-minute lessons. There is a certain daily routine that everyone follows, lunch in the middle and a big break.

23. The lesson format is interactive and playful. It seems to me that there is no such thing as a teacher teaching a topic and then asking questions from the list. I know that children, for example, sit in a circle on the carpet and discuss some topic, for example, at the beginning of the year, discuss their plans for this year (yes, even in first grade), the teacher then writes it down on a flipchart. Then the children vote for the ideas that they liked the most and then the most popular ones make up something like a “class constitution for a given school year.” That is, everyone took part and most likely will now implement all this with great enthusiasm. In grades 0 and 1, children draw a lot, practically everything they write is supported by drawings - for example, what I can do best - expression in words and drawing, how I spent the weekend - and again drawing and description.

24. First, children are taught to write, and then errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation are corrected. In elementary school, children are encouraged to write as much as possible and parents are specifically told not to pay attention to mistakes, so as not to discourage children from writing. By the way, they learn to write with pencils, not pens. First they teach printed letters, no copybooks and writing with sticks and hooks in the first grade. In the first grade, for example, every week they drew and wrote “How I spent the weekend”, then at the end of the year they gave it all to their parents to read, it was very interesting and funny, they learned a lot of new things about their family.

25. Zero class is already a full-fledged educational class, and not a game at school. There are approximately 25 students per class per teacher and one teaching assistant. Children are engaged in reading, writing, science, including social skills, in a prescribed format. There is usually no homework in grade 0. In the zero and first grades at our school there are separate toilets, the entrance to which is right in the classroom, so that the kids do not wander around the school and do not get lost. At the end of the zero grade, all (!!!) children from four grades participated in the opera “The Three Little Pigs”, during the performance of which there was both a choir and solo numbers. The pig masks were handmade by the children in advance during art class. The level and scale of the production simply struck me to the very heart when I saw it.

26. All assessments are strictly confidential. No one will read the test results out loud in class. Quarterly grades are sent to parents in a sealed envelope. No one in the class knows who is studying well and who is struggling; everything is discussed by the teacher only with parents on an individual basis.

27. In the middle of the year, a meeting between teachers and parents is required, the so-called parents-teachers conference. It is individual in nature, i.e. the parent(s) of one student and the teacher. They usually talk about the student’s successes or problems. There are no parent-teacher meetings at school to discuss progress. Parents are usually invited to the school several times during the year, but exclusively for information sessions, where they are told about some specific areas of the school's activities.

28. From the 3rd grade you can get into advanced training. Our school district offers several levels of advanced learning for exceptionally gifted children. From zero to second grade, with parental permission (written!), such children are given more complex tasks. And if at the end of the second grade the child qualified for an advanced academic program, then he will study in a special program, in a separate class, usually either in the same school (if it has a sufficient number of such students), or in a specialized school in the district.

29. Core subjects in elementary school are reading, writing, math, science, and social skills. This is all taught by the main teacher. In addition, there is art (this includes drawing, modeling, and other crafts), music and physical education, but these are already taught by specialized teachers. The school also has a reading specialist who methodically helps in mastering this skill, there is a psychologist, there is a person responsible for “advanced” children. By the way, I was surprised when, in the first grade, my child was already learning the basics of statistics (poll the children in the class about their favorite dish and build a graph) or probability theory (if there is 1 blue pencil and 3 red ones in a basket, then which one will most likely end up with? in my hand if I pull it out with my eyes closed?). I don't remember anything like this happening in first grade. Much more than in my school (where, one might say, they didn’t teach at all), they teach children social skills here, for example, how to react to something that made me angry. There is no homework at all in the first grade, in the first it is very easy - read any book for at least 20 minutes, write on one topic per week, mathematics - solve examples on a couple of pieces of paper. Plus, every week students make sure to go to the school library and take books there to read.

30. The school regularly conducts fire drills and alarms in case of other emergency events (lockdown drills).

Students are taught to behave correctly in such situations, not to panic, to go to a designated place, etc. Parents are warned in advance when and what exactly this will be done at school. Our school operates and, accordingly, children study from 9:20 am to 4 pm. There are morning and evening after-school programs; children can be brought to the morning one from 7 o’clock, and the evening one from 4 to 6 pm. Moreover, the after-school program is administered separately and does not apply to schools, it is simply located in the same building. And yes, after-school care, unlike school, is not free; you don’t have to pay for it depending on the parents’ income. If the income is at the level of the middle class, then they charge the maximum for after-school hours and this is about $380 per month only for evening hours. Plus, the after-school program operates on days when school is not open - these are 4 days a year when teachers undergo training, something like advanced training; before the holidays when school hours are shortened; You can also take your child there for the winter and spring holidays, if necessary. There are usually no fall holidays here except for two extra days before the Thanksgiving weekend.

32. For the summer, children are given reading assignments in a very exciting way with prizes and a lottery. A list of literature for reading in the summer is given, divided by difficulty level, as well as a card where you need to mark in the boxes which books you have read (for example, fiction, a book about a famous person, a book that teaches how to do something, etc.) . P.). The more squares filled, the more prizes, and the main prize - a laptop - will also be raffled off among all participants. I would definitely take part!

33. In America you don’t have to go to school at all. Instead, you can study through homeschooling, that is, at home, if parents have the desire and the necessary resources of time, knowledge and techniques. Recently, more and more children are learning this way.