Today it is considered one of the most progressive in the world. Modern schools in the United States allow students to acquire high-quality knowledge about the planet and society.

Getting an education in schools in this country is a pleasure, because the pedagogy here is based not only on modern trends in American culture, but also on the history of the country. The lessons here will be especially interesting for incoming immigrants.

There are special English language schools in the USA. Language schools help many graduates become philologists. But in any case, the higher the level of language proficiency, the faster a foreigner will be able to join a new team.

Start of education for children

Another distinctive feature of an American-type school is that children enter here not in the 6th year of their life, but in the 5th. Although, it is worth noting the fact that private schools in the USA can accept students at 6 years of age. While for public schools in America the age of the entering child must be 5 years old, even if admission is to a gymnasium.

Admission occurs not in the first, but in the zero class. The first year of a child’s life adapts to new conditions, a different social environment, and this is why grade zero is needed. In his first lessons, he masters the basics of literature, mathematics and language. The child studies at school for 12 years.

A foreign citizen participating in an international exchange program can be admitted to the initial level at an American educational institution. Moreover, it does not matter what type of institution, public or private.

Structure of American education

This country has a three-stage educational system:

1. Elementary education.
2. Average.
3. Senior.

Each of these levels has its own school. They have different levels, number of subjects and unequal curricula. For example, in high school literature is taught more often.

Sports schools in the USA mainly accept older students. In such schools, literature is taught less frequently.

Different specialized institutions have their own tuition fees. For example, medical schools in the United States are considered one of the most expensive. The cost of classes there can reach 55 thousand dollars.

Regardless of the profile of the institution, each of them has its own name.

American charter schools

It is worth noting that the ranking of US schools where foreigners study includes quite a few Russian educational institutions. There is even a school at the Russian Embassy in Washington. Representatives of the Russian Consulate will definitely intervene in the educational process if any difficult or controversial situations arise.

Higher education in the USA does not yet exist for Russians.

Thus, high-quality school education in the United States is available to Russian students.

Elementary education

Primary education classes: from 1 to 5. Children during these years are often taught by 1 teacher. However, there are a number of subjects taught by other teachers, for example, we are talking about music, drawing, physical education, and so on. What children learn:

• Arithmetic.
• Natural Sciences.
• Letter.
• Social Sciences.
• Reading.

Elementary school in the USA has its own specific feature, which is the division of children by ability. How does division occur? Children must pass a test that determines their level of intellectual ability. Based on this testing, separation occurs.

When a child enters 3rd grade, he is asked to undergo such testing annually. If his level of intelligence has changed, then the child will be transferred to those children who are on the same level as him.

In gifted classes, more homework is assigned, instruction covers more aspects, children are given an abundance of information, and so on. But in classes for slow-growing children, there is almost no homework assigned. And studying in such a class is much easier.

Secondary education

High school in the United States aims to educate children from grades 6 to 8. At this stage, all subjects are taught by different teachers. Students study both general disciplines and those they have chosen themselves. Common items include:

• English language.
• Mathematics.
• Social sciencies.
• Physical Culture.
• Natural science, etc.

As for the subjects to choose from, the list is quite large, especially in private educational institutions. In some of them, specialized courses are not much different from those taught in colleges and higher education institutions.

The best American schools offer elective language courses. Students can study French, Chinese, German, Latin, etc.

A feature of this educational period is that schoolchildren annually change their team, as classes are reorganized.

Publications about educational problems in our country evoked a lively response from readers. Along with comments and questions, the editors received requests to talk in detail about how the Western school is structured, from which, it seems, our officials are copying the plan for remaking Russian education. It would be nice to talk about the American school. American films have taught us the idea that American school education is terrible. However, everywhere and always there is good and bad. And if we’re going to talk about it, let’s talk about a positive experience. A long-time author of our magazine, Valerian Matveevich Khutoretsky, who has been living in America for many years, prepared a detailed article for Chemistry and Life about how a good public school in the USA is structured and operates. This year the twin granddaughters of Valerian Matveevich graduated from it, so the information is, as they say, first-hand. We hope that the article will be interesting and useful not only for teachers, but also for those who care about the fate of school education, that is, all our readers.

There is no need for illusions - in America there are a ton of schools where they re-teach how to read and calculate fractions in class, and girls get pregnant already in middle school. But this applies mainly to schools in large cities. Many of those who work in big cities try to live in neighboring small towns, where the quality of life is higher. We are not talking about an American school in general, but only about a good public school in a good suburban area. The middle class lives here, which includes licensed repairmen, small business owners, managers of various ranks, realtors, etc., and not only, as is commonly believed in Russia, doctors, lawyers and “programmers” of all kinds. Real estate (house and land) in places with good schools can be twice as expensive as housing that is the same in other respects, which serves as a barrier to the appearance of unwanted neighbors. Personally, I have never been able to understand what comes first - the increased price of real estate or the high level of the school, but they are undoubtedly connected. Note that good schools can be found in poor places, and bad schools can be found in rich ones. When choosing a place to live, smart people who have or are planning to have children look at the rating of the local school. And there are ratings for everything in the world.

What schools are there?

Schools in America are private (private; if boarding, then boarding) and state or public (public). In the 2009-2010 school year, 10% of the total number of US schoolchildren and preschoolers, or 5.5 million people, attended private schools and kindergartens. Some children do not attend school at all (home schooling) for some reason, for example for religious reasons or to finish school faster. Private schools provide a good education, but tuition fees start at $10,000 per year. The upper limit of payment is unknown, but 35 thousand is a real figure. Public ones are free.

Education at school is divided into three levels: primary (from the first to the fifth grades, with a compulsory zero grade, kindergarten), secondary (grades 6-8) and higher, and there is no higher school in America (grades 9-12). should be confused with higher education in Russia, where universities are called that way. If translated exactly, then high or secondary school is a “high” school, and higher, tertiary or post-secondary (college) is “higher”, and none of them is the highest. Let's call her eldest or something. Each of the schools of all three levels is a completely independent institution, usually in a separate building and with its own teaching staff. If in a town there is, in addition to one or two secondary and several elementary schools, also a high school, then it also has an education department (Board of Education), which determines what, how and with what textbooks to teach in this district. In another town the program will be slightly different.

A really good school has many dozens of different courses, many of them taught at the university level. The choice of foreign languages ​​is something like this: Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese, German, Italian. The dropout rate at a good school is essentially zero, while in New York City, only 76% of white students and 56% of black students graduate from public high school. New Jersey has an average public school dropout rate of 1.7%.

There are also special schools for children with disabilities - in both directions. They are attended by either especially gifted children (admission by competition!) or children who require special attention - blind, deaf, or severely retarded in development. Disabled children and children with mild behavioral and developmental disabilities attend normal schools; The twins are separated into different classes. There are specialized schools, for example, the Stuyvesant physics and mathematics school, which is abbreviated as Stuy, in Manhattan (analogous to Moscow schools No. 2, 57, 179).

The most expensive back-to-school purchase is a computer, which lasts at least four to six years and costs about $800. In a year, office supplies are spent at most $100. Lunch costs $2-4, but you can bring food from home. To receive a free lunch, you just need to submit an application. Since “a good school in a good area” is a vague concept, let's put it this way: The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Blue Ribbon awards to 74 of the 490 high schools in New Jersey. Thus, we can assume that the share of “good” schools is approximately 15%.

Teachers and budgets

Teachers belong to a trade union, their salaries increase with experience and do not depend on personal achievements. To work as a teacher, you need a certificate from the state; without this, you can generally teach a lesson only in the presence of a “real” teacher. Most states will recognize a certificate issued by another state. According to a survey by the National Association of Science Teachers, in 2007, about half of high schools and one-third of middle schools had a shortage of science teachers (here called "Science"). In difficult situations, they hire a subject specialist (chemist, physicist, etc.), and he attends certification courses in the evenings for a year, while teaching classes at school. When studying at a four-year college, you can take the appropriate set of disciplines and receive a diploma and teaching certificate. About a third of the courses should be related to school work, the rest - general education and scientific specialization (mathematics, chemistry, etc.).

There are also special pedagogical colleges where teachers are trained, most often for primary and secondary schools. Not everything is always smooth with them; many of them are not accredited by anyone. How graduates of unaccredited colleges find work, I don’t know. Maybe they are the ones who produce teachers for “bad” schools in large cities and remote villages? All teachers at the school go to a two-day professional development conference once a year, and classes are suspended during this time. Another day or so a year, a teacher undergoes additional retraining, but then someone replaces him in the classroom. In a good school, ten percent of teachers have a doctorate (candidate of sciences), 73% have a master's degree. The teacher's workload is five lessons per day, 25 per week.

In theory, schools should be maintained by municipalities, and in a good place, 87% of the funds actually come from the local budget, and only 11% from the state budget and 2% from the federal budget. In a bad school (usually in a poor area), the picture is different: only 13% comes from the local budget, 74% from the state budget and 12% from the federal budget. The average salary of a teacher (half receive more, the other half less) in a good school is 81 thousand a year, in a poor area - 59. The budget of a good high school with four hundred graduates, which will be discussed later, is almost 40 million dollars a year.

When the New Jersey government cut subsidies to good schools due to the crisis, residents of some districts with such schools voted for voluntary tax increases to maintain high standards of teaching. It should be noted that not all of these residents have children, but a good school increases the price of real estate in its area. My point is that they are not necessarily altruists, they also vote to preserve the value of the property they own, even if it means paying extra in the form of a slightly higher tax. Both state and national governments are much more interested in preventing bad schools from becoming terrible than they are in maintaining the standard of good schools.

Textbooks, schedule and electives

An American elementary school differs from a Russian one not only in the presence of air conditioning, which is found in almost all US institutions, and in the shuffling of classes every year. There is no strict discipline here in primary school: children are not prevented from walking around the class, they can study while sitting in a circle on the floor, some can read on their own. They are taken to a clearing near the school, and then asked to write something about what they saw: about a piece of bark in the grass, a worm or a beetle, etc. However, by the fifth grade, everyone is already sitting at single desks and the lessons have an almost familiar look to us. .

In high school there are no classes at all as permanent groups: students move to different groups for different subjects, some of which they choose themselves. Basic subjects, including those included in "Science" - biology, chemistry, physics and earth sciences (geology, rocks and minerals, earth's crust, etc.) - remain mandatory. To have the right to choose a more complex program in a subject, you need to get an excellent grade in it in the previous year. From the 7th grade you can take an increased level of complexity in mathematics and English. In the 8th grade, the choice of subjects of an increased level of complexity is expanded and freedom is given to choose some optional subjects: cooking, for example, there are a lot of applicants, including boys.

In high school, over the course of four years, you must take three courses of more complex and varied (to choose from) “Science” and three courses in mathematics. In the 9th grade, science is “Fundamentals of Chemistry and Physics”, in the 10th grade - biology. At least one of the science courses should include laboratory work; in a good school, that's all. The choice is that you can either take courses of varying complexity (see below), or choose narrower subjects, that is, it could be ecology, not biology, astrophysics, not physics, etc. Required in high school are four yearlong courses of English language and literature, physical education, social and historical sciences, and at least one art course. In what order what to go through is a matter of taste, so it’s normal for tenth graders and 12th grade students to sit in the same class. Each year-long course taken is worth five credits. Some subjects are completed in one semester (2.5 credits). Another 15 credits (three annual courses) must be taken from many additional courses, but you can simply take one more course per year from the required ones. The amount by graduation must be at least 120 credits. University education is structured similarly: the total amount of credits and a list of compulsory disciplines, the rest is optional.

All students are called students - why not? But when you first hear about kindergarten students, you, of course, have fun. Each year of both high school and college has its own ordinal name: freshman - first year, sophomore - second, junior - third, senior - fourth.

School textbooks are published on thick paper and are richly and usefully illustrated, although this makes them very heavy. They are handed in at the end of the school year, since they are also expensive (more than $100 if you want your own copy), then they are passed on to another student. To solve the problem of heavy backpacks, many states have already introduced laptops that combine all textbooks, diaries and homework. Each student has a locker in the hallway, which is emptied at the end of the year.

School starts after the first Tuesday in September, Labor Day, and ends on June 24. The school year is divided into four quarters that do not involve holidays (the four Thanksgiving holidays in November, the Christmas holiday from December 24 to January 3, the second to last week of February, and the week in early April). Classes run five days a week. In high school, the day consists of eight lessons lasting 43 minutes. In four minutes between lessons, you need to have time to move to the desired subject room (the word “office” here means closet), and the school is long, because it only has two, rarely three, floors. So the traffic in the corridors after the bell is very, very busy. After the fourth lesson, 20 minutes are allotted for lunch.

At the end of the school year, each student makes a list of subjects, including their level of difficulty, that he wants to take for the next year. Since one of the eight lessons is physical education, these are seven subjects. So he puts together a program of seven courses and coordinates it with an advisor (see the chapter “Advisors”). The office arranges the schedules of all students and sends everyone a ready-made schedule for the next year. You can't change the teacher, whoever you get will be the one.

This schedule includes the room number where you will be staying all year. For example, the first lesson every day and all year will be physics (room 129), the second is always history (room 215), the third is geometry (room 117), etc. The exception is physical education, which is four days a week. Usually, double laboratory work is carried out at her expense once a week. Thus, five lessons per week are allocated for each subject.

Since there are no classes, then, in our understanding, there are no class teachers either. Each student is assigned to a Home Room, that is, a classroom. After the second lesson, the same teacher comes there for five minutes (therefore, the second break is five minutes longer), conducts a roll call and makes sure that all students listen to the current announcements on the radio, if necessary, distributes educational materials or some forms to them, which need to be filled out and then submitted to the office or nurse (certificate from a doctor to participate in competitions, permission from parents for an excursion, etc.). If the teacher has nothing to add to the radio broadcast, then he dismisses the students for recess.

Typical lesson and homework

A typical lesson is a lively lecture. The teacher engages students in discussion of a topic proposed in advance or presented during the lesson. Those who want to raise their hand and speak, the teacher encourages, sharpens the questions. Participation in a discussion is not a survey; there are no oral tests of knowledge here. Some teachers do not evaluate it at all, others, especially in language and historical disciplines, take it into account at their own discretion. This form of “voluntary survey” is aimed at consolidating what has been learned and developing one’s own opinion, and not at maintaining fear: if they call you, they won’t call you. The lesson is often illustrated by showing slides through a projector from the teacher’s laptop, experiments and fragments of films in foreign languages.

Homework is all written and submitted in class or online - every day. You can be sick, grab a couple of days for the holiday (a note from your parents) - please, but homework must be submitted, and without delay, for all the days of absence. Occasionally, instead of, or even together with, homework, larger assignments - “projects” - occur. Usually they are humanitarian. For example, write a short play in French and perform it in class (and repeat it at a parent-teacher meeting). Or organize a discussion “Are you for or against the co-education of boys and girls?”: one group of students collects arguments “for”, another group “against”, and the rest of the class judges. Often they are asked to create presentations (Power Point), for example, on the topic “Periodic Table”. Each represents the element assigned to it: position in the periodic table, properties, applications.

Team work is seen here as an important skill acquired in school, so both projects and class work are often carried out by two to four people. In computer science (fundamentals of computer science and computing), teamwork is the rule, not the exception. The project's task there is stated in the most general form: to write any application for the iPhone or come up with a game. The guys themselves get together in groups of two or four and work together, sometimes all year long. If something doesn’t work out, they go ask questions to other groups, or the teacher tells them who to consult.

The total grade for the project varies from teacher to teacher, but in general it is at the level of a major test. Everyone’s contribution to the project is usually not allocated, everyone gets an equal share. In addition to homework, there are tests (short, quiz, 5-20 minutes; more detailed, test, 40 minutes) and exams.

Grades and Difficulties

Exams appear at the end of middle school, and in high school they are held every six months. Cheating on exams and tests (but not cheating on homework, especially at the end of 12th grade!) is virtually unknown. In-school exams, which are compiled by teachers themselves, can be quite legitimately corrected if it turns out that the majority did not cope well with a particular task or the exam as a whole. Then scaling is carried out: those students who scored the highest percentage of correct solutions, say 95%, are given 100% credit, and the rest are given 5%.

The number of tasks or questions is measured in dozens; The time allotted for the exam is 90 minutes. Not all, but usually most of the tasks are tasks of choosing the correct solution from the proposed answers. There are no special days set aside to prepare for the exams, and the exams themselves take place four days in a row, or even two a day.

All grades are given in a letter system: A, B, C, D and F, with pluses and minuses added. For correctly solved 93% or more they give an A, 90-92% - an A with a minus, etc. Only 60% of correct answers (D-) will still be counted, but less is already an F (failed).

Grades are given at school, but they are not communicated in class, only to parents and the student. (Although many other cities in the country maintain a system of ranking students.) Now parents are simply given a password to a site with their child’s current grades.

Although other people's grades are unknown to those around them, closer to graduation, everyone's position in the educational hierarchy is not only known, but also accompanies the student's application for admission to the university. It is impersonal and represents the percentage of ten in terms of academic performance in which the student fell according to his average score: first ten, second ten. Getting into the top ten adds a diploma of “High Honors” to the certificate, in the second and third - “With Honors” (Honors). Each graduating class has the best student of the year (valedictorian), sometimes two, who are given the honor of making a speech to the graduates at the ceremony. Another category of awards consists of prizes from numerous scientific (Intel, Merck, Google, etc.) and artistic and humanitarian competitions and olympiads.

Submission of documents to universities ends on December 31, and by April 1, all universities send their decisions, and those accepted only need to ensure that they are not expelled from school before receiving a certificate. Therefore, in the second semester of the last, 12th grade, only enthusiasts or those who complete AP courses study (see below). The competition for admission to universities primarily takes into account the average score for the 10th-11th and the first semester of the 12th grade - the so-called GPA (Grade Point Average), which includes grades in all subjects except physical education and health, but including art subjects. Therefore, there are many people who want to improve it, and the main way to do this is no, not just to study well. To do this, you still need to increase the level of difficulty of the subjects you take.

Each subject in high school has four levels of difficulty. The names of these levels differ not only from state to state, but even from county to county. A fairly typical set: College Level or Advanced Placement (AP, AP); Accelerated or Honors; CPA or standard; and CPB or essential. The last two stand for “College Preparation” A and B. “A” means the usual, typical level, “B” is a little lower. In the certificate, these levels have different weights. If the maximum in CPA and CPB is estimated at 4 points, then the maximum in Accelerated (Honors) gives 4.33, and in AP - already 4.67 points. Selection for the Accelerated level is based on previous assessments; For AP, in addition, you must pass the entrance exam.

In addition to the assessment, many advanced courses have prerequisites: to take Advanced Algebra 2, you must pass Algebra 1, and to enroll in AP Physics or AP Statistics, you must complete Algebra 2, so your choice must be planned well in advance. To stay at the Accelerated level for the next year, an average score of B minus is enough, but in order to move from it to the AP level, you need to have an annual A, and occasionally they can take an A with a minus. AP is the highest level, corresponding to the first year of university. The first three AP courses (European history, biology, art) are allowed to be taken in the 10th grade, then more, and some courses are available only in the last grade.

The most prestigious universities will not seriously consider certificates with a GPA below 4.25, and this is unattainable without honors and AP courses. But most universities and colleges in the United States count a high school AP course as a course taken at the university. Many schoolchildren use this opportunity to obtain a bachelor's degree not in four years, but faster, which, given the rapidly growing tuition fees (recently about 10% per year), can save tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, taking a lot of AP courses is a plus when considering an application for admission to universities, and the competition for the most prestigious colleges exceeds ten people per place.

They say that there was a girl at school who was able to take 16 AP courses. My granddaughter's friend passed 14, but not with maximum grades, which lowered her main indicator - GPA. Unfortunately, she was not accepted into any of the prestigious universities she chose. The adviser (see below) got her into a university of a lower rank, where she initially did not apply, although for full support (full ride): she pays nothing for tuition or living expenses.

Private exams

Grade point average (GPA) is important for admission to universities, it is evidence of the quality of mastering school material, an indicator of stable interest in studying. After this, the second most important indicator is the results of exams conducted by private organizations. Their goal is to determine how ready a student is to continue studying in college, that is, to evaluate his abilities and work skills, and not the sum of his accumulated knowledge. For them, the school provides a place and teacher supervision on a free day.

These exams cost money and are only taken by college-bound students, but at a good school that's pretty much it. There are essentially two such exams: SAT (Sholastic Assessment Test) and ACT (American College Testing), although the more common SAT has additional varieties. You can take either or both of them and in any class. The SAT is administered by the same organization, the College Board, that tests and scores AP exams.

The regular SAT (there are also subject SATs or SAT II, ​​which assess knowledge in chemistry, physics, economics, language, etc.) consists of three parts, each of which has a maximum weight of 800 points: this is critical reading. , which includes testing the student’s ability to analyze texts, in particular, to compare two texts by different authors on a similar topic; writing - the ability to choose the right means to convey thoughts, in particular, in 25 minutes you need to write an essay, preferably five paragraphs with an introduction and conclusion; and basic mathematics. In addition to tasks for choosing from four possible options, the SAT also has tasks that require a free-form answer, and the difficulty of the tasks varies. It's 3 hours and 45 minutes long, and time is rarely wasted.

Of course, testing agility using such a system is reminiscent of an exercise in solving speed problems and thus allows you to assess only the ability to solve problems that do not require deep thinking, but such problems, in fact, are to be solved in college. By the way, the ability to concentrate for four hours is also an important skill in college. This exam is good for ranking students for admission to decent, but not the most prestigious, universities. It is held many times a year, it can be retaken, however, since 2011 it costs 50 dollars (last year it was 25). In accordance with the future specialty, the university's SAT requirements vary depending on the specialty that the applicant has chosen: if you are a future artist, then you may not be interested in the mathematical section at all.

So, the graduate receives two important documents: a record of grades with GPA and SAT and/or ACT results. The third required component for admission success is recommendations, and the most important of these is the school reference. Guidance Counselors, who write this reference, play a prominent role in school life. They give students advice on behavior at school, choosing subjects for the year, changes in personal schedules, but, of course, their main job is admission to universities. Their task is to know the students, and there are 50-60 of them per advisor in the graduating class alone, so they distribute questionnaires to students, communicate with teachers about their students, and simply encourage them to come in more often. With the question “Why does my Vasya get a D in geometry?” You can go straight to the math teacher, but everything else goes to the counselor; there are no class teachers at school.

When applying for admission, social activities are taken into account - sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A system of recommendations is practiced from those places where the applicant has worked, as an employee or as a volunteer. Individual teachers, as well as extracurricular teachers and coaches of art, ballet, sports, religious schools, studios and clubs can give their recommendation - at the request of the student, of course. All recommendations are sent directly to the admissions office of the university; the recommended person does not see them.

Almost all universities upon admission require several recommendations and two or three short essays on a free or given topic: from the standard “Why our university?” to exotic things like “How could you use the ability to write backwards?” These essays are not entrance exams (although they are practiced in some places); they are additional, in addition to recommendations, material for studying the personality of the applicant.

When selecting students, achievements in any type of activity, especially competitive ones, are valued. A future chemist who has a diploma from a laureate of a piano competition has an advantage in admission. Why? Because this diploma shows that a person can achieve something, win, and we will teach chemistry. Sports achievements are welcomed, but to varying degrees in different universities. In some, promising athletes are searched for, invited, and fully or partially exempted from tuition and living fees. In others this is a plus, but all other things being equal. A system of interviews (interviews) is widely practiced, which are often conducted by former graduates of this university who live or work near the applicant. There is another scheme: a representative of the admissions committee comes to places where there are many applicants and conducts interviews with them at one of the nearby schools.

At the end of the 11th (not the last!) grade, the student usually has a list of potential universities for admission, agreed with the adviser. It has three approximate gradations: at the limit of the possible, your own level and reserve, where it seems that you should definitely take it. Typically the list consists of 10-15 titles. More would be nice, since many 2011 graduates received one or two offers in response, some received nothing, but everything has a price: in 2011, each application cost $75, plus sending out SATs to every college beyond the first five - more fifteen (results will only be accepted from the organization that conducted the exam).

Colleges are chosen not only by the Internet or the very informative printed Fiske Guide to Colleges, which includes only the top 300, less than 10% of the total. On holidays and weekends, many parents with children travel around the country, attending open days in prospective places of future study, in order to see for themselves where the child will live, what to eat, what and how he will be taught.

Mathematicians, chemists, humanists

The problem with the American school is mathematics. Intimidated by her bogey, teachers introduced “connected math” in high schools, which “intelligibly,” that is, using ready-made formulas, teaches how to calculate the area of ​​a barn or the perimeter of a fence. Although middle school would be a good time to hone your abstract thinking abilities. As a result, children develop not understanding, but fear of the very discipline that is designed to create a simplified, idealized image of complex phenomena in the natural sciences. If at home they understand what is happening and help the child, then you can go a year ahead: get an “excellent” in the seventh grade and in the eighth take a simple, but at least reasonable algebra 1 instead of Connected math. Rigorous mathematics appears only in geometry for 10 years. th grade or AP courses in mathematical analysis (Calculus).

The computer classes at the school are quite well equipped, but not luxurious. There are two of them in the mathematics department (for geometry and computer science) and two in the art department, where lessons in architecture and computer graphics and design are taught. Computer science classes teach the programming languages ​​Visual Basic and Java and relational databases.

Natural science subjects are taught at a quite decent level. Compulsory chemistry in high school is the Periodic Law, atomic structure, valency and bonds, molar ratios, expression of concentrations. Biochemistry is taught in a biology course and includes metabolic cycles, the structure of carbohydrates, proteins and DNA. A one-year AP chemistry course in high school includes gas laws, the structure of crystals and solutions, acidity and basicity, redox reactions, molecular structure (s- and p-bonds, hybridization, basic orbital theory, chirality, isomerism), equilibria, Arrhenius equation and kinetics, the beginnings of organic and analytical chemistry. Mastering such a course at school is serious work, however, the same applies to biology and physics courses.

In laboratory work, they use both simple instruments such as electronic scales, burners, pipettes, burettes, and the old reliable Spectronic 20 spectrophotometer, developed back in the late 50s and modified many times. If anyone remembers the Soviet SF-4, then the Spec is even more compact and simpler. The results are averaged: “one experience is no experience.”

However, the majority of school graduates choose humanities for their future: politics, business, art, psychology, languages, so the humanitarian component of American education is at a very high level. World literature, cinema and society, the Middle East, Russian history, macroeconomics, US government, six levels of Chinese, four Spanish - these are just examples offhand from the humanities courses offered. From a very early age, students learn the structure of not only sentences, but also the entire composition. A school essay in high school in any subject consists of more than just an introduction, discussion and conclusion. The location, purpose and volume of each phrase in it are defined and reinforced by repeated practical repetition. In high school creative writing classes (there is an elective), children write one page of free text every day or a story once a week.

Although only two years of foreign language are required in high school, colleges usually require at least three years, and those intending to enroll are forced to follow this.

The children started learning French in the 6th grade (in elementary school they studied Spanish quite uselessly), well enough to calmly read The Little Prince in the original and ask about the road in Paris. The subjects of aesthetic education (painting, drawing, cinema, dancing, music, drama, etc.) are all right here, but we won’t talk about them in more detail. Working part-time in a movie theater in the summer, my granddaughter now doesn’t so much tear off ticket stubs or sell popcorn as she paints the glass of the entrance panel with scenes from new films - she was well taught drawing and painting, therefore.

Not just lessons

At the end of the school year, in elementary, and in some places in secondary schools, they organize a Strawberry Festival - a celebration in the schoolyard with many attractions, lotteries, competitions (what a squeal there is during a tug of war!), prizes, ice cream, hot Great Danes. At this time, strawberries really ripen, but these days this has nothing to do with the holiday. The police take part in the general entertainment: they measure the speed of throwing a baseball with their radars. One of the teachers is sacrificed: they are seated over a transparent box with a target filled with water, and if someone hits the target, the hatch opens and... the victim has fun with everyone else - it’s hot.

In middle and especially high school, where there are no permanent study groups, social life separates children into groups, “cliques.” The school has a parent committee; parents are invited to almost all events, except discos. Entertainment does not overshadow studies, but creates a favorable background. School magazines publish literary works and drawings by students, usually from advanced homework assignments. The school library subscribes to 140 journals, including some scientific ones. In the halls and corridors there are exhibitions of schoolchildren's works, popular concerts of school orchestras, sports competitions with other towns, but the central event of the year is the production of a musical, which brings the whole school together; Even a basketball game between teachers and students does not attract such an influx of spectators.

As you know, dates in the USA begin with a month, so October 23 is celebrated as Mole Day (don’t forget - 6.02x1023, Avogadro’s number). On this day, pyrotechnic outrages are staged in chemistry, and the fire alarm in the school has to be turned off. The number pi is equal to 3.14 with kopecks, so March 14 is Pi Day, recommended by the US Congress for celebration throughout the country. Since the word “pie” sounds exactly the same, on this day pies are brought to mathematics, naturally in the shape of a circle, preferably homemade. There they are carefully cut, and then there is no more mathematics. Every student studying physics in high school must build a bridge (for a toy car) out of wooden toothpicks and PVA glue, 25 cm long and weighing no more than 60 grams. Then, in an atmosphere of general excitement, bridges that previously passed the qualification minimum strength are broken according to strict rules. For the strongest bridge, and good ones can withstand 50 or even 70 kg, they give an award, which is mentioned in the application for admission to college.

It's impossible not to admire the typical suburban school stadiums, with full-size football and baseball fields, tennis courts, running tracks, lighting and bleachers for hundreds of spectators. It is equally impossible to list all the clubs (circles): discussion, cinema, chess, philosophy, botanical, ethnic, etc., etc. To create a new club, it is enough to find a teacher who is ready to attend its meetings (this is included in duties of teachers), and, if necessary, collect or earn money for its operation. It’s not uncommon to see notices near schools like “We wash cars for $5 to raise funds for the fencing team.”

Children under 12 years of age are prohibited from being left alone - they can easily be deprived of parental rights, but from the age of 13 a child has the right to work, and many begin to earn extra money as tutors or looking after small children. It should be noted that the work of older schoolchildren is more the rule than the exception. This is both an opportunity to get acquainted with different sides of life (how do you like to spend a month tending the paths in a national park in Alaska, then a week-long excursion around this state?), and a way to earn pocket money. Even millionaires don’t just give them away: it’s not pedagogical.

In religious and even sanctimonious America, both religion and the promotion of atheism are not allowed in public schools. In general, district intervention in the educational process is rare. But here's an example: a provincial school district in Pennsylvania voted to introduce in school, in addition to evolutionary theory, also creationism (more precisely, the so-called intelligent design theory). The violent protest of educated teachers and parents led to the second “monkey trial” - a trial that had to be decided by the US Supreme Court in 2005.

But at school they teach a tolerant attitude towards various kinds of “otherness”, from race to sexual orientation. Asian children in a good school make up about 10-15 percent, African-American - about two. Racial tensions in a good school are usually not serious. At any rate, my granddaughters' friends include all races.

Motivation of schoolchildren

My smart granddaughter, back in the sixth grade, asked her Chinese friend, an excellent student: “Why bother for an A (A), what’s the difference if it’s an A with a minus?” “The difference will be in the college you can go to,” was the immediate answer.

There is internal motivation when a person cannot live without knowledge and understanding, even in conditions completely unsuitable for study, like Socrates, Lomonosov, our late contemporary, mathematician (and not only, he did a lot for biology) I.M. Gelfand. A similar, albeit not so large-scale, phenomenon is the students of special schools in Russia and America.

External motivation is, first of all, family attitudes and the desire to enter a more prestigious college. Teachers, peers, and friends also play a big role in the development of such motivation: “Who will you get along with…”. This is the external motivation that creates the environment in which students of good schools find themselves. A young, middle-income American family has a choice: buy (in installments, of course) a luxury home in an area with a mediocre school, or a modest house in an area with a good school. Those who choose the second option find themselves in a circle of like-minded neighbors: people who value the education of their children above personal convenience. In this environment there will be the best teachers who receive higher salaries in a good school and work in a normal human atmosphere, there will be peers who have been selected for motivation, if not internal, then at least under the pressure of their families. I don’t see much difference here with Russian good schools, lyceums, gymnasiums, etc.

There are plenty of people who don’t want to study everywhere, it’s a matter of the degree of reluctance. I don't have quantitative data. I’ll say this: in a good school, not everyone is eager for knowledge, but there is no such thing as someone trying to disrupt a lesson. When half wants to study, and the other does not know what she wants, then the study goes quite successfully. If half of the class actively does not want to do anything, then the few who want to learn have a hard time. It is difficult to expect a child to be highly motivated to study if he eats only once a day - at a free lunch at school, since his parents spend everything on drugs or drink. There are cities where children who receive a free lunch make up the vast majority, even if it is not their only meal of the day.

Conclusion with an afterword

I am only talking about my experience and am not trying to convince you that the American school is the best in the world. I started the story by saying that there are absolutely terrifying schools and there are probably no fewer of them than good ones. But I emphasize that next to my granddaughters’ school, there are some bad schools and schools of the same level as theirs. I visited them, talked to parents, read reviews about them, looked at their ratings. Ours is not exceptional.

The American school system is not perfect, but at its best it meets the needs of modern post-industrial American society. Essentially, the choice of training options in it is free only in one direction - where it is more difficult. Whatever is easier is a must. Although, perhaps, there is another choice: if you don’t want to study, don’t study (after your 16th birthday). Not all students can fully use the opportunities provided to them; they need a natural minimum of abilities and constant attention from, yes, “family and school.” The best American schools are good, but there is no system that provides equal opportunities for development for everyone. And where is it, or at least was it?

Having roughly finished these tales, I sat down to read “Chemistry and Life” for June 2011 and discovered the article “What to teach in chemistry lessons?” It seems to me that my notes are quite consistent with some of the thoughts expressed in it. The humanitarian bias in American school education has already led to the fact that specialists in computer and even some natural sciences and technologies have to be imported. This is easily feasible in the US due to higher wages and better work organization. Even in the future, Russia does not have such an opportunity to retain the remaining ones, so it needs a school education system that is self-sufficient, much more scientifically oriented than in the United States. After all, it is possible to retrain from a technician to a humanities specialist, but it is not possible to go the other way.

Khutoretsky M.V.
“Chemistry and Life” No. 10, 2011

Absolutely all American youth films show us heavenly learning conditions in their schools. It’s as if the lessons there are more like entertainment, the interior of the classrooms in schools resembles a home environment, and the student has the right to snack on a hamburger right in class. But is this really so?

September 1 - the student himself chooses the subjects he wants to study

Before the new school year begins in American schools, students are asked to independently choose the subjects they want to study for the first semester. Approval is given by the school director based on how many children have already enrolled in a particular class. As a rule, American schools require the study of four compulsory subjects: mathematics, English, history and science (chemistry, physics, zoology, biology, etc.). Next, the student is provided with a list of 50 subjects, three of which must be selected in addition to the required ones.

In Russian schools there is no such freedom - children study the disciplines that the Ministry of Education has developed for them. Thus, American children have a clear advantage over their Russian peers - they are unlikely to get bored with the subjects that they themselves chose to study. While Russian schoolchildren literally sleep in their least favorite lessons.

Difficulty levels of subjects in American schools

All American high school students must pass 4 levels of difficulty in compulsory subjects. For example, in the 9th grade they can study English at the first level, in the 10th grade - the second level, in the 11th grade - the third level, and in the 12th grade they can complete the study of the subject.

In Russia, everything is different - the complexity of the subject increases gradually, throughout all 11 years of study.

Uniforms in American schools

American children are completely freed from the obligation to go to school exclusively in uniform. “The main thing is for students to feel comfortable,” teachers say. There are, of course, exceptions in some states. But in general, school uniforms are optional.

In our schools it's the other way around. The Ministry of Education remembers with affection the USSR, when a student stood out in the crowd, and in the classrooms the financial situation of each student was not visible. That is why uniforms have returned to Russian schools. Seeing a student in loose-fitting clothes in a Russian school, the minimum that threatens him is an entry in a diary. Basically, already on the threshold of the educational institution, children are sent to change clothes and put themselves in school appearance.

Student and school administration

In American schools, the relationship between teacher and student is strikingly different. Unlike Russian schools, in America a student can easily talk with the director or teacher about show business, discuss politics or talk about personal topics. The school principal's door is always open to any student. Americans are sure that the smaller the line between student and teacher, the better the mutual understanding.

In Russia, they take the concept of subordination too seriously and you shouldn’t even count on friendship with the teacher.

When to go home?

Unlike Russian schoolchildren who count down the minutes until the bell rings, American children are in no hurry to go home. What for? At school, all conditions have been created for them that allow them to communicate with their friends, develop as individuals, and engage in hobbies.

All American schools have their own small theaters, sports and music clubs, well-groomed school grounds with lawns and everything necessary for picnics. All this is aimed at ensuring that school becomes a favorite place for children, and that lessons do not turn into torture.

In Russia, in this regard, everything is not so rosy and it is not at all due to the lack of theaters and sections. By the way, they are in all schools. The matter most likely has to do with the mentality of Russian children. It’s customary to go straight home after school in order to have time to do numerous homework and pack a heavy backpack for tomorrow.

The result: in America, schoolchildren have more freedom, which Russian children can only dream of.

Moms are like that. It doesn't matter where we live, in Moscow or New York. We all want our children to be healthy and happy. It is fashionable to talk about the difference in mentalities and approaches to education and upbringing. Well, what really? Watching and learning from other people's experiences is always useful. Ready to learn about school life on the other side of the Atlantic?

In contact with

Classmates

There is no September 1st

If we are preparing for the First of September from the beginning of July, then in America this day generally passes unnoticed and no one is preparing for it. No flowers or bows, poems or gifts for teachers.

The school year starts at different times in each state. In one it may be as early as August, in another it may be closer to mid-September. Children simply come to class and begin to learn without any ceremonial lines. Like this: without excessive emotionality, quite pragmatically.

Grades and homework are not the main thing

All my friends in Russia study their children’s electronic diary every day and, after several bad grades, rush to ask the teacher his opinion on the reasons for the decline in academic performance.

In the United States, mothers are not obsessed with daily grades and perfect homework. This is not an end in itself. It is more important that the child understands that he needs to work, that any effort aimed at achieving a result is valuable. Any.

Foreign languages ​​are not taught in elementary grades

In Russian schools, languages ​​are now taught from the second grade. My eldest daughter changed two schools in Russia, and there was no option to learn any other language other than English.

And in American public schools in the elementary grades they do not study languages ​​at all. Only in secondary school can a student choose a foreign language at will. There is no such close attention to the study of languages ​​in America, so most natives speak only English. Or they learn Spanish, especially if they live on the West Coast. This is due to the proximity of Latin America.

Language courses and trainings in the USA are considered the lot of migrants. When registering for school, you will be required to take an English language test if the child was born in another country.

Nobody's trying to skip gym

Few Russian children engage in serious sports within the walls of their school. Physical education is generally considered a secondary subject.

In America, there are serious sports clubs right at school. They allow children to express themselves in the most popular sports in the country. And if a girl chooses handball, and a boy chooses ballroom dancing, then no one will be surprised: self-expression is welcomed in everything.

Being on a school team is not just cool, it is prestigious and very promising. There is always a chance that a scout (a manager of sports clubs who is looking for young and promising athletes) will come to your team’s final match and offer you a sports scholarship to your dream college.

After-school clubs have serious sponsors

Now Russian schools, like American schools, offer a sufficient selection of clubs for every taste. In the Moscow region, the average cost of eight classes per month is from 2,000 rubles, and there are very few free clubs.

In America, children themselves decide which club they will attend and enroll in it on their own. The most popular sections have sponsors who allocate funds for musicals, creative and scientific projects. The clubs themselves are usually free, but parents can pay for outdoor activities, costumes, and props.

Parents also receive certificates

In Russia, all activities of the parent committee come down to collecting and distributing funds for the needs of the class.

In the USA, being a PTA mom is very prestigious. Such mothers go to meetings with the administration, they know everything about everyone, and have weight in making decisions about the development of the school.

At the end of the year, the director will definitely thank the parent committee for the work done and will present a certificate and other awards in front of the entire school staff. Of course, it is mainly non-working mothers who are involved in such activities. But they carry out this type of “social work” with incredible enthusiasm and dedication. In society, this is also perceived as work.

Fever and cold do not excuse you from lessons

In the US, a runny nose and cough are not considered reasons for missing classes. The doctor will see you if the child’s temperature is close to 39 degrees. Everything else is rather a minor deviation from the norm.

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 enrolled in 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, it is mandatory to go to mathematics, biology, and physical education - as many as 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 outside 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 of.

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