AMERICAN EDUCATION: THE FIRST 12 YEARS

I. THE GOALS AND PURPOSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

Elementary and high school education is mandatory to both able and disable pupils. School programs are provided in both English and the native languages for foreign pupils (until they can keep up with English teaching in class) to help them maintain fluency and literacy in their native languages as well as English. Public schools are supported and controlled by states or by local governments rather than by the federal government. State laws of education vary from state to state. It is requires that children from 6 to 17 must attend schools and their parents are charged no fees. Pupils go to schools in their own districts normally there is one school within six square miles.
II. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS:

Public schools are coeducational for both sexes, which creates sexual equality and self-sufficient for women. The curriculum of public schools are normally decided and controlled by the states or the local governments (the districts). Districts schools are run by the elected board of education. They then hire administrators who give decisions about
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education standards. This system creates strong ties between the districts schools and the community. There is a complete separation of public schools and religions. It creates an opportunity to share a common cultural heritage in a diverse population. There two kinds of private schools: a. parochial / religious private schools which funded by a particular religion b. independent schools which are not affiliated by any religious group Private schools charge tuition and are not under direct public controlled though in many states they are imposed educational standards by the state governments.
III. TEACHING METHODS AND APPROACHES

The American teaching doctrines and techniques are influenced by DEWEY, the twentieth century philosopher. Dewey believes in the combination of theories and practices: Learning + doing it Sciences + experiments Learning music + making/composing music Democratic principles + doing them in students councils Creativity + teamwork in school projects School Scopes
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Pupils are taught with social knowledge and life skills: campaigns against smoking and illegal drugs, sex education, and conflict resolution skills: cooking, sewing, driving
IV. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

a. Kindergarten starts at 5. The purpose is to set up their personality and community living. However, this kind of knowledge is already taught in nursery schools. Thus todays tendency is teaching simple academic knowledge about letters, numbers, colors, and shapes and playtime. b. American children before 5 can go to preschools, which often charge tuition though they are subsidized by the state. c. Nursery schools are for children from 3 to 5 mostly in half-day programs. d. There are also day-care centers for younger children, too. Day-care systems are out of the governments educational system in the USA. e. Day-care centers can be provided by places of business for their employees, by colleges or universities for students or for the teaching staff.
V. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Levels or grades: 12 grades School year: from late August or early September mid June

Academic work: reading, writing and arithmetic (doing simple calculations)

Primary grades: kindergarten, first grade and second grades Elementary really begins at the third grade and in some schools up to the eighth grade. In fact, elementary or grammar schools vary in different school systems There is a division between junior high schools (from 5 to 8 or 6 to 8 grades) or middle schools (7 to 9)

A school day lasts 6 hours long and ends at 3p.m Academic subjects often go along with arts like music and plays. Computers are also a common study in elementary schools.
VI. HIGH SCHOOL (SECONDARY EDUCATION)

American high schools provide two kinds of educations: a. College preparatory programs for those who seek higher education or Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which they earn college credits. b. Vocational Training for those who want to enter work immediately after high school graduation
VII. SCHOOL PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS

The first problem is MONEY. Since public schools are supported by the local governments, especially districts schools, the facilities of American schools vary from school to school depending on the financial conditions of a
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particular community. This affects a lot the quality of education. The second problem is the shortage of QUALIFIED TEACHERS. Teaching is a hard, time-consuming job and the rewards are not what they should be. The third problem is STUDENTS IRRESPONSIBILITY in their study. They are today much affected by material life, emotional issues, drinking and illegal drugs. There are others factors which more or less interfere with education quality or which create public controversy: Parents options of schools due to their dissatisfaction with schools Governments policies on educational budget or education standards