Lesson rap and class passes: 16 of the main differences between Russian and American schools - ForumDaily
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Lesson rap and class passes: 16 of the main differences between Russian and American schools

Judging by the series, the main difference between the American school and the Russian one is that in the United States, students have much more time for their personal lives, and they also have their own lockers. If you listen to the parents, then in one system they do not give any knowledge, while the other paves the way for a child a broad path into life. True, which of them is good and which is bad, there is no unequivocal opinion. Edition AdMe.ru decided to figure it out, and this is what the journalists managed to learn about the main differences between the American school and the Russian one.

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The beginning of the school year

1 September is the day of knowledge. It is difficult to find a Russian who does not know this holiday and does not suspect when the school year begins for schoolchildren. Whereas in the US, children in each state start school at different times. There, each district has the right to decide this issue independently. The main thing is that it should be no earlier than the beginning of August and no later than mid-September.

Other government standards

Most of the differences between the Russian school and the American can be put in one short phrase "they have different standards." And to understand it is literally. Education in Russia is subordinate GEF (Federal State Educational Standards), clear requirements set out in multi-page documents. They concern the entire organization of the process, regulate programs, authorized textbooks, and various reporting.

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In the US there is CCSS (Common Basic State Standards), which also cannot be described in two sentences. However, the volume of this document is much smaller, it only describes what knowledge and skills in the main subject areas children should have by the end of each stage of education. American standards do not specify which topics in which order and in what form children should study. This is at the discretion of the school districts, the schools themselves, and individual teachers.

There are no classmates in high school

In the American picture of the world, the main task of the school is not to teach all children physics or lyrics, but to help every child understand that he is interested in what he wants to do in life and contribute to the first steps in this direction. Russian schoolchildren often ask parents questions from the series “I want to be an architect, why should I study the synecdocha?” In the United States, there is no reason. If a Russian education relies on an erudite person, then an American stands for narrow specialists.

Therefore, already in high school, subjects are divided into compulsory (several) and optional (many). Each student must score at least a certain number of training hours of their choice. It makes no sense to organize children in classes, because it is impossible to create a single schedule for them. Those who have attended a joint lesson in chemistry should not go to math together, because some have scheduled robotics, others have Spanish, while others are rushing into biology.

Children are not taught to write beautifully

The ability to write is at least legible - one of the basic requirements for a Russian student. How many children’s and, what to hide, parental tears were shed over the inscriptions! How much treasured cells mean to us that we must skip to the left and step back down.

American schools believe that a child just needs to be able to write, and that’s enough. Moreover, only seven states have children are seekingso that they learn how to write in capital letters somehow. In the rest, they believe that there are enough printed ones. But computer input will be taught already at the first stages of education, and many homework will be allowed to be handed over in printed form. Is it worth envying American first-graders? It's up to you to decide, but perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the numerous researchproving a direct connection between freehand writing and thinking.

Pupils don't need to get up when a teacher enters class

The Russian school is sure that discipline and formal respect for the teacher are closely related to academic performance. In the American school, democratic values ​​are at the forefront. When the teacher enters the classroom, the children may not get up. They only need to turn their attention to the teacher.

One of the basic skills of American students is the ability to participate in discussions, express ideas and argue them. Therefore, in the United States, during a lesson in a classroom, it can be noisy if a heated argument breaks out between students and a teacher. If the child raises his hand at this time, it is solely to attract attention, and not to get the right to answer.

Assessment is a student’s private affair

Americans prefer the 5-point system of Russia to the 5-letter system - from the letter A, which means "excellent", to the letter E, which teachers often replace with F, because it means a complete fiasco, fail (fail).

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But if you were horrified by the rigidity of this system, then keep in mind that in the United States it would not occur to any teacher to voice a student’s grade in front of the whole class. It is possible to praise an answer or work out loud, but not to give an assessment - even if it is excellent, because it will be a violation of the privacy so important for Americans.

There are no parent meetings, but there are parent chat rooms

The main goals of parent-teacher meetings in Russia are to convey to the parents the requirements of the school for students, to talk about their performance and behavior, to bring up for discussion any kind of in-school activities. All these reasons for all parents to get together, the Americans seem wild.

What the American school wants from her student, she tries to convey to him personally. The teacher discusses successes and problems of children with parents privately. Another thing is a gross violation of accepted standards. The meetings are confidential, and the presence of a painfully blushing child, who is spoken of in the third person, is often not provided for. School-wide affairs are handled by the school board. Parents learn school news through a special newsletter, and this is information, not questions for a broad discussion.

Instead of parent committees, parent associations

Among parents there will always be those who are eager to take part in school affairs. In Russia, they have a direct path to the parent committee, which often becomes a constant source of conflict with everyone. It is mothers from the parent committee who most often come up with brilliant ideas to chip in something, celebrate the end of the school year with a pomp worthy of a provincial wedding, and “thank teachers”.

In the US, any active parent can join PTA (Parent Teacher Association) is a serious organization with membership fees and significant political influence. There he will be able to address not only intra-school, but also nationwide issues related to the well-being of children. But the concerns of a smaller scale - to bake a pie for the school fair, to help make costumes, to accompany the children on an excursion - are decided on a volunteer basis: teachers in a special mailing list tell you what kind of help they need and where they will respond.

In punishment, the student may not be allowed to go to school

This is where the shows don't lie to us: one of the worst punishments for an American teenager is expulsion from school for a few days. In the United States, they are guided by the fact that the child needs education first of all. He chooses his own future, so the need to catch up is a serious sanction. However, such measures are used when increasingly milder methods have been tried. Both the school psychologist and the social pedagogue will resolve any conflict.

In Russia, teachers and specialists also solve the problem with a troublemaker. But we can't be dismissed. In case of repeated violations, if the school proves that it has tried all measures, the child may be expelled. But this is a very complex process are involved many authorities, including the juvenile commission.

Teacher can sing in a rap lesson

In the American school, the teacher knows that he must interest the children and then lead them to a concrete result. In how exactly he achieves this, the teacher has a certain freedom. For example, he can read rap, to convey algebraic laws to students, assuming that his audience (children from a poor gangster Latin American area) is able to learn them in this form.

Licenses (it is mandatory for any teacher, otherwise he will not be able to continue to work at school) can be lost not for introducing innovations, but for behavior that violates the student’s personal boundaries. Familiar to many Russian schoolchildren, the phrase “Have you forgotten your head at home?” In America is for the teacher the right ticket to the very advice of the school, and court proceedings may follow. At the same time, the student can let self neglect of the teacher with much less serious consequences.

A call to a lesson may not ring

Many American schools do not have bells. It is believed that both students and teachers are able to keep track of time themselves. There is a clock in sight - and that's enough. The breaks are very short: it seems that in the USA, as in Russia, schools are guided by the principle “the best rest is a change of activity” and give students 5-7 minutes, which is just enough to change textbooks and go to another class. The longest break is for lunch. It is one and lasts from 20 to 40 minutes. Therefore, it is not worth believing the series in which American teenagers sort things out for a long time during breaks.

Pupils do not go to circles

There are no clubs in American schools. Extracurricular activities are actually part of the program. Numerous associations, such as a school orchestra, debating club, theater, competition club, newspaper or radio station, are considered very serious activities, they are mentioned in special letters to college, and participation in them increases the chances of admission.

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This approach often leads to the fact that students, contrary to the original plan, choose not what is interesting to them, but what will be better to look in a cover letter to the admissions office. Relax and engage in embroidery or ceramics can only be afforded by those who initially do not intend to enter prestigious universities.

They don’t have sports sections either.

Another phrase alien to Americans is “sports section”. Sports are an important part of American school culture: each school has several sports fields for baseball, football and basketball, maybe even its own courts and pool. Having proved himself as an athlete, the student can include such activities in his schedule, replacing them with physical education in high school.

Pupils are encouraged to be creative, including in clothing

In most US schools, uniforms are completely not obligatory, often even a specific dress code is missing. Requirements for the appearance of children, Americans say, limit their ability to express themselves, interfere with being creative. Comments about the teacher’s appearance threaten the teacher himself, because he can be reproached for sexism and intolerance.

At the same time, the school can sell or donate things with its own emblem - sweatshirts, t-shirts, caps. Often children themselves choose such clothes: either because it is so convenient for them, or because of patriotism.

You can take a special bus to and from school

How a Russian student gets to school is the concern of his parents. Some are brought by car, some are released alone on foot or by public transport. There are about 480 yellow school buses in America every weekday. transported approximately 25 million children to and from school. No one commits to ride only on them, but on any school day, buses go on the route. All that is required is to catch a stop on time.

A schoolboy needs a pass to leave the class

In most American schools, a student’s permission is not enough to leave school. The student receives a piece of paper, where it says what time he was released and where he is going. Any teacher can, faced with a child in the corridor at school time, not only ask where he is going, and be satisfied with the answer, but also ask for confirmation.

The difference in approach to education in Russia and in America is largely due to cultural characteristics, differences in mentality. To paraphrase a well-known expression, we can say: “What is good for a Russian is interference with his private life for an American.”

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