A Survey of USA: ----- American Education

Prof. Niangen Huang

1. Introduction America has a great respect for education

from its earliest time. Even before the Revolution, several outstanding colleges were founded. Now the entire nation is divided into about 16,000 school districts, each of which provides 12 years of tree schooling to its residents. Thus, there are some 23,000 public (free) high schools and 60,000 public elementary schools. If post-secondary institutions are included as well, the American people support nearly 100,000 schools.

1. Introduction Under the United States constitution, the Federal

government has no power to make laws in the field of education; each state is fully responsible within its own territory. The Federal government can give financial help but not orders. Each state has an educational administration, not subject to federal control, and the state authorities lay down general principles concerning the organization of schools and such matters as the ages of compulsory education. Schools are provided and managed by local community boards of education, whose members are elected. Most schools are run on taxes levied by local districts and states.

1. Introduction Education has a much honored place in

American society. Parents of every kind of background and of all income groups send their children to the local high school. It is an article of faith in the American Dream that a good education will enable a child to achieve a higher standard of living than his or her parents. This faith also accounts for the nation's extremely low illiteracy rate (about one percent).

2. Elementary and Secondary Education

In the United States elementary education begins at the age of six. Classes of students are divided into twelve academic levels called grades. Generally, one academic year (from September through June) is required to complete each grade. In some school systems, elementary school includes grades one through eight. The next four years are called high school. In other school systems, there are three divisions, elementary school (grades one through six), junior high school (grades seven through nine), and senior high school (grades ten through twelve).

2. Elementary and Secondary Education At elementary stage, nearly all the teachers

are women, mostly married. The atmosphere is usually very friendly, and the teachers have for a long time now accepted the idea that the important thing is to make the children happy and interested. The old rigid and authoritarian methods of education were discredited in America rather a long time ago--- so much so that many people now think that they have gone too far in the direction of trying to make children happy and interested rather than giving them actual instruction.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education

Elementary schools teach reading, arithmetic, and language arts such as creative writing, spelling, and handwriting. Social studies, science, music, art, and physical education are also part of the program. Classes are held five days a week, from Monday till Friday.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education The elementary teaching profession is

not quite so simply arranged in the United States. A teacher who is qualified in one state may not be qualified in another, as each state has its own arrangements for training teachers. Generally speaking elementary school teachers have often been trained in schools of education from the age of eighteen. Most of them have normally completed the university degree.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education The students go to high school automatically after

finishing their elementary school education. There is no entrance exam. The high schools, junior and senior, have a good reputation in the country. They take their responsibilities very seriously and not only in the classroom. They have guidance counselors to whom children can go privately if they have any special problems, especially about their careers. Parents are encouraged to share in the school life of their children. In some lower grade classes they actually go into the class during a lesson and help the teachers with plays and class reading, and most schools have highly successful Parent=Teacher Associations.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education In high school, subject matter becomes more

specialized. English classes stress grammar and literature. Social studies are split into separate courses in American history, American government, and European history, Algebra, geometry, and trigonometry are offered. High school students usually take a one-year general science course, then more detailed courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. Most high school students study a foreign language usually Latin, French, Spanish, or German. Courses in music, art, and physical education are often required.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education

The high school student's day may be divided into nine periods: five for academic subjects, one session for physical education, a lunch period, and two study periods. The study periods may be used for visiting the library or participating in an extracurricular activity such as the school orchestra, newspaper staff, or math club.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education According to the media, especially TV,

American teenagers are crazy about pop music, carry transistors around with them every where, and spend most evenings in a discotheque. Of course, many do. The same media also suggest that young Americans are very emotional about pop idols and about their own love affairs, and like to analyze their feelings and discuss them with one another. Americans are not usually inhibited and do not mind discussing their emotions.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education There are now some special high schools

in America which train boys and girls for jobs - secretaries, mechanics, computer specialists, and accountants. Businessmen take an interest in such schools and encourage the teaching of salesmanship and business techniques. The fear of young people today is to grow up and find no job waiting for them. so they need no encouragement to work hard at school.

2. Elementary and Secondary Education Most high schools in the United States are public

schools, but there are also a few private ones. The private schools generally charge tuition and are not under direct public control, although many states set educational standards for private schools.

Private schools can be divided into two categories: parochial (those supported by various religious groups) and nondenominational.

Parochial schools make up the largest segment of private schools, and, moat of them are operated by the Roman Catholic Church.

Nondenominational schools mainly refer to the private colleges that are not affiliated with a religious sect. Schools run by the church are often in financial difficulty and some had already been obliged to close.

3. High Education For a long time, America has led the world in

higher, education, quantitatively at least. The aggregate number of U.S. institutions of higher education is, at last count, 3,280. This figure represents one institution for every 75,000 Americans. Slightly more than half of all institutions of higher education are privately supported many of them by religious groups.

There are five categories of institutions of higher education in United States:

3. High Education (1) Doctoral-level institutions This category

includes the large research universities and other universities with strong Ph. D. programs. The faculty at such universities is usually expected to do research and to publish. The average enrollment at these universities exceeds 18,000 students, and campuses with 30,000 to 40,000 students are common. The latest figures indicate that there are 167 doctoral-level universities in the United States, of which 106 are public, receiving, on average, 75% of their funds from government sources, and 61 are private that are supported almost entirely by religious bodies or private funds.

3. High Education (2) Comprehensive institutions In this

group, universities offer several programs but usually no degree higher than a master's. They total 408, with 245 of them public and 154 private.

(3) General baccalaureate institutions Most of the institutions in this category are small colleges whose liberal arts program dominates the curriculum. Of them, only 123 are public, whereas 604 are private, for a total of 727.

3. High Education (4) Specialized institutions This category consists of

theological seminaries, medical schools, business colleges and other institutions which specialize in a single field Of study. Of a total of 583 such institutions, 66 are public and 517 are private.

(5) Two-year institutions The historic term for this category of institutions is "junior College", but now it is mainly associated with community colleges, the two-year public institutions founded during the last generation in some 900 school districts around the country. Thus of a total of 1,206 two-year institutions, 925 are public, and only 281 are private.

3. High Education The figures of U.S. institutions of

higher education used above represent only accredited institutions, that is, those recognized by agencies which set standards for university study. If non-accredited institutions were added in, the total would be nearer 10,000.

3. High Education In American colleges and universities, a

vast array of subjects is offered. The student can sample different fields of knowledge, but he usually majors in one field during last two years of college. If he wishes, he may obtain professional training at the undergraduate level, for example, in accounting, teaching, journalism, or dramatics. Certain state colleges specialize in training agricultural experts and engineers.

3. High Education At the college level, the academic year is about nine

months long. After completing four academic years with acceptable grades in an approved course of study, the student earns a bachelor's degree. Some students complete college in less than four years by attending summer sessions.

College grades, from highest to lowest, run A, B, C, D, F. An F is a failing grade; if a student receives an F in a particular course, he does not get credit for having taken the course. College students must maintain at least a low C average in order to remain in school. American universities offer three main categories of graduate degrees.

In most fields of specialization, a master's degree can be earned by one or two academic years of study beyond the bachelor's degree.

3. High Education A Ph. D. degree (doctor of philosophy)

usually takes at least three years beyond the master's. To earn a Ph. D. in almost any field, the student must generally pass oral and written examinations in his specialty, produce a long research paper which makes an original contribution to his field of study, and pass reading examinations in one or two foreign languages. There are also graduate professional schools in medicine, dentistry, and law, among other fields.

3. High Education The faculty members (the permanent teachers

in college or university) are responsible for providing academic counseling to the students in their courses. At graduate level, the advisory role of the faculty increases. One professor will be named graduate advisor, the person who is generally charged with counseling graduate students and resolving their problems. All professors at graduate level are expected to provide their students special training, reading courses, individual tutorials.

3. High Education Most importantly, they work intensively

with students writing thesis or dissertations. Guiding master's and Ph. d. candidates through the final writing and examination stages of their programs may be seen as an extension of the teaching act; nevertheless, it takes up much faculty time. Here the faculty member becomes both critic and editor of manuscripts which maybe several hundred pages in length.

3. High Education After strain of work, students become involved in

many different activities -- extracurricular, religious, social, and athletic. Among the extracurricular activities are college newspapers, musical organizations, dramatic clubs, and political groups. Some of these have faculty advisers.

Many religious groups have their own meeting places where services and social activities can be held. Student groups run parties of all types from formal dances to picnics. Most colleges have a student union where students can get together for lunch, study sessions, club meetings, and socializing.

3. High Education Athletics is an important phase of life on

most campuses. Football is the college sport which stirs up the most national interest. At large schools, promoting football, developing a team, and playing before huge crowds have become a big business. Other sports -----particularly basketball, swimming, and track--- are also pursued with enthusiasm, some schools have competitive tennis, skiing, sailing, wrestling, soccer, and baseball.

3. High Education College campuses are attracting students from all social

classes despite the rapidly rising cost of higher education. The cost of a college education has doubled within the last fifteen years and tripled within the last thirty. A typical college now charges about $ 3,000 a year for room, board, and tuition. The student attending a private Eastern college spends at least $3,500 and probably closer to $5,000 a year, including tuition, housing, food, books, and personal expenses. At the other end of the scale, a student attending a state college in a rural area may get by on $1,500 at year. State colleges and universities have rather low tuition fees (ranging from about $ 60 to about $ 450) for state resident. In some communities, low-cost public education is available at city colleges or junior colleges.

3. High Education Fortunately for students with limited funds,

financial help is available from many sources. Every year college students receive more that $ 300 million in monetary assistance, including, scholarships, loans, and part-time jobs. More than 200,000 scholarships are offered by industries, alumni groups, individual donors, the federal government, and colleges and universities. A student may cut cost by living at home, attending a state or community school, or combining part-time work with a part-time college program,.

3. High Education Many college students use their summer

earnings to help finance their education. Some students pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in night school while working full time during the day. Some college courses are offered on television, and these are inexpensive. Many young people from poor families struggle along on limited budgets in order to stay in school because they know that a college degree brings higher income, greater job security, more prestige, and a more significant career.

American Education

End of Chapter 3