US schools are very different from foreign general education institutions. Even within the same district, each school has its own rules, even if they are located on neighboring streets! In this article, we have collected general facts concerning all top boarding schools in the US: we suggest that you familiarize yourself with them and personally assess the uniqueness of the foreign education system.
High cost of colleges and preschools
Secondary education in the United States is free and strong enough, but the cost of colleges, as well as preschools, is disproportionately high. Parents start saving for college (that is, for a higher education institution) for their child from the moment they are born.
Children in the USA go to school from the age of 3, 4, 5
Children start attending school at the age of 3, but it all depends on the state.
Lack of permanent team and study group
In the process of studying, students in parallel classes are constantly mixed with each other. Every year, by the end of the school year, a child from the old class has only a fifth of his acquaintances.
Lack of school uniform
Children go to school in comfortable and practical clothes, most often preferring sports style. The exception is private schools and boarding schools, but their uniforms are usually very beautiful and comfortable: children wear them with pride, and not under a stick.
Campuses
All the conditions necessary for life and study are available to students of American boarding schools. They live in special campus towns, where there are cozy and spacious dormitories, huge libraries, modern laboratories, and sports grounds.
The teacher and the principal are part of the family
American teachers and school directors are distinguished by their loyalty to the school and students. Many of them even live with their families on campuses and often invite their students to dinner for evening talks and discussions.
School holidays are a great opportunity to usefully spend time
During school holidays, American children, instead of aimlessly wandering the city streets, take an active part in volunteer programs, scientific expeditions, international exchange programs and study trips. Vacation extracurricular activities here are really very, very cool, and schools are far from that.
Sport ─ philosophy
Sports in an American school is not just physical education. Almost every educational institution has its own baseball and basketball team, practicing athletes represented by teachers, huge tennis courts and swimming pools. The love of sports is a huge advantage when applying to university. The school team is not a "place for suckers", it is very prestigious, and local athletes are often the most popular guys.
A lot of books
From the elementary grades, schoolchildren are taught to read a lot, and this habit remains for life. Children often visit the school and city libraries, willingly share with each other about what they have read, arrange presentations of their favorite books.
Individual schedule
An American student can independently choose subjects that are interesting to study; an individual schedule is drawn up for him. With friends, he intersects only on basic subjects.
Collective and individual projects
From the elementary grades, students make collective and individual projects. At first, the whole process is supervised by the teacher, gradually teaching children to be independent. Almost every week, American students give presentations on a variety of topics, which build skills that are important for adult life.
Lack of cheat sheets
During the tests, American students do not use the cheat sheets and tips from classmates. Such actions are suppressed in every possible way both on the part of other students and on the part of teachers.
Praise for mistakes
The US education system encourages mistakes (!) Because they are the engine of progress. Students are not afraid to make mistakes, so they are always ready to experiment and use non-standard approaches to solving problems.
Names only
Teachers do not call children by their last names, only by their first names. Sometimes students study together for years, but they don't know each other's names. If the children have the same names, then the first letter of the surname is added to them.
It should be noted that homeschooling is fairly common in the United States. According to the results of 2012, summed up by specialists, about two million young Americans studied at home. The core subjects are taught by parents or visiting teachers using local programs. Such students regularly pass the required exams and enter higher educational institutions on an equal basis with other applicants.
