1. What are our schools like, and how did they get that way? Schools in the United States go for 12 years, and schooling is mandatory until the age of16. There are many different types of schools: public, private, home schooling, among others. Our puclic schools teach students to be democratic citizens and mature individuals in a democratic society. Schools were founded by immigrants, based on religion at first. Then Protestants made changes in public schools and they separated church and education. Schools are funded mostly by the state and local taxes. According to the Public EducationPrimer, 9% comes from the federal government, and 43% comes from local sources (more than three-fourths of this local share derived from local property taxes). Our schools offer free and reduced lunch for families that are below the poverty level, and other services such as social workers, psychologists, speech therapists, and after-school care programs, depending on schools funding. Schools are improving, and now schools have counselors that a family may not be able to afford by itself.
2. Who are our students? Our students can range from ages 3 to 19 years old. They come from all types of socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. Our foreign students have a chance to learn the English language in the form of classes, for example ESL (English as a second language). According to the Public Education Primer on page 25, scores on college entrance exams have increased modestly, in case of the SAT, or held steady, in case ofthe ACT. We are progressively getting better scores.
3. Who are our teachers?Almost half of all public school teachers have advanced degrees, and the majority have more than 10 years experience. The United States requires that all teachers have a degree in the area of their concentration. The majority of our teachers are women (8 out of 10). Our teachers try their best to help the students as best as they can, and they are very dedicated to their work. Our teachers try to prepare students for life after grade school by exercising their students’ creative and critical thinking skills.
2 comments:
I like it how you put the history of how public and
catholic schools started. It's nice to know that there
are special classes for foreign students to learn
English and that our test scores are improving. Also
teachers who teach in their area of concentration know
what they are talking about. Sometimes a teacher might
not teach in the area that they are not certified in
and not know the material very well.
What specifically about standardized testing do you think helps the schools? Do you think it's fair that schools are funded by state and local taxes? Wouldn't you think it's unfair to the students in low-income areas?
Also I think it's very good that all of your teachers are very well educated, that way you know your students are getting the best that they can!
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