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American Education. Contents. General introduction Early childhood education Primary and secondary schools Higher education Supplementary information. General Introduction. Americans are proud of the fact that the window of knowledge is never slammed shut for any of the nation’s citizens.
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Contents • General introduction • Early childhood education • Primary and secondary schools • Higher education • Supplementary information
General Introduction Americans are proud of the fact that the window of knowledge is never slammed shut for any of the nation’s citizens. Children are allowed to attend classes with kids of various races, schools have equal opportunities for both males and females, and for children with disabilities or handicaps. Now each and every student can get an equal chance to be educated.
General Introduction • American public schools have four basic characteristics in common: they are locally controlled, free from religious influence, coeducational, and publicly supported by taxes.
Early Childhood Education • In most areas, free public school education begins with kindergarten classes for five-year-olds. • Some public school systems also offer pre-kindergarten programs for four-year-olds. • Some are introduced to the classroom situation at a much younger age, either through nursery schools or day care centers. • Some communities have pre-and post-school programs for school-age children whose mothers leave for work before school begins and come home after school lets out.
Primary and Secondary Schools • In the United States, classes of students are divided into twelve academic levels called grades. • One academic year is required to complete each grade. • The child enters the first grade, at about age six, to do some academic work (learning to read, write, and do arithmetic)
Primary and Secondary Schools • The first academic institution that a child attends is called grammar school or elementary school. • 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).
High school • Subjects (more specialized) English---grammar and literature social studies---American history American government European history algebra, geometry, and trigonometry三角学 general science course (one year) detailed courses in biology, chemistry, and physics foreign language music, art, and physical education
High school • Students meet a different teacher and a different group of students for each subject. • 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(visiting the library or participating in an extracurricular activity)
At the stage of elementary education, the teachers have for a long time accepted the idea that the important thing is to make the children happy and interested. • Schools in the United States have always stressed character training or social skills training through extracurricular activities. • School and home are closely linked, and there is, ideally at least, a sense of partnership between teachers and parents.
Higher Education • American education on the college level is provided by more than 3,000 institutions. • Some of them are supported privately and some by local and/or state government. • Most are coeducational. • Since World War II, one of the most dramatic developments in higher education has been the enormous increase in the number of students. • This expansion reflects the nation’s population explosion as well as a trend toward democratizing higher education.
Higher Education • admittance: good high school record and test scores • classification: college--- offer only undergraduate courses university---have undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools junior college---offer the first two years of college only
Some attend junior colleges with two-year courses, most start full four-year degree courses. • The Associate(大专毕业证书) in Arts or Sciences degree of the junior or community college is a transfer degree covering the first two years of the bachelor’s degree requirements.
Tests • SAT: Scholastic Assessment Test 学术评价测验 Scholastic Aptitude Test 学术性向测验 • ACT: American College Testing • GRE: Graduate Record Examination 美国研究生入学考试
Degrees • After completing four academic years with acceptable grades in an approved course of study, the student earns Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. • A master’s degree can be earned by one or two academic years of study beyond the bachelor’s degree. • A Ph.D. degree usually takes at least three years beyond the master’s.
About one-fifth of college graduates continue with studies for masters’ or doctors’ degrees in their own major subjects or for professional qualifications in law, medicine, business, etc. in graduate professional schools.
College grades • from highest to lowest, run A, B, C, D, F. • F is a failing grade. A student does not get credit for having taken a particular course if he receives an F in that course. • College students must maintain at least a low C average in order to remain in school.
Campus life • A college community is an interesting and lively place. Students become involved in many different activities---extracurricular, religious, social, and athletic. • Extracurricular activities are college newspapers, musical organizations, dramatic clubs, and political groups. • Student union where students can get together for lunch, study sessions, club meetings, and socializing. • At many schools, campus life revolves around fraternities and sororities.
Public or Private • Most college students in the United States are in “public” institutions, and only a minority are in “private” ones. • The oldest, and in some ways the most prestigious, colleges are private, founded partly from endowments, and partly by contributions from business and above all, former students.
cost • The rapidly rising cost of higher education • Harvard University(private): tuition+housing and food+ personal expenses =$24,000+$8,000+$8,000 • Arizona State University(public): tuition+housing and food+personal expenses=$7,000-$8,000+$2,000-$3,000+$4,000-$5,000
The Ivy League (常青藤盟校） • Some of the best-known private universities in the United States are located in the Northeast. • They are the oldest ones in America as well, known informally as the Ivy League. • These include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and University of Pennsylvania, with the first three known as “The Big Three”.
Harvard University Harvard College was established in 1636. It was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard of Charlestown, a young minister who upon his death, left his library and half his estate to the new institution.
Yale University • It comprises three major academic components: Yale College (the undergraduate program), the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and ten professional schools. • Yale University was founded in 1701.
Princeton University • located in the heart of Princeton, New Jersey, • Princeton simultaneously strives to be one of the leading research universities and the most outstanding undergraduate college in the world. • Residential Campus, Distinctive Education, Uniquely Affordable
