Most Americans start to school at the age of five when they enter kindergarten. Children do not really study at this time. They only attend for half the day and learn what school is like. Children attend elementary school for the next six years. They learn to read and write and work with numbers. They also study the world and its people.
After they leave elementary school, children go to junior high school for three years and senior high school for another three years. This is called secondary education. In some places the children go to elementary school for eight years and high school for four. At any rate, elementary and secondary education together take twelve years to complete, excluding kindergarten.
In their secondary schooling children get more
advanced knowledge and begin to concentrate on their special interests. They usually study further in history, geography, government and English language and literature. They may choose to
study
foreign
languages,
advanced
mathematics or science, such as physics or chemistry. Students who plan to go on to college or professional training must take some of these courses in order to enter college. Other students who do not intend to go on with school may take classes in accounting or typing or other subjects that will help them in the business world. Some senior high schools are vocational. Boys may learn to operate machines or do other work. Girls may learn cooking, sewing or office work. High schools have athletic teams which play against teams from other schools. Many boys enjoy playing football, basketball or baseball. These games take place after school hours; Girls also play games, such as basketball and hockey, against teams from other schools.
In most places in the United States children must
attend school until they are sixteen, or until they finish high school, usually at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Some children who are not good students drop out of school at the age of sixteen. This is a growing problem, for it is harder and harder for people to find work when they have not finished their high school education.
Education In The United States (Ⅱ) (2′7″) Public schools are free to all boys and girls, but some parents prefer to send their children to private schools. Some private schools are connected with churches, and children receive religious instruction as well as their regular studies. Other private schools are not religious, but have small classes and very good teachers so that parents think their children will get a better education there than in the larger classes of the public schools. These private schools do not
receive any tax money, so most of them must charge the students several hundred dollars a year to pay for the cost of the school. Boys and girls attend the public schools together, but many private schools are for girls only or for boys only. Higher education is given in colleges and universities. The average course is four years. Students choose a “major” subject and take many courses in this subject. After four years, they get a bachelor's degree. Then the students may go on to graduate school and with a year or two of further study get a master’s degree. After another year or two of study and research, they may get a still higher degree as doctor of philosophy. Higher education trains people to become teachers, nurses, engineers, dentists or do other professional work. Lawyers and doctors must go to school longer than four years. Most states have universities that do not charge much money to residents of that state because public taxes help pay the cost of the university. Other universities do not have public money to
help them and must charge their students much more to attend.
Most cities have colleges or universities that hold classes at night as well as in the daytime. In this way people who have to work may attend school at night and work for a degree or just take a course in a subject that interests them. Community groups often give courses and lectures, usually about leisure time activities. In many cities, the secondary schools offer classes in adult education.
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