Page 28 - Exercise 1A

Page 28 - Exercise 1A

Education in the USA

Children in the USA start Grade School when they are six years old. When they are eleven, they go to Junior High School, and at the age of fourteen to Senior High School.

The school day usually runs from seven or eight o’clock in the morning to half past two or three o’clock. Pupils have homework to do after that. In most schools, the day starts with a flag ceremony.

Pupils and teachers stand with their hand on their heart and make a pledge of loyalty to the flag and the country while the American flag is raised.

American schools try to create a strong sense of community. Schools have their own teams for American football, baseball, ice hockey and basketball. They usually have bands and drama groups, too. When sports teams play against other schools, it’s a big event. Pupils and their parents come to watch. The cheerleaders perform and the school band plays, too.

Pupils can leave school when they are sixteen, but most stay at school till they are eighteen.

Then they go to university. (Americans normally call It ‘college’.) They usually spend four years at university. They don’t always go to a local university. A lot of students study In cities hundreds of miles from their home.

State education in the USA is free up to the age of eighteen. There are some private schools that parents pay for, but most children go to state schools. College isn’t free. Parents have to pay, and students often have a part-time Job, too. They work in shops, restaurants and petrol stations.

When students leave school (including Grade School and Junior High School) or university, they have a Graduation Day. This Is a very big event. The students who are graduating wear gowns and caps.

Their parents come to watch their children receiving their graduation certificates. At the end of High School there’s usually a big performance ,too. It’s called the ‘High School Prom’.