(Another) Summary of U.S. Education

     Since this is not the first post about the American education system, I’m going to try my best to make sure mine hits on some different topics and isn't too repetitive.  This is also probably going to be pretty specific to my own experiences in school and the public school systems in my area - I know things can be a little different in private schools, larger cities, etc.  Okay, here goes:

                Most children start out in preschool, which has just recently been incorporated into some of my area’s public schools (under the catchier label “4K”).  Despite the fact that my family is not Catholic, I attended preschool two afternoons per week at a local Catholic school since it was the only program nearby at the time.  This was my only taste of what it was like to attend a private religious school, and from what I remember, the only difference was that we had to say a prayer before we could eat any animal crackers.

                At age 5, children start elementary school, which typically includes kindergarten through grade 5.  Since the school I attended is part of a public district, there are no required uniforms or strict dress codes.  My particular class was unusually small, fluctuating between 11 and 15 kids throughout the duration of elementary school.  We had one main teacher for the majority of the day and separate teachers for “specials” like art, gym, and music that traveled around and taught at other schools in our district.  I always thought it was a little strange that we also had a separate teacher for ‘library class,’ during which we learned all sorts of now-obsolete research methods and watched movie adaptations of books like ‘The Pagemaster.’

                After elementary school comes middle school, made up of grades 6 through 8 (or “the awkward years” as I like to refer to it when looking at old school pictures).  My district’s middle school is shared by kids from four separate little towns, so class size increases to about 120 kids per grade (still way small compared to city schools, I know).  Everyone takes many of the same core classes, but kids get sorted into different levels for math and are able to choose some electives like art, tech-ed., band, and Spanish.  While I know I learned a lot during these years, my middle school memories are characterized less by actual school instruction and more by the adolescent drama of school dances and the daily struggle of shoving as much stuff as possible into an undersized “puke-green” locker.

                After completing eighth grade, kids are able to enter high school, or grades 9 through 12.  My district’s high school requires students to take a certain number of credits for each subject, and while there are many class choices, students can’t formally specialize in anything.  Students that plan on going to college are expected to take heavier course loads and more difficult classes as well as the ACT (and sometimes SAT) test during 11^th grade so that scores can be sent out to college admissions offices.  Upperclassmen are also able to start taking Advanced Placement classes, and many allow themselves to be academically tortured in the hopes of passing the end-of-the-year AP tests and gaining some early college credit.  High school is also a good time for college hopefuls to join sports, get an afterschool job, or load up on extra-curricular activities, since universities here seem more likely to accept students that are very involved in their communities and don’t ever sleep. 

                For those who have the work ethic, the money, and the desire to go, the next step is college.  Traditional four-year college in the US can be REALLY EXPENSIVE; however, there are systems in place to make it easier on students who don’t have thousands of dollars lying around.  Since a certain amount of all taxes go toward funding public education, state universities will often offer residents in-state tuition.  While I suspect that for Wisconsin, this doubles as a sneaky way to discourage young adults from abandoning the northern economy in search of warmer climates, this tuition break has allowed me to attend college in my home state at about half the regular cost.  The government/universities also provide a certain amount of financial aid for students based on factors like family income, grade point average, etc.

                Anyway, despite that most undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs are designed to last four years, many students at UW-Madison take longer for various reasons - I’m aiming to be finished in five.  UW-Madison is also a liberal arts college, so to fulfill the university’s wish that we all become well-rounded members of society, everyone has a ton of general class requirements to complete before starting in on any of their majors or main courses of study. 

              After graduating and receiving my bachelor’s degree, I will be able to choose either a 2-year speech pathology master’s degree program, or a 4-year audiology Ph.D. program (provided I’m accepted to one).  And after completing all that, I’ll be ready for a lifetime of college loan debts and entry into the workforce.  Hooray!

            I think that's about it for me this week.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  All the school system posts have been very interesting.

One last thought - completely unrelated, but I was wondering about this on Thursday – does anyone outside of the US celebrate Groundhog Day?  Either way, Happy Belated-Groundhog Day!  However I feel like it’s one of those weird traditions that never caught on anywhere else...