just like @Kassina (sorry sorry for pinging you so much!) i live in las vegas (ccsd), one of the worst places for education!
1. what is the education system like where you live? Any complaints?
elementary school is k-5. nearly each grade goes to a different 'special' everyday, which alternates between music, p.e, art, and library; they learn their core subjects in-class.
5th and sometimes 4th graders begin to change classes throughout the day, such as getting taught science from a different teacher, math from someone else, etc;.
there is a g.a.t.e program offered for kids grade 3-5 i believe, but otherwise the rest of the kids stay in the same level.
middle school is 6-8. my middle school was absolutely terrible, but that was more up to management so i'll leave that alone. there were very few electives, only media, orchestra, choir, student aid, guitar, and band.
they offer regular core classes, as well as classes for those that are behind regular (if need-be they will take away your elective for an extra core class) and advanced/accelerated classes.
you have 6 periods a day, and for most of it you take science, elective, math, reading/english (in 6th and maybe 7th there is reading? but in 8th it's just english), a history/geography-type class, and p.e or health.
high school is 9-12. i'm a sophmore currently and my high school is one of the best public high schools in the county. there are a lot of magnet high schools available that are a lot better than the public schools, but you will almost always need to take a bus. my brother attended one and had to take a nearly 30-minute bus ride every morning.
there is a wide variety of electives and the number you have depends on what the required classes are for that year. some electives include auto-tech, biomed, cooking, orchestra, choir, band, media, psych, sociology, student aid, art, cross-training etc;
high school is when they begin to offer foreign language classes, which are spanish and french, though i know some people who came from middle schools that offered them then. most people, including myself, only take 2 years of language.
the main classes change with each grade, but they usually consist of math, english, geography/history, science, elective, p.e/health/driver's ed/another elective. like middle school you have 6 periods and 3 days and week you have 'block' schedule, which focuses on only 4 periods. my brother's high school (magnet) had 8 periods, along with block. next year they're offering more early bird classes, which allows you to come in earlier and take another class, basically giving you 7.
high school is where they begin to offer more variety in your core classes. you can take honors, pre-ap, or ap classes, with ap classes being available sophmore year. starting in sophmore year they also start telling you and preparing you for acts and sats, which i've heard are focused on in other places beginning as early as elementary school.
if it helps at all, as a sophmore i'm taking pre-ap english 10, algebra 2 honors, chemistry honors, ap human geography (a new class - usually you take world history), spanish 2 honors, and ensemble orchestra.
as a junior i'll be taking ap lang and comp, pre-calc, physics honors, ap us history, ap psych, and ensemble orchestra.
2. How do you think the system can be improved?
i don't really know how to explain it, but more classes for public high schools? i want to take more classes than what i'm able to (such as anatomy, ap bio, journalism) but i don't have enough periods to do so. early birds are going to help, but for me i'm not sure if it's a viable option.
less focus on test-taking. most are just training themselves to just become good test-takers (with the exception of math) so they can pass their tests. in geography and math i usually take a test once a week.
like kassina said, we also have super overcrowded schools. my high school is one of the biggest;we have a lot more kids than we anticipated, and it seems to grow every year. i wish i could remember some of the factoids they told us at the beginning of the year about our huge population.
3. What do you think the system is doing right? Don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, after all.
i...don't know?
4. What would make you excited to go to school every day? I mean really excited?
maybe if i got to take more classes that i would like take? or classes that were more interactive? also wish i was taught something more useful? most of the skills i'm learning won't help me when i graduate...
1. what is the education system like where you live? Any complaints?
elementary school is k-5. nearly each grade goes to a different 'special' everyday, which alternates between music, p.e, art, and library; they learn their core subjects in-class.
5th and sometimes 4th graders begin to change classes throughout the day, such as getting taught science from a different teacher, math from someone else, etc;.
there is a g.a.t.e program offered for kids grade 3-5 i believe, but otherwise the rest of the kids stay in the same level.
middle school is 6-8. my middle school was absolutely terrible, but that was more up to management so i'll leave that alone. there were very few electives, only media, orchestra, choir, student aid, guitar, and band.
they offer regular core classes, as well as classes for those that are behind regular (if need-be they will take away your elective for an extra core class) and advanced/accelerated classes.
you have 6 periods a day, and for most of it you take science, elective, math, reading/english (in 6th and maybe 7th there is reading? but in 8th it's just english), a history/geography-type class, and p.e or health.
high school is 9-12. i'm a sophmore currently and my high school is one of the best public high schools in the county. there are a lot of magnet high schools available that are a lot better than the public schools, but you will almost always need to take a bus. my brother attended one and had to take a nearly 30-minute bus ride every morning.
there is a wide variety of electives and the number you have depends on what the required classes are for that year. some electives include auto-tech, biomed, cooking, orchestra, choir, band, media, psych, sociology, student aid, art, cross-training etc;
high school is when they begin to offer foreign language classes, which are spanish and french, though i know some people who came from middle schools that offered them then. most people, including myself, only take 2 years of language.
the main classes change with each grade, but they usually consist of math, english, geography/history, science, elective, p.e/health/driver's ed/another elective. like middle school you have 6 periods and 3 days and week you have 'block' schedule, which focuses on only 4 periods. my brother's high school (magnet) had 8 periods, along with block. next year they're offering more early bird classes, which allows you to come in earlier and take another class, basically giving you 7.
high school is where they begin to offer more variety in your core classes. you can take honors, pre-ap, or ap classes, with ap classes being available sophmore year. starting in sophmore year they also start telling you and preparing you for acts and sats, which i've heard are focused on in other places beginning as early as elementary school.
if it helps at all, as a sophmore i'm taking pre-ap english 10, algebra 2 honors, chemistry honors, ap human geography (a new class - usually you take world history), spanish 2 honors, and ensemble orchestra.
as a junior i'll be taking ap lang and comp, pre-calc, physics honors, ap us history, ap psych, and ensemble orchestra.
2. How do you think the system can be improved?
i don't really know how to explain it, but more classes for public high schools? i want to take more classes than what i'm able to (such as anatomy, ap bio, journalism) but i don't have enough periods to do so. early birds are going to help, but for me i'm not sure if it's a viable option.
less focus on test-taking. most are just training themselves to just become good test-takers (with the exception of math) so they can pass their tests. in geography and math i usually take a test once a week.
like kassina said, we also have super overcrowded schools. my high school is one of the biggest;we have a lot more kids than we anticipated, and it seems to grow every year. i wish i could remember some of the factoids they told us at the beginning of the year about our huge population.
3. What do you think the system is doing right? Don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, after all.
i...don't know?
4. What would make you excited to go to school every day? I mean really excited?
maybe if i got to take more classes that i would like take? or classes that were more interactive? also wish i was taught something more useful? most of the skills i'm learning won't help me when i graduate...
