AN OVERVIEW OF AMERICAN EDUCATION (Patrick Kegel)

 

American schools and institutions of higher learning in the United States are either public, in other words, funded by taxpayer money, or private, in other words, the party attending the institution pays. Public schooling in the United States is free. In order to enter an American public university one is required to pay, but the amount of pay is considerably less than at a private institution. Rightly or wrongly, private education is often perceived as superior to public education. Frequently poor families will send their children to private schools. The reality of the matter, however, is that private education is to some extent overrated. Quality will depend on the state, on the city, and on other factors. 

 

Education in the United States is theoretically mandatory until age 14. After that one may also take a high school equivalency test in lieu of actually graduating. Primary and secondary education can be divided into following levels:

a) Nursery school. The average age of students at nursery school is between 3 and 5 years old. Nursery school generally lasts three hours per day. Its primary focus is socialization and includes such structured activities as arts and crafts.

b)  Kindergarten. Students attending kindergarten are usually between the ages of 5 and 6. Kindergarten also lasts around three hours per day. Again there is a focus on socialisation. Structured activities also play a considerable role. However, over the last 15 years there has been a stronger emphasis on learning rudimentary reading skills and even computer literacy. 

c) Montessori School. Montessori school is a special kind of institution. Again, the students are between 3 and 6 years old. Classes generally run for about three hours per day. One learns at Montessori school by doing through a series of steps. Speed is geared to individual student’s needs. Reading is studied in accordance with student’s wishes. 

d)  Grammar School, sometimes known as Elementary School. Grammar school consists of grades 1 through 6. The age of its students runs from about 6 to 12 years old. Classes generally last 6 to 7 hours per day. 

e) Junior High School, sometimes known as Middle School. Junior High School generally includes grades 7 through 8, or sometimes grades 7 through 9. The average age of its students is between 12 and 14 years. The average number of class hours is between 6 and 8 hours per day. 

f) Senior High School. Senior High School generally includes grades 9 through 12. The average age of its students runs from 14 to 18. The amount of hours per day runs between 6 and 8. 

 

The difference between Russian and American schools is growing smaller and smaller all the time. Some characteristics of the American school system are as follows.

First, each school has its own program. This allows for personal innovation on the part of the teacher. In practice, then, the American system of primary and secondary education is experimental, there is a real opportunity to see what works and what does not. The problem here is that some school systems end up lagging behind others in the depth of students’ knowledge. The 1981 study, a Nation at Risk shows that American students are falling behind their European and Asian counterparts in a number of areas. There is currently a call for greater standardization and an emphasis on what are known as the three Rs, or Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. 

 

Students abilities are probably not assessed to the same extent as in Russia. Students with learning disabilities were once placed in Special Ed, or Special Education. To a lesser extent students with special talents or abilities had the opportunity to participate in accelerated courses and special programs. At the present, most schools in the United States are now trying to mainstream those with learning and/or physical disabilities. Only severely retarded children are now separated. Critics say that this will lead to a mediocratization of the American classroom. On the other hand, programs for the gifted died out in 1980s due to lack of funding. The problem of what to do with such individuals in the United States has never really been solved. Often some of the most creative people do not function well in the American educational system and drop out. 

 

On the whole, the drop-out rate in the United States is variable. It tends to be higher among poor inner-city African-Americans and Latinos. In fact, according to one statistic it may sometimes reach 50 %. Still, high-school education is no longer considered enough to be successful in the United States. Jobs requiring a high-school education tend to pay very little. The option, then, is to move on to higher education. Two possibilities are: 1. The Community College, and 2. The University. 

The community college developed in 1960s as a way to provide education and training to people from low-income groups. There is a heavy emphasis on vocational skills, on nursing, mechanics and electronics. Community colleges fill the gaps created by the lack of vocational and trade schools at the secondary level. Most programs are two years long, at the end of which the student receives an associate’s degree. At this point students may graduate or move on to a university for an additional 2 to 3 years in pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts or other degree. Community colleges also offer dozens of courses to the community as a whole at a very low cost. 

 

In 1960, only about 2 % of the population attended institutions of higher learning. At present that figure has reached almost 50 %. The need for highly trained people is what has lead to this growth. At the same time, this has also created a number of problems. Traditionally, university education lasted for four years. Presently it can take as long as 5 years. Overcrowding has made it difficult to get the necessary courses. And, in fact, only about 20 % of all American students at present finish within the four-year limit. 

 

All universities, whether they are public or private, are divided into different schools. For example, the Business School, the School of Science, the School of Liberal Arts or Humanities. These, in turn, are divided into departments. For example, in the School of Science one might find the department of Astronomy, or the department of Biology, or the department of Chemistry. In the Liberal Arts one might find the department of Film, or the department of Fine Arts, or the department of Journalism, or of Russian Language and Literature. 

 

Students in the United States generally select a major, or specialization, in one or more fields. They may also elect to minor in something, in other words, to study a second area but to a lesser extent than their major. After 4 to 5 years, they receive their degree. Different schools have different degrees. So, for example, the School of Science issues a BS, or Bachelor of Science degree; the School of Liberal Arts or Humanities issues a Bachelor of Arts degree, sometimes known as a BA. 

 

In the schools of Business and Science students follow a largely pre-formulated program with not a great deal of choice. In the Liberal Arts students take a number of core courses which go towards their major, but they also take secondary courses in a broad range of areas. So, for example, a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature which entailed 8 semesters of language consisting of 1 to 2 hours per day, three one-semester courses in Russian Literature consisting of 2 to 3 hours per week, one-semester course in Russian History consisting of 2 to 3 hours per week, an additional 32 one-semester courses in English Language, Literature, History, Mathematics, Science, etc. Each course generally meets from 2 to 3 hours per week. The Liberal Arts program aims at providing a broad classical education. 

 

Some differences in education at the tertiary level are as follows. For one thing, there are probably more short exams than in a course of the semester than in Russia. There is also an emphasis on written work; oral exams are fairly rare. Finally, there is no final exam at the end of 4 or 5 years, as there is in Russia. A student receives a grade for each course. The American grading scale from highest to lowest grade is as follows: A, B, C, D, and F, which is not actually a grade but signifies that the student has failed a course. In theory, a student can fail a single course and not be expelled from the university as long as his or her average grade is a C or higher. However, in contradistinction to the Russian educational system, the use of cribnotes, or shpargalki is punishable by permanent expulsion from the university and blacklisting. This means that if a student goes on to apply to another university after having been expelled, it is extremely difficult for him or her to do so. 

 

It is increasingly difficult to get a decent job in the United States with an undergraduate degree. 80 % do so within 6 months but most of these are low paying. For this reason, many people now elect to go on to graduate school. 

Two degrees are conferred in graduate school: a Master’s degree and the PhD, or Doctor of Philosophy. For the most part, Master’s degrees in the United States are streamlined. Generally they take 2 to 3 years. The student must take an additional number of courses which are pre-formulated, but there is some room left for personal choice. Some departments or schools require that the graduate students complete a Master’s thesis before they confer the Master’s degree. Generally these theses are fairly short, on average about 50 pages. Those departments and schools which do not require a thesis generally require a greater amount of course work. In the United States the PhD is the highest degree possible. In the schools of Business and Science it tends to be fairly streamlined. Students spend 1 to 2 years researching with a professor; this is followed up by a written description of that research. Liberal Arts degrees are less streamlined. To enter, one must take a series of exams. So, for example, in Russian Literature one would have to take three written exams and one oral. Upon successful completion of these exams one then acquires the title of candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. A topic is chosen and approved. Seven years are allotted for the writing of a doctoral thesis, which generally runs from 200 to 300 pages. This is followed, in turn, by a defense. 

 

Twenty-five years ago it was possible in many instances to teach at a university with a Master’s degree. Nowadays this is virtually impossible. While some professors feel that students should take the full seven years to finish their doctoral thesis, many graduate students reject this notion because it entails real hardship. In some graduate schools, there is a call for the elimination of the doctoral thesis and there is suggestion that it be replaced with a more streamlined series of additional courses. 

 

The teaching staff, or faculty, at the university consists of the following positions:  

1. The teaching assistant. Teaching assistants are generally graduate students who are pursuing their Master’s degree or the PhD. 2. The assistant and associate professor. Assistant and associate professor have both completed their PhDs. However, generally associate professors have worked longer, have a greater number of publications and greater experience. 3. Full professor. Full professors are generally awarded this title for having completed some scholarly work of major importance in addition to their PhD. 

 

Some problems in American tertiary institutions are as follows. 

First of all, financial support is available to certain low-income groups and in some cases to minority students at an undergraduate and graduate level. On the other hand, the middle class must often resort to loans. Graduate students generally work, take out loans, receive scholarships, and /or they may be employed as teaching assistants to undergraduates. During the first year of graduate school, scholarships are the general pattern. After the second year, lucky graduate students are employed as teaching assistants. This in and of itself is an issue at present. The position of teaching assistant is certainly advantageous to the graduate student. However, often graduate students are selected for pragmatic reasons. In other words, it is very expensive to hire a full-time professor. In theory, ten graduate students can be employed at half of what it would cost to employ a professor to teach the same courses. This conceivably can have a negative impact on undergraduates. Arguably, they are paying for the highest quality of education. Some would say that graduate students are not able to provide this because of the lack of teaching experience. 

 

A final issue is what is known as the publish or parish problem. In the United States, professors receive tenure on the basis of the number of their publications. Tenure means that they cannot be fired. However, they may be a lousy teacher. On the other hand, good teachers with few or no publications are often fired for not producing. This issue is controversial since institutions of higher learning allegedly exist for the student. 

 

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