Education and Schools

Education and Schools
An alarm rings in the early hours of the morning, and a hand reaches blindly, knocking books, pens, and other odd items out of place in search of the “snooze” button on the alarm clock. A few minutes later, a parent’s concerned voice echoes from another floor, reflecting up the staircase and between the hallway walls. “Get up right now young man! Your bus is about to be here in five minutes! Do you hear me!?” A body tangled in sheets and blankets rolls off of the mattress, landing with a loud “thud” on the bedroom floor. Eyes still sealed shut, they shuffle to the bathroom where they fight the daily battle between the dark and light sides. Squinting, you allow beams of overwhelming daylight to gradually wake your mind. Toothbrush meets teeth after multiple failed attempts of landing toothpaste on brush, resulting in various sized blobs of Colgate dotting the marble counter. Following seconds of scrub, a final gargle and spit splashes the sink, most of it rebounding to hit you in the face. Clothes are most carefully selected, hair fixed, and a set of bare feet hurriedly hops down the steps. Half a spoonful of corn flakes are consumed washed down by one-fifth of a glass of milk. Backpack in place, feet barely inside their shoes, and the occasional instrument in hand, a shrill voice screams “Bye Mom!” and runs for the bus stop. This is the average morning of an American kid. In America, public schools are offered to all children K-12. These grade levels are most commonly divided into three smaller linked schools. First, children six or seven of age will enter an “elementary school”, consisting of grades Kindergarten, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, (sometimes even 5^th and 6^th). In this school, the students have one homeroom teacher that will teach them every subject, including things like math, reading, writing, and social studies. Smaller classes that occur fewer times each week are science, art, gym, and music, which are taught by specially qualified teachers. Elementary school is where we were all friends, homework was rare, and school was just for fun. Next, they will transition into a “middle school” or “junior high”, which may include 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade. Here, homework begins to weigh down the lives of students, despite ever busying schedules with sports, music, arts, and more. Cliques begin to take form, school becomes a drag, and students feel overworked. Finally, high school consists of 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grade which are called freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior respectively. Most of high school becomes a blur of frantic SAT preparation, a national test that colleges use to choose which students to accept. Preparing college funds may be the biggest of parents’ worries for their children, along with which schools they get accepted into, how far away they’ll be from home, and exactly how much responsibility and independence their once-tiny-babies can handle. Welcome to the world of American education. And let’s just say, be glad you won’t be here long…

*Details on Saxe?