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Education Focus: Holidays

Posted on 2013/03/25
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holidayWhat holidays do American schools observe?
American school districts have the responsibility to decide which holidays to include in their school schedule.  So, it depends on which district a pupil’s school is in.  The advantage of this is that a particular school district would have the flexibility to give its students a holiday honoring a local hero.  For example, many schools in Chicago, and some in its suburbs, observe “Pulaski Day” in honor of the Polish-born Revolutionary War cavalry officer.  (This is related to the fact that Chicago has a large Polish population.)  Practically speaking, though, there are a set number of certain holidays that school districts choose to observe, regardless of the locale.

What are some typical holidays included in an American school schedule?
Holidays generally observed in an American school schedule include:

New Year’s Day (January 1, generally included in winter break/Christmas vacation).  This holiday celebrates the beginning of the year according to the Western (Gregorian) calendar.

Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January).  This holiday celebrates the birth of the 20th-century civil rights figure.

Washington’s Birthday / Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February).  This holiday honors the lives and contributions of American presidents, past and present.

Good Friday (date varies).  This religious holiday recognizes the crucifixion of Christ.  Some school districts follow tradition in letting students have this day off, while others simply schedule a spring break/Easter vacation around this time, anyhow.

Memorial Day (last Monday in May).  This holiday honors the men and women who have given their lives in service in the United States Armed Forces.

Labor Day (first Monday in September).  This holiday celebrates the American worker and the labor movement.

Columbus Day (second Monday in October).  This holiday honors the man who is generally credited with discovering America.

Veterans Day (November 11).  This holiday originally commemorated the signing of the armistice that ended World War I, but has since been expanded to honor all surviving veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday of November, along with the following Friday).  This holiday is a remembrance of the harvest festival held by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.

Christmas Day (December 25, generally included in winter break/Christmas vacation).  This religious holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

Why are some people against giving students so many holidays?
Some people are concerned that letting students have so many days free from school sends the wrong message about the meanings of these holidays.  They believe that having these holidays off detracts from instructional time.  It would be better for the students to remain in school and learn why these dates and / or holidays are significant, instead of implicitly encouraging students to think of these dates as just another day free from school and homework.

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Education Focus: Report Cards 3

Posted on 2012/04/16
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a job well done

We’ve been looking at report cards, and we’ve seen that the GPA (grade point average) is an important part of the information conveyed by the report card.  GPAs become increasingly important as a student gets older.  GPAs are used (1) to determine who is eligible for the Honor Roll, (2) to determine a student’s class rank, and (3) in college admissions.

(1)  Honor Roll:  The school acknowledges its better students by listing them on the Honor Roll for the quarter.  The exact criteria for inclusion on the honor vary from school to school, but a typical criterion might be a minimum GPA of 3.0 for Honors and a minimum GPA of 3.5 for High Honors.  In college, this acknowledgement is usually called a dean’s list.  Again, the concept is similar:  students with a GPA above a certain value are included in the list.

(2)  Class rank:   The class rank is the position of the student relative to those in his class as determined by the student’s GPA.  Thus, if a student has a class rank of 8, that means that his GPA is the 8th highest one for his class.  Of course, it is more impressive if a student ranks 8th in a class of 200 students rather than a class of only 20, so many times the class rank will also indicate how many students are in the class:  a class rank of 12/175 means that the student has the 12th highest GPA out of a class of 175 students.

(3)  College admissions:  There is much to be said about college admissions, and we will cover this in greater detail in a future Education Focus.  Here we will just note that a student’s GPA is one of the more important criteria that colleges will consider when they review a student’s college admission application.  The higher the GPA, the better, as it generally indicates that a student is a good student and will have a greater chance of success in college.

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Education Focus: Report Cards 2

Posted on 2012/04/09
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Look, Ma - Straight As again!Let’s continue our look at report cards, which we started last week.  Although students are given a letter grade based on the percentage earned from their assignments, tests, and quizzes, this letter grade is converted to a number for the purpose of calculating the GPA (grade point average).  With this conversion, an “A” has the value 4.0, while an “F” has a value of 0.0.  The full breakdown of values is as follows:

A+ (97%) – 4.0
A (93%) – 4.0
A– (90%) – 3.7 (3.67)
B+ (87%) – 3.3
B (83%) – 3.0
B– (80%) – 2.7 (2.67)
C+ (77%) – 2.3
C (73%) – 2.0
C– (70%) – 1.7 (1.67)
D+ (67%) – 1.33
D (63%) – 1.0
D– (60%) – 0.7 (0.67)
F – 0.0

With these values, then, it is easy to calculate a student’s GPA:  a student who had three As, two Bs, and one C would have a GPA of 3.3:

three As:    4.0 X 3
two Bs:    3.0 X 2
one C:        2.0 X 1
20 points for 6 classes = 20/6 ==> 3.3

One of the drawbacks of calculating the GPA in this way is that an “A” in a relatively easy class (such as typing) is no different than an “A” in a more difficult class (such as calculus or physics).  This means that some students would probably take classes that are easy, instead of classes that are more challenging, because they are trying to keep their GPA as high as possible.  A solution to this is the concept of “weighted grades.”  Weighted grades are used primarily at the high school level, but not all high schools use weighted grades.

Weighted grades take into account the level of difficulty of the particular subject.  Harder subjects in general, or honors classes in particular, are worth more in terms of their GPA value than easy subjects / non-honors classes.  So in a weighted-grade system, an “A” in calculus would have a GPA value of 5.0 (for example) instead of the normal 4.0.  With weighted grades, then, it is possible to have a GPA that is higher than 4.0 (which is the maximum GPA under a non-weighted-grade system). Weighted grades help to reward the risk to a student’s GPA in taking more challenging classes.

Report cards used to be completed by hand, and the teacher would pass them out at the end of the term.  The student would then be expected to take them home for the parents to look at (who had to sign them, indicating that they had seen the report card), and then bring them back to school.  Of course, there were many students who were afraid to bring home their report cards (or pretended to “lose” or “forget” their report cards) because they were ashamed of their grades!

Nowadays, report cards are addressed to the parents and mailed to the student’s home.  Not as many excuses for “lost” or “forgotten” report cards this way!  Many schools also let parents log in and check their student’s grades at any time during the school term, as well as check for missing assignments, etc.  If a parent has concerns about his student’s academic performance, he can also request a parent-teacher conference.

Next week we’ll wrap up this little series on report cards with a look at why GPAs are important to students.

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Education Focus: Report Cards 1

Posted on 2012/04/02
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Straight As

Today I want to take a look at report cards.  A report card is an official record of a student’s grades in the various subjects that he is taking that school year.  Report cards are given quarterly in the lower grades through high school, but they are done on a semester basis in college.  Each course or class that the student is taking for that term (or each subject, for the younger students through the eighth grade) will be listed on the report card, along with the grade that the student has earned for that term.  Typical courses or subjects that grade school and high school students might have would be mathematics, science, history, English, PE (physical education), and art or music.

The grades are calculated based on the various assignments, tests, and quizzes that the student has had during the term.  American students are given grades that range from A (best) to F (worst).  Additionally, a letter grade might have a + or a – after it, indicating “better” or “worse,” respectively.  Thus, the full range of letter grades looks like this, along with the percentage cutoffs for the grades:

A+ (97%), A (93%), A– (90%)
B+ (87%), B (83%), B– (80%)
C+ (77%), C (73%), C– (70%)
D+ (67%), D (63%), D– (60%)
F

Why is there no “E”?  First of all, the letter “F” stands for “fail,” and is not necessarily supposed to be a continuation of the grade series.  This also explains why there is no “F+” or “F–,” since it doesn’t really make sense to say that failure can be “better” or “worse”:  failure is failure.

Another reason there is no “E” letter grade is purely practical:  if a student received an “F,” it would be rather easy to cheat and change the grade to “E,” since the two letters are so similar.

Letter grades are generally given to older students – the real young students (for example, first and second graders) are often given grades that indicate how well the student is progressing in learning the basics.  An example of this type of grading system might look like this:  “superior,” meaning that the student has learned the skills necessary not only for his grade level, but has learned skills that would be expected of older students; “satisfactory,” meaning that the student has learned the skills necessary for his grade level, but not advanced skills; and “unsatisfactory,” meaning that the student needs additional work to get caught up to the skill level that he should be at.

There is more to be said about report cards, so we’ll continue this topic next week.

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Education Focus: Dances

Posted on 2012/03/19
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One of the premises regarding the modern American educational system is that education has a social component in addition to academic instruction.  In keeping with this philosophy, many schools host dances for their students, generally staring in middle school.

In middle school, dances tend not to be formal – there are usually no set dates, so boys and girls can go “stag” – the girls don’t have to wait around for a boy to ask them to the dance, and boys don’t have to stress over getting turned down by a girl.  Also, at middle school dances the music is generally not performed by a live band, but comes rather from students’ music collections.

In high school the dances tend to be more formal, although there are a few that are decidedly not formal.  Also, in high school the music is more likely than in middle school to be performed by a live band, but of course it depends on the budget of those organizing the dance.  The boy usually asks the girl to the dance, but there are a couple of notable exceptions to this:  a Sadie Hawkins dance (non-formal, based on a comic strip character who couldn’t find a beau, so she chased the eligible bachelors) and a Turnabout dance (formal).

The number of dances each year varies from school to school, but there are two big dances that are a nearly universal experience for every American high school:  the annual Homecoming dance, and the annual Prom.  We’ll have more to say about these special dances in future Education Focuses.

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Education Focus: Musicals

Posted on 2012/03/12
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curtain call

For today’s education focus, I want to take a brief look at musicals.  A musical is like a stage play, only the acting is interrupted from time to time with singing – either by an individual (a solo), by a pair (a duet), or sometimes by three people (a trio) or several (a chorus).  So, a musical will have not only a cast (the group of actors/actresses performing the musical), but a pit band or pit orchestra as well.

A musical is a common extracurricular high school activity.  Although it represents a big commitment for the students who participate – rehearsals are usually scheduled for every day after school, or in the evening – there are benefits as well.  Musicals give students a chance to try their hand at performing arts – specifically, at acting and/or singing.  Additionally, most musicals also have choreographed scenes, giving at least some of the performers the opportunity to dance.  Even if a student is not interested in being on stage, there are other opportunities for participation as well:  a student may participate in the pit band, playing his instrument and thus helping to provide the musical accompaniment; a student who is good with his hands may choose to help design and/or build the set for the musical; some students may prefer to work with costuming and stage makeup, while others may prefer to work with the technical aspects of production, such as lighting or sound.

A musical has various acting “parts,” or roles, like a play.  “Tryouts,” or auditions, are held to fill the cast by determining which students are suited for which roles.  Likewise, there may be auditions for the pit band, or the band director may simply tap the top chairs in the band to be in the pit band.  Other participants, such as those involved in production,  set construction, or costuming, don’t have tryouts, as there is usually enough work to go around for any and all who want to contribute their labors behind the scenes.

After the cast has been selected, the actors and actresses must memorize their lines, dancers work on choreographing their scenes, those in the costume department start whatever sewing needs to be done, and the set is designed and constructed.  When the performers have learned their lines, everything is ready to come together for rehearsal.  As I mentioned earlier, rehearsals are held nearly every day after school or in the evening, so the cast, pit band, and production crew get plenty of opportunity to work with each other and make adjustments as necessary.  These rehearsals are not in costume and tend to be less formal, but as the date of the actual performance draws near, a “dress rehearsal” or two will be scheduled.  A dress rehearsal is formal and conducted in full costume and makeup, to make things as close to the actual performance as possible.  This dress rehearsal gives the actors the chance to get used to performing in costume and makeup, take care of any last-minute costume changes, etc.  Pictures may also be taken during a dress rehearsal, so as to have the greatest freedom in getting pictures without having to worry about disrupting an audience.

A musical generally has a number of performances, spread out over several nights; for example, performances might be Friday and Saturday nights for two or three weekends.  The first performance is called “opening night,” while the last performance is “closing night.”  At the end of the final performance, there is usually a “curtain call,” where all the performers and supporting crew (pit band, production crew, etc.) are recognized, typically bowing to the audience and receiving a token of appreciation, such as a bouquet of flowers, from their admirers (usually Mom and Dad!).  Then the end of the musical is celebrated with a cast party, where those involved are rewarded for their hard work.

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Education Focus: Private Schools

Posted on 2012/02/13
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For our educational focus this week, I want to look at private schools. Private schools are an alternative to public schools. There are private schools at every level of education, from private pre-schools and kindergartens all the way to private high schools and universities.

Public schools are funded almost exclusively from taxing residents in various ways. Private schools, on the other hand, derive their funds from a variety of sources, including tuition, grants, and endowments. Sometimes private schools accept money from the government (in the form of grants, for example). Usually, though, private schools avoid accepting public money, because they consider it an invasion of liberty. If a private school accepts money from the government, then the government could take more control over what is taught in the school, and even how it is taught. Therefore, to minimize government interference, private schools tend to avoid taxpayer funding.

Different private schools have different motivations for being private. Many private schools are affiliated with a church or other religious group, providing religious education and education from a religious perspective. Other private schools are strictly secular, but wish to educate children according to an alternative teaching philosophy. Still other private schools focus on providing an elite or rigorous education, with an emphasis on preparing its students for admission into a top-ranked university such as Harvard or Yale. Some schools are military academies, which teach discipline and respect alongside academic subjects.

Just as there are many different motivations for operating a private school, so parents have different motives for sending their children to private schools. Some parents want a religious education for their children, or want their children to be educated in accordance with their religious beliefs. Other parents are concerned that public schools do not provide enough of an academic challenge. Some parents don’t want to expose their children to negative influences like drugs, violence, or other anti-social behavior. Still other parents may want to send their children to a military academy to help the student learn discipline and self-control. And yet other parents may want to send their kids to an elite school to give the children an edge when it comes time to apply to college.

Although each state has its own regulations governing the qualifications of private schools, in general the education at private schools tends to be as good as, if not better than, that of public schools. Scores on college admission tests such as the SAT and ACT demonstrate that the quality of a private school education meets or exceeds that of public schools.

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Education Focus: American Education System, Part 4

Posted on 2012/02/06
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Today for our Education Focus, I want to take a quick look at a popular alternative to a four-year college or university: the community college, also known as a junior college.

A community college, or junior college, is a two-year institution that grants a two-year degree, also known as an associate’s degree. Like the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, one can earn an associate’s degree in arts (A.A.) or an associate’s degree in science (A.S.). Community colleges are typically local schools that are supported by the county or community, and as such do not have boarding students. With few exceptions, all the students are commuter students (students who live off campus – usually with parents, or spouses – and drive (commute) to school each day). A community college does not offer advanced degrees, but instead focuses on general education requirements that all students need to take as part of a well-rounded curriculum.

Community colleges are popular because they offer a less-expensive alternative to attending a college or university for a full four years. To save money, students will take lower-level classes at their community college, then transfer the credits to a four-year college or university. If a student is planning to transfer, he must consult with an academic advisor to make sure that all his credits will transfer to the school of his choice. Alternatively, the student can complete the community college’s degree requirements for the associate’s degree, and then he won’t have to worry about whether or not the credits will transfer – his associate’s degree will be accepted at most four-year colleges and universities.

Another reason why students might choose to attend a community college first before going on to a four-year college or university is that it can give him a chance to improve his transcript. Sometimes a student doesn’t do as well as he could have done in high school, which might hurt his chances in being accepted at the school of his choice. If he attends a community college and improves his academic record there, an admissions officer at a four-year college or university would be more likely to place greater emphasis on the community college academic record than the high school academic record.

A final reason why some students attend a community college rather than a four-year institution is simply because he is interested in a vocation that needs some additional training, but doesn’t need the rigorous academic training that a four-year college or university provides. Vocations like auto mechanic, cook/chef, and nursing or dental assistants would be in this category. These types of vocations are especially popular with what are called “non-traditional” students – students who are returning to school after having spent time in the workforce or raising a family. These students tend to have jobs already, and are looking for the extra classes to obtain certification or get a raise in salary.

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Education Focus: American Education System, Part 3

Posted on 2012/01/23
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This time, we’ll take a brief look at the American Educational System and graduate school. Last time, we saw that post-secondary education generally involves attending a college or university and earning a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) or a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) degree. For most students, this represents the final stage of their education.

Others, however, choose to continue by attending graduate school. Certain areas, such as law, medicine, and other academic pursuits, require an advanced degree such as an M.S. / M.A. (Master of Science / Master of Arts) or a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy). In particular, a Ph.D. is required to teach in a tenured position at most colleges and universities. Furthermore, anyone who is interested in doing research at a major company almost certainly needs a Ph.D. as well. Likewise, earning a master’s degree gives one the advantage of having a higher salary in the workplace, and opens up doors of opportunity that might otherwise remain closed.

To earn a master’s degree, one typically takes courses for two years beyond the bachelor’s degree. The exact courses required depends on what area the master’s is in. One significant difference between courses at the bachelor’s level and those at the master’s level is that the focus is exclusively on the student’s concentration – students in the mathematics master’s program will take classes in upper-level mathematics (statistics, algebra, or analysis, depending on the particular emphasis), students in the law school will take upper-level law classes, and so on. Another difference is that classes at the master’s level and beyond are much more rigorous, and therefore require much more study. Accordingly, most graduate students take only 3 three-hour classes, or perhaps 4 classes per semester. Upon completing the requirements for a master’s degree, the student generally has two options:

1) Take comprehensive examinations. These exams (“comps”) provide a complete testing of all that the student was required to learn in the course of his master’s studies. To earn a degree, the master’s student must pass his comps – 60% for passing is typical. If the student doesn’t pass his comps, he has up to one year to study again and retake the test. Failing the comps means that the degree will not be awarded.

2) Write a master’s thesis. Instead of taking comps, the student may choose to write a thesis. The student consults with his faculty advisor, who helps him by suggesting suitable topics and guiding him through the various stages of writing the thesis.

Earning a Ph.D. typically requires two years beyond a master’s degree, or a total of four years beyond the bachelor’s degree. Doctoral students take many of the same courses that master’s students take, plus additional courses as required by the college or department he is enrolled in. In the first few years, doctoral students concentrate on taking the core courses necessary for passing their qualifying examinations (“qualifiers”). Once the doctoral student has passed his qualifiers, he has completed one of the major steps towards earning his Ph.D. After the qualifiers, his next hurdle is to write his doctoral dissertation. Like a master’s student writing his thesis, the doctoral student receives guidance and assistance from his faculty advisor in researching, writing, and preparing his doctoral dissertation. Once the dissertation is completed, the doctoral student must defend his dissertation in front of a panel consisting of certain members of the faculty. If he has defended his dissertation to the satisfaction of the panel, he has successfully completed the requirements for a Ph.D., and will be recognized as a Doctor of Philosophy.

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Education Focus: American Education System, Part 2

Posted on 2012/01/09
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Last week we looked at the American Educational System from Kindergarten through High School. Today we’ll take a brief look at post-secondary education in the U.S.: American colleges and universities.

After completion of high school, many students continue their education by attending a college or a university. Although most people use the terms interchangeably, there is a difference between a college and a university. A college generally has a smaller student enrollment and consists of one school (the college). On the other hand, a university usually has a larger student enrollment and consists of several schools: for example, a typical university can have a college of liberal arts and sciences, a college of engineering, and a college of education. For the student there is little practical difference; both colleges and universities are degree-granting institutions, enabling their graduates to have better job prospects than they would otherwise with only a high school education.

When a student attends college/university, he chooses a major, or area of concentration and specialization. Many different types of majors are available. Ideally, a student chooses his major first (or at least has some idea of what he’d like to concentrate on), and then chooses a school based on major he’d like to study. Typical majors would include: engineering (mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, or chemical engineering), physics, chemistry, biology, pre-med, pre-law, history, English/literature, a foreign language, education, mathematics, statistics, computer science/IT, physical education, physical therapy, accounting, business, marketing, hotel and restaurant management, fashion design, fine arts (music, art, theater), and nursing. Each major has its own degree requirements in addition to the general education requirements of the college/university. Students can double major (complete the requirements for two majors simultaneously) or major in one area and minor in another.

Like high school, most students take four years to complete the degree requirements, and so we have the corresponding classes for college/university: first-year students are freshmen, second-year students are sophomores, third-year students are juniors, and fourth-year students are seniors. Freshmen and sophomores are underclassmen; juniors and seniors are upperclassmen. In reality, four years to complete the degree is an average. Some students may complete their degree early by taking summer school and interim classes; others may take longer than four years due to poor schedules, having to repeat courses, or by working on two majors. Consequently, in college, years are determined largely by how many credit hours one has. Each course is worth a set number of credit hours; for example, a course that meets three hours per week for the semester would be worth three credit hours. The more courses a student takes, the more credit hours he earns upon completion of the course. 12 – 15 credit hours are considered a normal (full-time) class load, and would be the equivalent of four or five classes of three credit hours each. In addition to the time spent in class, students are expected to spend a minimum of two hours study outside of class for every hour spent in class. Thus, 12 – 15 credit hours represent a minimum of 36 – 45 hours each week that a student should devote to his education.

After completing the degree requirements as set forth by the college/university, students are awarded a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is the lowest post-secondary degree awarded by four-year institutions like colleges and universities. A student typically earns either a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) or a bachelor of science degree (B.S.). There is little practical difference between a B.A. and a B.S., as most employers are satisfied that their employees have a degree. Accordingly, completion of college represents the final stage of education for most people: after graduation, students look for a job and enter the world of work.

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