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I grew up and went to school in Russia, but spent my last three grades in the US. Both have their pros and cons, but some cons of the US system were very appare

by vvpan 12y ago

I grew up and went to school in Russia, but spent my last three grades in the US. Both have their pros and cons, but some cons of the US system were very apparent. 1. In Russia I remember having eight classes a day only briefly and that quickly came to an end because having so many classes was considered to be close to child abuse. Six was the norm, sometime seven, but definitely not every day of the week. Here I had 9 classes every single day. I was not pleased at all. 2. The breaks between classes were only 3-5 minutes long in the US. Whereas in Russia they were 10-15 minutes. You can't socialize during 3-5 minutes you have to run to another class. Yes, you are less likely to "get in trouble", but getting in trouble is part of socializing. 3. Not really a problem with the schooling system, but the above two combined with living in the suburbs produces a great problem. You know you won't see any of the students for the rest of the day, unless your mom drives you to the mall or something. Socializing time is very brief during the school day, but really, that's all you've got... Needless to say I hated going to the US school tremendously. Color me cynical, but I am somewhat surprised that there are not many more school shooting than there are now. Oh and I graduated more than a decade ago, so perhaps things have changed, but I doubt it.

diek 12y ago
For point 3, it really depends on the suburb. I grew up in a nice suburb and after school was always about getting together with other kids in the area. We could ride bikes all around the neighborhood, go to local parks, and go to a movie on the weekends.
mschuster91 12y ago
> Here I had 9 classes every single day. I was not pleased at all. This is by far the worst thing in any school system... even in Germany, with 6 different subjects every day, it's hard because you shift your entire focus every 45min. Until you're in the correct focus, it needs ten minutes - and suddenly, a third of the lesson time is gone. Best would be three or four 90-minute blocks to avoid the constant mind-shifting, separated by 15-min (or at midday 30-45min) breaks in order to relax, eat and socialize.
- cdwhite 12y ago
  As a counterpoint, I have a hard time keeping my focus for more than 45 min. 90-min classes, which I've been having for a good five years now, can be killers. This is even more true when I'm working on my own: it requires a substantial amount of effort to make it through one 25 min. pomodoro period.
foob 12y ago
I'm sure this varies between states but at my school in New York we had nine periods per day rather than nine classes. One of these was taken up by lunch and then science classes would often take up two adjacent periods. Most people also had at least one study hall period which could be used for homework or socializing. In the end, most people were taking six classes or so. You also had the option to take classes at the local college or do independent studies for AP courses that weren't offered if you weren't challenged enough. Nine subjects at once is certainly pushing it for most students but that definitely isn't universal in the US.

by vvpan 12y ago

diek 12y ago

For point 3, it really depends on the suburb. I grew up in a nice suburb and after school was always about getting together with other kids in the area. We could ride bikes all around the neighborhood, go to local parks, and go to a movie on the weekends.

mschuster91 12y ago

> Here I had 9 classes every single day. I was not pleased at all. This is by far the worst thing in any school system... even in Germany, with 6 different subjects every day, it's hard because you shift your entire focus every 45min. Until you're in the correct focus, it needs ten minutes - and suddenly, a third of the lesson time is gone. Best would be three or four 90-minute blocks to avoid the constant mind-shifting, separated by 15-min (or at midday 30-45min) breaks in order to relax, eat and socialize.

cdwhite 12y ago
As a counterpoint, I have a hard time keeping my focus for more than 45 min. 90-min classes, which I've been having for a good five years now, can be killers. This is even more true when I'm working on my own: it requires a substantial amount of effort to make it through one 25 min. pomodoro period.

foob 12y ago

I'm sure this varies between states but at my school in New York we had nine periods per day rather than nine classes. One of these was taken up by lunch and then science classes would often take up two adjacent periods. Most people also had at least one study hall period which could be used for homework or socializing. In the end, most people were taking six classes or so. You also had the option to take classes at the local college or do independent studies for AP courses that weren't offered if you weren't challenged enough. Nine subjects at once is certainly pushing it for most students but that definitely isn't universal in the US.