If you went to school in USA…

[Princesspuppy]

Sorry for the stupid question. But I am watching 10 things I hate about you and it got me wondering. Do schools in the US really have car parks for the students? And do the rich kids show up in expensive cars?

I would love to hear your experiences!

No it’s not, at least in my state. Our premium went up slightly when we had a 16 year old pass their test but not much. Our car insurance offers discounts if your kid consistently gets high grades, and mine all do so that helps a bit too.

Do they really have class sizes of 30-40?

I've heard this said but the films and tv shows don't show such big classes.

What about SEN kids? Are they in these huge high schools in special classes or are there SEN schools?

How many schools have metal detectors at the doors?

I think I'd have much preferred the US system, for me and my DCs.

My DS is intending to apply the US for university. He will will need financial aid , I would be interested to know if anyone else is doing this. We live in the UK and he is an Irish and British citizen.I feel like it's a long shot but he is very DS determined.

this thread is about schools not Uni, Lemon. There are other MN threads on your topic. No govt financial aid you'll find.

My kids school has a 6th form carpark. As did the school I went to.

I went to high school in Newcastle, in 1981 and a few 6th form kids had cars, but very few.

My cousin was bornin California and they lived semi-rural. My aunt often had very early starts and cousin had to walk about half a mile to the main road, for the bus. They got her a car when she was 16, just an old VW Beetle; aunt's friend was an artist, so they painted the car. I had the impression that almost all the seniors had cars at her school.

I was working on a survey ship in the Gulf of Mexico and there was a young guy from Port Iberia, Texas. He was driving at 14, with special permission. His mother was disabled and he was allowed to drive her to the doctor & pharmacy and to the store. He was also allowed to drive to and from school. Any deviation would have meant being banned.

Apparently, it was pretty much one road from their farm to town, where the doctor and school were. He'd been driving his dad's truck on the farm from about 10 years old.

I went to a state sixth form in the UK , it had a student carpark

In my experience, yes, there are car parks, though I don't know how well used they are now as driving age has been raised in many states. When I was in school in the 90s, I could get my learner's permit (provisional) at 15 and I got my actual license the day I turned 16. So I had 2 years of high school where I drove myself to school. Where my friend grew up, she could get her license at 14! I think in many places it's been raised to 18 now, so probably only the very old seniors in their final year have a car.

I don't think most kids have fancy expensive cars though. I expect it depends on how well off your parents are. Back in the 90s, my (rich) friend's parents bought her a brand new volvo when she turned 16, which she slowly destroyed over the next few years as she was a horrible driver! But I don't think that's the norm at all.

UK here but we also had a student only car park. Our sixth form block was separate to the rest of the school and we had our own dedicated car park.

My UK school had a student car park and I had my own allocated space. Doesn’t seem that uncommon!

What about SEN kids? Are they in these huge high schools in special classes or are there SEN schools?

This varies according to each student's situation and needs and the level of provision in the school district. My child attended the large high school; for some subjects he was in special education classes, and for others, he was mainstreamed. SEN provision was outstanding in the school system where we were living at the time. Also there are quite a few legal protections for the educational needs of children with disabilities.

Grammar school and elementary school mean essentially the same thing, but elementary school is the more common term these days. Junior high and middle school are roughly equivalent. Where I live they are all called middle school.

Was this a public school? There is no religious education in the high school I attended, nor in the schools my children currently attend.

My children learnt about various religions as part of history and social studies classes. There was no praying or promotion of any religion over any others, given that they were public schools.

They also didn’t study Geography as a separate subject - it was taught as part of various other subjects, which was new to me.

God yes. It was a private evangelical Lutheran high school. It was more holy than the Holy Land 😂

They also didn’t study Geography

I'm gobsmacked! Is geography not a standard subject across the USA then? Here everyone has to do it for the first 2 years of high school.

I can't imagine not doing it!

I've never heard kids on American tv shows/films talking about modern studies either.

I've read the whole thread but your post is fascinating....that's all the driving 'test' consists of? How can anyone think that's a good idea? Is there a massive rate of serious accidents?

And I have to ask - which state?

@RaspberryCloud the accident rate is not great but it's not as high as you would imagine. Cars are all automatic, big open roads, and parking spaces tend to be much larger.
I think a lot of kids have been having informal 'lessons' off their parents on their own land since quite a young age but I'd still like to see a least some form of driving school become mandatory.
I don't want to give away my exact location but it's a southern State with a lot of open space for practice!

The biggest class size my DCs ever had throughout their whole school careers was about 25 students. The average class size for them in high school was about 17.

It's hard for me to imagine, but back in the baby boom years their elementary school (RC, K-8) and the high school (public) had double the number of students they currently have, and classes were huge. Even now, there are three lunch sittings in the HS.

I can't speak for the rest of the US, but locally, SEN provision is excellent in the public schools. They have SLTs and OTs on staff, and both the elementary and high school districts have ed psychs on staff for diagnosis and creating IEPs. All schools provide classroom aides if needed, and children can get individual OT or SLT during the school day. The elementary and HS districts provide door to door school bus transport for all SEN students. SEN students can be mainstreamed or can do specific special ed classes. SEN students can participate in mainstream sports or special ed sports leagues. They can stay in school to age 21, doing life skills, academic courses, and work placement. Schools are obliged to provide an appropriate education for all students regardless of ability, and my local schools take their obligation seriously. It's a very MC-UMC area.

The local high school also provides a nursery for babies and preschool age children of students, staff, and the local community. There are academic counselors, licensed clinical social workers for students needing therapy, and deans of discipline who work with teachers, therapists, social workers, and counselors to help kids get through their school years.

The high school district contracts out the education of some kids who can't be mainstreamed because of social/ emotional/ psych issues (non SEN) to a couple of small alternative education providers, and provides transport door to door for these kids.

In addition, there is an in-school suspension department where kids who have committed serious rule infractions are kept apart from the rest of the school and do basic level core coursework, do therapy sessions, try to get back on track.

There are no metal detectors at the doors of my local schools. There is a community police officer who visits every day, and there are security guards who act as hall monitors and also do crossing guard/ traffic control duty on the streets around the school. They also monitor the bike racks.

My kids never did Geography per se, but Social Studies in their junior high grades covered a great deal of mixed history and social geography. They studied the required survey course World History for a year in high school, and that covered a multitude too, including religions, which they had already touched on in social studies. They could have done AP Environmental Science or AP Human Geography in high school, both of which cover traditional geography topics, albeit with more of an emphasis on environment than geology in Env Sci.

@yoga4meinthemorning

Modern Studies would be covered by other subjects - economics, history courses, government courses, especially at AP level. In my state, Civics is a required course for high school graduation, and topics include the US constitution, the state constitution, study of the institutions of government (courts, legislature, executive, etc), study of current and controversial topics, a service component, and study of democratic processes.

Courses in American high schools tend to offer the theoretical framework of a given topic and emphasise research, writing, and discussion skills as opposed to providing a debate club experience.

...except for AP Philosophy, which tends to attract kids who love the sound of their own voices.

Understandable re the state!

I am just so amazed by the variance in what is required to gain a license...I live in a Central European country and the test here is outrageously difficult, with mechanics & first aid requirements, and a long delay before you achieve your 'full' license, so this boggles my mind somewhat !

Wow that SEN provision sounds amazing. Nowhere in the UK has that!!

If I was younger I'd seriously consider moving!

Yes the SEN provision in my state is pretty good too. Our schools tend to be much smaller here so we don't have the full range that mathanxiety talks about.

One of my children has ADHD, and within a few months of us flagging this up to the school they had a diagnosis from an Ed Psych and a 504 Plan, which the teachers adhere to pretty well. There was no battle at all in getting this set up.

Another of my children struggled with depression and anxiety during middle school. They had a school counsellor (a qualified Social Worker) they could speak to weekly, which really helped.

I have several friends who work with SEN students as Ed Techs, and they are well funded and given plenty of resources to do their jobs. It's a big part of the school budget.

The nice thing about having specialist Ed Techs for SEN students, on-staff school counsellors, nurses, psychologists etc is that it frees the teachers up to do their job... teach. They also don't have to waste time doing things like policing school uniforms.