How does school really work in the US?
Hi!
I am 21 years old and I am from Portugal. For some reason, teachers subreddits keep appearing on my feed and I have reading it all for a long time now but I feel I dont really know how a day of school is like in the US.
I thought I would explain what school is like in Portugal and, if you are kind enough, you would explain me your day at an american school.
In Portugal, classes from 1st to 4st grade start around 9 and finish around 3:30 but, if the parents cannot pick up their child at 3:30 their are free activities until around 5:30. The parents park their cars outside school and take their kids to the door. We do not have school buses.
From 5th to 12th grade, the classes start at around 8:30 and there is not a fixed time to finish classes. Usually, the kids have 2 to 3 free afternoons or mornings.
All schools have a canteen and there is a full meal available for the students for around 1,50€ (soup, a main dish with meat or fish, salad and pasta, rice or potatoes and a desert, usually fruit). It is also possible to buy some snacks (without sugar).
Most schools have 50 minute classes. For exemple, a typical day would be:
\- Class from 8:30 to 9:20;
\- 10 Minute break;
\- Class from 09:30 to 10:20;
\- 15 minute break;
\- etc etc;
Most classes are expositive and everyone writes with pen and paper. I hear a lot about guided notes, fill in the gap notes, guides, and I dont really know what that means. We have a students book and a work book for each subject. There are also extra worksheets and the teachers use powerpoints to explain/videos/etc.
If we want to go to the restroom we just ask and go. In high school, grades are from 0 to 20 and you cannot have less than 10 if you dont want to fail. It is not possible to retake tests if you fail and if you miss an online assignment you need to ask the teacher if you can submit it later but the answer is usually no.
We do not have school nurse or police inside school. From 5th grade, if the parents authorize, the kids can leave school alone. It is very comon for kids to go outside school during breaks to go to a coffee shop, hang out, etc.
The typical subjects include: Portuguese, Maths, Geography, History, Music, Physics, Chemistry, English, a second foreign language, PE, philosophy, natural sciences, and some more I dont remember.
I would be happy to answer questions if you have them and I thank you in advance for your answers.
Keep doing the amazing job you do!
Thank you!