A few questions for Americans

[Adam Jensen]

Guys 8 AM to 2 PM or 3 PM, how I'd like this ... In the french Lycée, it was 5:40 most of the time for me... But that's probably because we usually had a lunch break from 12:15 to 14:00 because you know, french people need 2 hours to eat I guess? ... How about your lunch breaks?

30-45 minute lunches. 10-15 minute breaks. Changed from elementary school to high school.

[Deleted]

Guys 8 AM to 2 PM or 3 PM, how I'd like this ... In the french Lycée, it was 5:40 most of the time for me... But that's probably because we usually had a lunch break from 12:15 to 14:00 because you know, french people need 2 hours to eat I guess? ... How about your lunch breaks?

Here, we have lunch break from 12:00 to 13:15. And that's already pretty long. The reason for this is that during that break, sports teams compete against each other and they need enough time to play their game.

[TrumpIsPresident]

Just for jokes (kinda).


Standard American Public School Curriculum:

6:00-8:00 Ride bus to school 60 miles away in order to satisfy racial quota.

8:00-8:30 Listen to lecture on how reciting the pledge of allegiance violates your civil rights and how you very well may DIE if you do it.

8:30-10:00 European study period, or, how socialism always works out better for everybody and always has every time its installed.

10:00-12:00 Sensitivity training.

12:00-1:00 Confiscation of home brought lunch followed by forced feeding of government lunch prepared by Michelle Obama herself.

1:00-2:00 Science study period, or, how global warming only occurs when business make a profit and how it also killed the dinosaurs.

2:00-3:00 American History study period, or, how the straight employed American white male is responsible for all the worlds problems.

3:00-4:00 Wrap up day with sing-a-long on Obamacare and how its just the bestest thing ever followed take-home pamphlets for our parents!

[Deleted]

Just for jokes (kinda).

Oh, I lol'd. Didn't read that first part back there, but it didn't take long to figure it out

[TrumpIsPresident]

Oh, I lol'd. Didn't read that first part back there, but it didn't take long to figure it out

Ya I'm just making light. Full disclosure; each of those lines is based on true events that have happened and/or still do to a degree in various American public schools.

[teddytous]

Whats the short Wednesday about?

[Deleted]

Whats the short Wednesday about?

Normal school hours are from 8:30 to 16:00 here. But on Wednesdays, everyone only gets half a day unless it's specified differently for what you're studying, therefor ending school at 12:00 that day.

[Sky High]

are we talking high school? middle school? elementary? as far as I'm aware up to high school unless you elected to take band or were the 12 Korean/Indian kids that took classes before school officially started that day and after (call me racist but that's the god damn truth). it would start at 8:15-8:30 and go to about 3:45-4:00 PM.

[ihateyouall]

Varied from Elementary/Middle/High School, but high school started and ended the earliest. I think it started around 7:30/7:45 AM and got out around 2:15-2:25. iirc, ~90 minute long classes. Only 3-5 minute break between classes (think it started at 3, but was extended to 5 later). Depending on your classes, it was barely enough time to get to the next one. For example, I had phys. ed. followed by a math class over in an annex wing on the opposite end of the school. Taking into account the crowded halls, I didn't even have time to stop at my locker to drop off my gym bag first. I had to bring the class books with me to the gym and pretty much head straight to the classroom, still with my gym bag, and I'd barely make it on time, depending on how much weaving in and out of traffic in the halls I had to do.

Four classes per day, split into semesters. So rather than have a 45 minute class for the whole year, you had a 90 minute class for half the year, then had a different class for the rest of the year. A few classes were quarterly as well, mostly electives.
Lunch was split into three "half" periods, staggering the population, spread throughout the third period. Some had lunch before third, some after third, some halfway through third. Most people went home after fourth period, unless you had some after school electives, like band/chorus/sports. There was a vo-tech program too, but I can't remember much about that.

Every day was the same length. School usually started in the first week of September and let out mid-June. Around June 15th or so.

Middle school and elementary school were both handled differently.

At least, that's how it was 10+ years ago. Looking at their website now, it seems they changed things around again. Looks like 7:35 - 3:00 now. 4 minutes between classes. 41 minute periods. 30 minutes for lunch.

[Deleted]

Thread reminded me about the big america vs europe thread. Was a good read, you may scan through it for some other info OP: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-ask-Americans

[Deletedaccount1]

It was 8 to 3 for me. Didn't prepare me for the 7 to 7 that I have now lol

[zeemeerman2]

Whats the short Wednesday about?

Wednesday is the middle of the week. It's to part the week into two smaller pieces, with Wednesday afternoon children having free time (or have to do homework). This tradition continues from elementary school all the way to the last year of high school, but not at college/university.
A school day usually consists out of 3 breaks, with lesson blocks of 50 minutes each, or 100 minutes sometimes. Something to do with a study showing children are more active within blocks of 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes, or something.

A typical Belgian school day would be something like this (with the courses just made up):

8.30h - 9.20h: Math
9.20h - 10.10h: English
10.10h - 10.20h: 10 minute morning break (with children playing on the school's playgrounds)
10.20h - 11.30h: Dutch (we're still talking Belgium here, remember!)
11.30h - 12.20h: Musical Education
12.20h - 12.50h: Midday break
12.50h - 14.30h: Phys. Ed. (100 minutes)
14.30h - 14.40h: 10 minute afternoon break
14.40h - 15.30h: Math (math twice at the same day? What a boring day this is…)
15.30h: School ends

School days usually have 7 blocks of lessons, with 4 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, and wednesday just having 4 blocks in the morning.

Source: Me, also from Belgium.


Maybe it is also interesting to talk a bit about high school comparisons. Something I don't know myself, so why not ask?
In Belgium, kindergarten is for children from 3-6 years old.
Elementary school takes is for children from 6-12 years, with the curriculum being the same for all students.
There is no 'middle' school, children from 12-18 go to high school. At the age of 12, they choose which course they want to take.
Courses consist out of a general curriculum all courses have to follow, plus an additional curriculum for that course specifically. Courses are a certain type, which I explain below.

The Latin course and Economy courses are considered high level, like how a university compares to a college. In Belgium, this group of courses are called ASO.
Office is a lower grade course, more like the college instead of university. This group is called BSO. Other groups include TSO and KSO.
ASO courses are meant to prepare you for university or college.
TSO courses are meant to teach you a technical skill, like woodworking and building houses, or becoming an entrepreneur.
BSO courses are meant to teach you a lower-level skills, like bakery, salesmen or becoming an office worker.
KSO courses are meant to teach you how to become an artist, designer, or related.
All courses of the same type of courses have the same curriculums.

For instance, a school may offer a "Latin" course (ASO) and an "Economy-Math" course (ASO), as well as an "Economy-Languages" course (ASO) and a "Office" (BSO) course. A small school may have about 10 courses to choose from, and a bigger school even more.
The ASO curriculum may consist about, for instance:
- High level math, four 50-minute blocks per week
- English, two 50-minute blocks per week
- French, three 50-minute blocks per week
- …

On top of that, the Latin course expands this with:
- Latin, six 50-minute blocks per week
Or if you wanted to do Economy-math:
- Economy, four 50-minute blocks per week
- High level Math, two additional 50-minute blocks per week
Or if you wanted to do Economy-languages:
- Economy, four 50-minute blocks per week
- French, an additional 50-minute block per week
- Dutch, an additional 50-minute block per week

If you did Office, you would get a BSO curriculum with lower level math, basic English and French, and expand upon that with six hours of an office-related course.
To compare ASO to BSO from practical experience, I'd say if you saw some part of math in 2-3 years in ASO, you would be thought the same things in BSO spread over 6 years.

In contrast, how does the USA (or where you are from) compares to this? Are you basically free to choose any courses you want to as some cartoons present you, is much of it fixed with partly options, are there multiple levels of classes (like ASO vs BSO level courses)? How does it all work? That is something I want to know…

[Deleted]

Thread reminded me about the big america vs europe thread. Was a good read, you may scan through it for some other info OP: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-ask-Americans

Thanks for linking to it!

- - - Updated - - -

Snip

It's great that you list this here, a comparison would be nice to see too. Thank you for your great contribution to the thread!

[OzoAndIndi]

I'm sure this has probably been answered plenty, though it varies depending on where you are, so guess I'll give my own answers too...

...do you guys have school from 8:30 AM to 4 PM, or do those hours differ?

Depends on the grade, younger kids normally start and end school at later hours. Sometimes it depends on where you are, but that time tends to be for young kids, at least where I am. My high school started at little after 7am and ended around 2:30pm.

Partly it helps coordinate with typical adult work hours, and partly so the school buses can be used first for the older kids then drive for younger kids.

Do you guys, like us Belgians, have only half a schoolday at Wednesday, or is it a full day?

Always a full day Monday - Friday. Once in a while there would be a half day, but it was rare in the school year. Usually that's when teachers had meetings to attend at the school.

As for the matter of the summer vacation, when does it start and when does it end?

Summer usually starts in early June (but missed days from snow in the winter could delay it) and school starts again in early September. It varies though, some places start school again earlier. My high school always started a week earlier than most at the end of August (around the time college usually starts), though I think some other schools in my area are starting to do that as well.

Little state of Delaware... also the first state.

A typical Belgian school day would be something like this (with the courses just made up):

Where I am, the typical courses (based on high school) every day would be math, English (grammar and junk of course, not learning the language itself), science, history, gym or health class, maybe a language class, my high school also had vocational areas so I also had a long block in my graphic arts shop room as well as sometimes having other related classes. Lunch was our only break during the day.

[Chingylol]

I think every state has different school times here in the US. Mine in New Jersey was:

K-6th grade = 7:30 - 2:15

7-8th - 6:30 - 2pm

9-12th - 7:20 - 2:15pm

Lunch was about 35-40 minutes for all grades.

[Adam Jensen]

I think every state has different school times here in the US. Mine in New Jersey was:

K-6th grade = 7:30 - 2:15

7-8th - 6:30 - 2pm

9-12th - 7:20 - 2:15pm

Lunch was about 35-40 minutes for all grades.

School started that early? Fuuuuuuu. . . . Early to bed, early to rise makes a man WANT TO STRANGLE BEN FRANKLIN WITH HIS INTESTINES . . .

[Giants41]

K-8 - 8:15 - 2:45

High School - 8:15 - 2:43

Wednesdays were full days, Summer vacation started June 15th around and ended around September 10th. I went to private school if that makes a difference...