Автор работы: Пользователь скрыл имя, 15 Сентября 2013 в 21:03, реферат
The USA is the most powerful and highly developed country of the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The USA is separated from Canada in the north by the 49th parallel and the Great Lakes, and from Mexico in the south by a line following the Rio Grande River and continuing across the highlands to the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the USA is over 9 million square kilometres.
Additionally, the federal government supports school lunch programs, administers Indian education, makes research grants to universities, underwrites loans to college students, and finances education for veterans.
Whether the government should also give assistance to private and religious schools has been widely debated. The Supreme Court has ruled that direct assistance to religious schools is barred by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" although this has not been extended to the use of textbooks and so-called supplementary educational centres.
Although responsibility for elementary education still rests primarily with local government, it is increasingly affected by state and national policies. The 1964 Civil Rights Act, for example, required federal agencies to discontinue financial aid to school districts that are not racially integrated.
Trends in education have been
toward being more responsive to the needs of a complex society: preschool
programs; classes in the community; summer and night schools; and increased
facilities for exceptional children. Such programs, however, have been only partially successful.
Unit 3 7-3 Education in the USA
Americans place a high value on education. Universal access to quality education has been one of the nation’s historic goals. Americas first college, Harward was founded in 1636. In 1865 education was becoming available to all. The peculiar feature of American education is the absence of national administration. Each of the 50 states controls and directs its own school. Most states require that children attend school from the time they reach six or 7 years old until they are 16 or 17. There is no school uniform organization or curriculum throughout the nation. But certain common features exist. Preschool education is part of the elementary school. Elementary and secondary schools consist of 12 years of classes, which meet for about ten month a year, five days a week and five hours a day.
Almost every elementary school curriculum includes English, mathematics, science, social studies, music, art and physical education. Many schools include classes teaching basic computer skills. After graduating from secondary schools a growing number of Americans go on to higher education. American institutions of higher education include: technical training schools, community colleges; and universities which contain one or more colleges and graduate schools offering master’s or doctoral degree programmes.