Three Things:

[echoing_dream]

• Can someone please explain the American Education System to me, or point me to some comprehensive information about it? I don’t want an overview or a compare/contrast, I just want to know what classes you can take in which years of High School, how come timetables seem to change each semester, what a semester is, and how Home Room works exactly (though it seems to follow the lines of my Public School Form Time). And someone to pick over some details of this with me would be helpful.


• I have three Dreamwidth codes if there is anyone still left on LJ that doesn’t already have a Dreamwidth. I can give you the codes, but the rest you’re going to have to figure out for yourselves, since all I have achieved is a fancy header. Shout if you want a code.


• I want to be Serena Van Der Woodson. It’s not working. *pouts*

Comments

[temporal-witch.livejournal.com]

Would it help or hinder matters to say that not all American high schools are alike, and some are more advanced than others, and others offer courses some don't, and skill levels differ from school to school...?

*hides*

[echoing-dream.livejournal.com]

Umm... I helps in as much as I need to remember that, and in that it gives me some free reign, but mostly... no, that doesn't really help. *pouts at you* ♥

[kahtyasofia.livejournal.com]

Geez, leave it to Amy to complicate things! *looks up at the post above this one*

Not all schools are the same but there are enough similarities! Geez, email me with details of what you're working on and I'll help out!

[echoing-dream.livejournal.com]

She is a complicator.

Basically, I'm writing FNL fic, which is set in High School, and I don't want to set a lot of the fic in the school, but an idea of whether people are likely to be in the same classes each term or whatever just makes things a whole lot easier for me. Thanks, I'll ping you as and when I have more questions. ♥

[kahtyasofia.livejournal.com]

Okay, yeah, for fic purposes and FNL I can give you the basic outline of how our highschools work!

[echoing-dream.livejournal.com]

Cheers, I've got most of it figured out now thanks to all of you, it's just the details that I might want checking to make sure I haven't got any gaping plot holes... ♥

[(Anonymous)]

It's four years and there is no national curriculumn. Each state sets the minimum number/length/type of courses required to graduate but then schools within a district (esp private ones) might require more classes than that. For example, in the state of Ohio, where I grew up, there is no requirement for a foreign language, but I went to a private Catholic school that required two years of a foreign language. (Districts are usually but not always organized by county within a state.)

Here are thee min. reqs from Texas - http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/grad/2008-09_GradBro.pdf

A semester is half a year. A course can run for 2 semesters (the full school year) or just for a semester. It'll vary between districts, but in general, the first semester runs from end Aug/beg Sept through mid-January with a week or so off at Christmas. The second semester runs from mid-Jan to sometime in June with a week off for Spring break.

Homeroom is a waste of time. At my school, it was 10 minutes each morning, first thing, where they took attendance and made announcements. At my brother's school (the local public school), it was 15 minutes but wasn't first thing - it was after the 3rd period.

I'm happy to answer any questions - fleurlb at gmail.

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

sorry - that comment up there was me. I hate LJ sometimes.

[echoing-dream.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was trying to get basics from Wikipedia, but it's hard to extract the exact details, and schools' websites assume you already know the basics.

I am thinking specifically Dillon High, so the Texas site will be useful. If you don't mind me badgering you, it'd be helpful to have someone to run some scenarios past just to make sure they're plausable.

Thanks. ♥

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

I would love to be badgered - it'll keep me sharp. :)

And you can definitely end up in classes with people from other years in them, especially electives like art, music, photography, etc.

[addled-nutcase.livejournal.com]

They are correct. You must look at the track you are on and see what classes are offered in your track. Like college Prep or advance classes. They have classes you can take and some you must take like science and maths.

If u are college bound you take all the upper level classes you can get.

[echoing-dream.livejournal.com]

Ah, so you can end up in classes with people in a different year group depending on how advanced the classes you select are? That makes sense now, thank you. I guess schooling is one of these things that everyone just takes for granted in their own country, but it's hard to figure out a system that's the same but different. Thank you! ♥