For additional reading text 1

PUBLIC EDUCATION: HISTORICAL REVIEW

Task. Read and translate the text.

Part I

The history of education in the United States has certain peculiarities which are closely connected with the specific conditions of life in the New World and the history of the American society.

The early Colonies and different politics of education for the first white settlers who came to North America from Europe in the 17^th century brought with them the educational ideas of the time most typical of the countries they represented. In Virginia and South Carolina, for example, education was entirely private. The children of the rich either had tutors or were sent to Europe for schooling. Many of the children of poor parents had no education at all. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York many of the schools were set up and controlled by the church.

In Massachusetts, which was much more developed at that time, three educational principles were laid down: 1) the right of the State or Colony to require that its citizens be educated; 2) the right of the State to compel the local governmental divisions, such as towns and cities, to establish schools; and 3) the right of the local government to support these schools by taxation.

At the very beginning, school buildings were often rough shacks. They were poorly equipped with a few benches, a stove, and rarely enough textbooks. Discipline was harsh, and corporal punishment was frequent.

The program of studies consisted largely of reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and Bible lessons. Since each community was responsible for solving its own educational problems, there was no attempt to find a common standard of excellence. Even the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, contained no direct mention of education.

The schools of the early 1800s were not very different from those of the pre-revolutionary period. Some historians consider that they actually deteriorated in the three or four decades following the American Revolution, for the new country turned its attention to the development of its land, cities, and political institutions.

And yet, in attempt to generate interest in education, a number of communities continued founding schools. Some classes were opened to children for secular instruction and a number of schools for poor children which were a forerunner of the public schools in several major cities. Some States tax-supported schools and urged their spread.

Part II

The purpose of the public or "common" schools was to teach the pupils the skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. No particular religion was to be taught.

By the mid-19^th century, the desire for free public education was widespread. But the States could not find enough means for its financial support. It was during those years that communities began to support the schools within their boundaries. The States finally required local school districts to tax themselves for that purpose through the "real property" tax. This tax originated as financial support for public schools, and remains today the major financial resource for the public school system in the United States though it can no longer carry the entire burden.

Towards the second part of the 19^th century compulsory attendance laws came into effect, starting with Massachusetts in 1852. Now in most States the minimum age at which a pupil may leave school is sixteen; in five States seventeen; and in four States eighteen.

As has already been mentioned, education remains primarily a function of the States. Each State has a board of education, usually 3 to 9 members, serving mostly without pay. They are either elected by the public or appointed by the Governor. The board has an executive officer, usually called a State school superintendent or commissioner. In some cases he is elected; in others he is appointed by the board.

In theory, responsibility for operating the public education system is local. Schools are under the jurisdiction of local school board, composed of citizens elected by residents of the school district. In fact, however, much local control has been superseded. State laws determine the length of the school year, the way in which teachers will be certified, and many of the courses which must be taught.

Though the Federal Government has no powers at all in the field of education, from time to time Congress passes different Acts which help to "assist in the expansion and improvement of educational programs to meet critical national needs". Such Acts provide money for science, mathematics, and language instruction; for the purchase of laboratory equipment.

TEXT 2

THE AMERICAN AND RUSSIAN APPROACH TO EDUCATION

Task. Read and translate the text.

I have studied in the 12th grade of an American school after graduating from ours. Now I would like to tell you what things are good in Ameri­can education. The American system of educa­tion differs from ours in its freedom and personal approach. The structure is more open than the post-Soviet one. There are electives - subjects one can choose freely for the semester. They make up only part of the total number; there are required courses also. This gives a student the necessary amount of freedom - to decide for himself the subjects he wants to take; the freedom our students lack so much and need so badly.

The personal approach to each student, to my mind, is another element we need. That is not to say that our teachers and professors do not spend time with stu­dents, also not that Americans are more altruistic teach­ers. Nevertheless, American professors take their job as a teacher more seriously; they are serious, honest teach­ers, taking their work as a duty. Unfortunately, our teach­er usually takes their jobs as a means to subsistence in our tough life. There are "true" teachers left, but... There is this "but"....

American teachers value the student's viewpoint as his/her essential right - "an inalienable right". It is the right to express their thoughts, to fulfill their potential, to feel themselves equal to the teacher - not in age or experience, but in mental capabilities. There is a respect for the personality in their attitude to students. Our teach­ers value obligation, discipline, "the rule of law", if you like. True, American students are very free in the class­room, even during the class. The professors are open to the student's opinions and students are free to debate, to discuss, to criticize, not the teacher, but his ideas. Our teachers hold back all contro­versial, opinions, all discussion; there is no such thing as "critical thinking". They think that if a student criti­cizes -he dislikes his teachers. Our students are to take the teacher's word as "the truth, the only truth".

The kind of activities students do is, also, an in­teresting point of contrast. In the American system students learn to express their own opinions, to argue the points, to use their imagination and senses. Our system teaches us to learn by heart, to interpret, to explain, to know the dogmas, the rules, somebody else's words and opinions; but not to build up our own. This is unfortunate for us, for I am sure one can learn only when he or she develops his or her own vi­sion of the world, and integrates his or her self into the world's structure with its natural laws. Of course, with­out knowing pure theory, one cannot know reality. But playing, debating, exchanging opinions, changing roles, etc. as a part of the American teaching process, helps students better understand the laws the world is run­ning by. Our post-Soviet teachers produce an idealis­tic generation; or rather they did. Nowadays American teaching methods are breaking through this post-Soviet thinking and system of values.

As for "critical thinking", this "do not believe what is written unless it is proven" idea is extremely useful. It makes children think, makes them scrupulous and pragmatic. I myself remember how hard it was to grasp this idea – “do not believe it”; how opposed we all were when the American professor brought it to us. But now every time I read a newspaper and meet a sweeping generalization or mistaken fact taken for the truth, I wonder at how our post-Soviet mentality is still deep within us. Maybe it is fundamental in our education and all Soviet faults will remain forever? Probably since we are so intelligent, we will acquire this new approach from the US. For all new is not necessarily bad. It can be ex­tremely good.

approach – подход

opposed - противиться

electives – факультативы

sweeping generalization - огульное утверждение

total – основной

lack – недостаток

duty – обязанность

subsistence – существование

viewpoint – точка зрения

inalienable – неотъемлемый

thoughts – мысли

fulfill – осуществлять

obligation – обязанность

grasp – осознать

remain – оставаться

intelligent - умный

TEXT 3

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Task. Read and translate the text.

Founded in 1636, Harvard University is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States. From its classrooms have emerged six American presidents – from John Adams to john Kennedy – and an impressive group of statesmen, business leaders and literary figures. It campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just across the Charles River from Boston, provides a rich architectural mix that includes the ivy-covered brick of Puritan New England and the concrete and glass of contemporary design.

Today the University includes Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduate colleges, 10 professional schools, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an extension school. There are some 1,600 students from every state and 45 foreign countries in it; tuition is about $22,000 a year (not including room and board), and 70 % of those attending receive financial aid in the form of load or outright grants.

The University’s library system is the largest in the world. It contains more than 10 million volumes subscribes to 100,000 periodicals. There are three notable art museums which house works from ancient Egyptian to contemporary American. There are also Botanical Museum, 40 acres of fields, an experimental forest located in New England, a center for a study of the Italian Renaissance in Italy, and a centre for Byzantine studies in Washington, D.C.

TEXT 4

WORLD FAMOUS UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

Task. Read and translate the text.

The most famous American higher educational institutions that were already in operation during the early period came into being through the religious zeal and philanthropy of their founders.

Higher education began in the United States long time ago, when the Puritan leaders of the settlement called the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded in 1636 Harvard College (Massachusetts). Established by John Harvard, English clergyman, this college was to turn into the most famous of the American Universities.

The College of William and Mary (Virginia, 1693) was the second institution of higher education founded in the Colonies. In 1701 Connecticut Puritans established Yale College (Connecticut).

All these Colonial colleges which were gradually turned into Universities with classical education established a balance between the Humanities and Science. Their aim was to train men for service in church and civil state.

By the 1770s several more colleges had been opened: University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania, 1740), Princeton University (New Jersey, 1746), Washington and Lee University (Virginia, 1749), Columbia University (New York, 1754), Brown University (Rhode Island, 1764), Rutgers College (New Jersey, 1766), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, 1769).

Though the colleges in the first half of the 19^th century were numerous and widely scattered over the settled area, their enroll­ments were comparatively small. Since 1870s the colleges have developed enormously. Their resources have multiplied, the number of their students has increased by leaps and bounds, the program of studies has broadened and deepened, the standards have been raised, and the efficiency of the instruction has greatly increased. Rigidly prescribed courses of study have given way to elective courses.

In the course of time, when research centers and experiment stations were attached to the Universities, these institutions turned into the strongholds of science and higher education. They developed a unique, typically American structure unlike any other existing University system in the world.

Notes and Commentary

Harvard University (Massachusetts, 1636), College of William and Mary (Virginia, 1693), Yale University (Connecticut, 1701), University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania, 1740), Princeton University (New Jersey, 1746), Washington and Lee University (Virginia, 1749), Columbia University (New York, 1754), Brown University (Rhode Island , 1764), Rutgers College (New Jersey, 1766), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, 1769) — Гар­вард, Колледж Уильяма и Мэри, Йельский университет, университет Пенсильвании, Принстон, университет Вашин­гтона и Ли, Колумбийский университет, университет Брау­на, Рутгерский колледж, Дартмутский колледж (все перечис­ленные университеты — частные)

TEXT 5

COMPARING EDUCHTION

Task. Read and translate the text.

Debates about education will never end. Some people consider our educational system to be close to perfect; others say that it is too hard and that it is unnecessary to study all the school subjects. Comparisons of the American and Russian educational systems are usual, as they represent different kinds of philosophies.

In Russian schools children have to study about 15-17 subjects - not more and not less, as they are re­quired. Very rarely do schools have in the schedule special or professional subjects. In the United States, drama, jour­nalism and photography are as important as chemistry and history. In our schools the curriculum is strict. In the USA you can choose what to study; but government, history, English and math are obligatory. There are also a number of subjects, like geography, Spanish, chemistry, physics, trigo­nometry, biology and computer classes, that you have to take during a year or a half-a-year during your high school years. You can also take one of these subjects at an ad­vanced level. A program of chemistry at the advanced level of a graduate class is common with our 9th grade program. In Russia we can't study management or TV-production at school.

Such democracy in choosing subjects according to your own preferences makes school life easier and calmer. Ameri­can students don't usually have much homework - half an hour of homework is too much for them. On the other hand, they have holidays only twice a year, and their summer vacations are only two and a half months long, while our children don't study in the summer at all. Americans study at school for 12 years, while we study only 11.

The average level of education in America is lower than in Russia, but at school they have the opportunity to study advanced subjects that they would take at a university. So it is very hard to say which the best way of studying is. Is it better to have students choose their own subjects and make studying pleasant, or create a non-flexible schedule for a more effective educational process? This is a problem for the new generation to solve.

TEXT 6

SUMMER SCHOOL

Task. Read and translate the text.

Students in American schools generally attend classes from August or September until the following May or June. After that, most educational systems provide summer school.

Traditionally, if students had to attend summer school, it meant they had failed in their required schoolwork. They had to study in the summer so they could move on to the next grade in school. For example, a high school student who could not complete the requirements of a biology i course would repeat the course in summer school.

Today, summer school still can mean repeating failed schoolwork. But many students now choose to attend classes during summers. For example, public high school students in Nashville, Tennessee, can study during sum­mer school for college entrance examinations.

Many summer-school courses around the nation are popular. For example, about half of the two-thousand-four-hundred students at a high school in Illinois usually attend summer classes. These students at Evanston Township High School take subjects including art, theater and computer science. If they are old enough, they can learn to drive a car.

In subjects like chemistry, students must quickly learn material normally taught during a full school year. But sum­mer-school official Debbie Mohica says many students like to complete some of their required high school subjects this way. Then, she says, they can elect to take other classes during the school year.

Colleges, universities and private organizations also operate summer school classes. Students at Harvard Uni­versity, for example, can choose from hundreds of summer courses. Students at Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachu­setts, can take courses including science and languages. Or, they can study something less traditional, like "Music and Politics." This course examines how music can express political trend, protest or resistance.

Of course, there are many young people who have other ideas about how to spend their summer break. But a Wash­ington, D.C., area mother and educator notes that competi­tion for honors in school has increased in recent years. She says, ''Going to school can be a valuable way for young people to spend a summer."

SUMMER CAMPS

The American tradition of sending children to summer camp began more than one-hundred years ago. Frederick and Abigail Gunn started what was probably the first organized American camp. They operated a school for boys in the state of Connecticut. In 1861, Mister and Missus Gunn took their students on a two-week trip. They walked to an area where they set up camp. The students fished, hunted and traveled by boat.

Today, summer camps may be outdoor ones similar to those of Abigail and Frederick Gunn. For example, a camp in Forest Lake, Minnesota, centers its activities on nature. Campers at the Wildlife Science Center study the structure of groups, or packs, of wolves.

Traditional American summer camps offer young people a chance to play many sports. These camps may be in the mountains. Or they may be in the woods, or at a lake. Other camps teach activities like painting or music. Or they teach computer programming or foreign languages. Children at all kinds of camps meet new friends. They learn new skills and develop independence.

Some children go to camp during the day and return home at night. These places are called day camps. Children as young as four years old attend day camps. Others stay at camp all day and all night. Most children who attend overnight camp are between the ages of about six and sixteen.

Children stay at an overnight camp for between one and eight weeks. Parents can pay less than one hundred dollars a week for an overnight camp. Or they can pay more than seven hundred dollars a week.

Children from poor families might not have a chance to attend summer camp. The Fresh Air Fund is a well-known organization that gives children in New York City that chance. People around the country give money to support the Fresh Air Fund. Each summer, it serves about ten thou­sand poor children from the city. It sends them to stay with families in the country or to five camps in New York State.

Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has helped almost two million of New York City's most needy children. These chil­dren do what they cannot do in the city. They breathe fresh air. They play on green grass. They swim in a lake. Some children begin to stay with the same family when they are very young and continue for a number of summers.

Summer camps have become very important to millions of families. Many American women now work outside the home. Working parents need a place where their children can be cared for during the summer when they are not in school.

Camps also help children develop independence. For most children, overnight camp is the only time during the year they areaway from their parents. Camp lets them enjoy being with many other children. Campers live together in cloth tents or in wooden cabins. They eat meals together in a large dining room.

But the first time at summer camp can sometimes be dif­ficult. Children might not like the food. Or, they might not like to swim in a cold lake. They may not want to climb a hill on a hot day. Some new campers miss their parents very much.

Also, some camps ban the use of electronic equipment and toys. Children who play electronic games and use wire­less telephones may miss them. These children might enjoy a camp that permits these devices. But many families say their children need to learn more about nature. They say their children need a holiday from technology.

The American Camping Association suggests that par­ents prepare children before sending them to camp. It ad­vises parents to discuss what the camp will be like and what campers will need to know. For example, parents can show their children how to use a flashlight to find a bathroom at night.

But camps today may also be very different from those early fresh-air camps. For example, Pali Adventures summer camp in southern California offers several special interest camps in addition to more traditional ones. In one of these special camps, children twelve to sixteen years of age study food preparation with a professional chef.

There are more than twelve-thousand camps in the United States, Some offer just one main activity. Children can play a single sport, like tennis, soccer, baseball or basketball. Young people who like the arts can learn about music, dance, art, acting or writing.

Perhaps the best known camp for young artists is the Interlochen Arts Camp. It is part of the Interlochen Center for the Arts in the state of Michigan. Its music program is especially well known. More than two thousand young people are attending the arts camp this year.

Camps that offer programs in science and environmental studies are popular, too. For example, the United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, welcomes adults as well as children. Whole families can live together in a place like a real space station. They take part in activities similar to those carried out during space shuttle flights.

There are also camps for older children who like wilder­ness adventure. Campers take long trips by bicycle or ca­noe. Or, they go rock climbing or ride horses. For example, since nineteen-forty-eight, boys and girls have explored the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at Sanborn Western Camps. These are built more than 2,600 meters above sea level.

Other summer camps in America help children learn about religion, help them lose weight, or help them develop their knowledge of technology. Thousands of young people attend computer camps in the United States.

The nation also has many camps for sick or disabled children. At these camps, many children take part in tradi­tional activities, but they also receive special medical care.

Handi Kids in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, offers camp for children and young adults with physical or mental disorders. The campers enjoy water sports, arts, dance, music and other activities.

A camp in the state of Connecticut offers fun for chil­dren with cancer and serious blood diseases. It is called the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Actor Paul Newman started the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1988. Since then others have been established in the United States and over­seas.

(By Jerilyn Watson)

Task 2. Questions for discussion:

1. What are the reasons for American students to attend sum­mer schools?

2. Are those schools popular, serious, enjoyable, use­ful?

3. Are summer school classes only the traditional sub­jects? What else might one study?

4. What kinds of things would be interesting for a student to take courses in if he/she had a chance to go to a summer school?

5. Do you think summer school is a bad or a good idea? Why?

6. What are the main purposes of American summer camps?

7. What is the difference between day camps and over­night camps?

8. How do summer camps help parents?

9. Why do you think some camps prohibit mobile phones and electronic toys? What other things might be for­bidden?

10. Why do some children have trouble adjusting to sum­mer camps?

11. How did the summer camp movement begin In America? What do you know about the history of summer camps in Russia?

12. What is the "Fresh Air Fund"? Do you think Russia could use such a program?

13. Explain these types of camps and who they are for:

a) traditional camps

b) special interest camps

c) wilderness adventure camps

d) camps for the sick and the disabled

14. What kind of camps do you think is the most interesting or useful? Why?