ForumsThe TavernAmerican high schools~

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Iwannaeatyou
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Iwannaeatyou
10 posts
Nomad

Hey there.

So, I am gonna change locations, and I am quite nervous because I will be studying in America. I have some questions that I have to ask, so please if you can, then answer me. I promise I won't eat you.

So here are the questions....

1. Do you guys have Textbooks? Or you just write down the notes that your teacher gives you?

2. Do you guys have clubs? Like in Japan?

3. What are those lockers for? Where I am living, we don't have lockers.

4. What do you do if someone bullies you? Can you beat them up?

5. How do you guys study at home?

6. How do the tests and exams work there?

Please answer them. DDD

  • 33 Replies
akshobhya
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akshobhya
5,063 posts
Justiciar

I will not be of much help as I am not studying in America... Sorry...

Iwannaeatyou
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Iwannaeatyou
10 posts
Nomad

bump

Iwannaeatyou
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Iwannaeatyou
10 posts
Nomad

Thank you so much.

R2D21999
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R2D21999
18,319 posts
Treasurer

Just a thing on number 1, that mostly depends on teacher, class, and highschool. Some classes you need to study and use textbooks, some classes you don't need to use textbooks, some you don't need notes, and some you might not need to do either.

Of course if you want to be a top student, you might want to take notes in your classes, even if you don't have to. But again, you don't have to.

5. How do you guys study at home?

Honestly, I don't study at home. I usually study at school at the last minute because I don't like staring at a textbook for half an hour.

However, don't use me as a role model. To be honest you'd most likely get a better grade if you don't follow in my footsteps.

Ishtaron
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Ishtaron
359 posts
Blacksmith

1. Do you guys have Textbooks? Or you just write down the notes that your teacher gives you?

Pretty much all schools will have textbooks for science and math. Some schools will have textbooks for every class while some only have them for core curriculum (science, math, english, and history). Some schools will give you a home copy and keep copies in classrooms for at school use while other schools only provide one copy that you have to bring with you for homework and class. Note taking is dependent on the teacher. Some teachers demand you take notes, others stick entirely to the textbook, and the rest will just let you do your own thing as long as you get homework done and pass the tests.

2. Do you guys have clubs? Like in Japan?

There are a variety of clubs in all high schools. They're all directly supervised by a teacher and most revolve around inter-school competitions (like debate or math clubs). And then of course there's always various sports options in US high schools.

3. What are those lockers for? Where I am living, we don't have lockers.

Not every high school has lockers but, like Matt said, they're for storage. School days are usually split into 7 roughly hour long classes with time in between to get from one class to another and a half hour lunch break. Since some schools only distribute one copy of textbooks needed for class and some of those have textbooks for every class except P.E. you'd be looking at roughly 16kg in books to carry not including notebooks, binders, writing utensils, and any other required class supplies that would need to be carried from class to class 9 hours a day 5 days a week.

4. What do you do if someone bullies you? Can you beat them up?

Beating up bullies is the most efficient way of getting them to stop bullying you. Unfortunately, schools are so afraid of lawsuits that doing so will also get you 1-2 weeks of suspension. You can try reporting them, but without evidence the odds of the school actually doing anything about it are slim to none.

5. How do you guys study at home?

I never needed to study to get straight A's, so I can't really give you advice there. A lot of teachers will tell you what chapters in the textbook cover the materials in upcoming tests, and it's assumed that finals cover materials from the entire semester so good notes could help. It doesn't take much though, teachers repeat themselves so often for the less intelligent students that it would take a lobotomy to get you to forget everything before a test.

6. How do the tests and exams work there?

Most are multiple choice with a few essay questions. Finals will usually have either more essays or require longer answers. Scantron is becoming pretty popular in US schools since they're graded by a computer and require little effort from the teachers. If you take college or AP english courses you may have to take a midterm as well, those consist of 1 or 2 five paragraph essays that have to be written in class with zero reference materials. And then there's the standardized tests. All classes will stop while students are moved around to places they can take the test with minimal chance of cheating. Your phone will be taken from you for the duration of the test and even if everyone has finished you'll be required to sit there in absolute silence with nothing to do. Those days, yes days plural, of testing will push the limits of your sanity if you're even remotely above average in intelligence.

StormWalker
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StormWalker
8,231 posts
Jester

1. Do you guys have Textbooks? Or you just write down the notes that your teacher gives you?
Both. As in, they give us textbooks to do busywork out of - it REALLY sucks on the first day of school when you're carrying FOUR TEXTBOOKS HOME DO YOU THINK I HAVE A PLACE TO PUT THESE BECAUSE I DON'T - but we don't really use them in most of my classes. Except for homework.

2. Do you guys have clubs? Like in Japan?

I'm not sure what Japanese clubs are like, but yeah, we have clubs. They're probably similar.

3. What are those lockers for? Where I am living, we don't have lockers.
Putting your bookbag and other stuff in, probably. Or, if you're at my school, storing all your weed. #blazeit Lockers were used a lot in middle school, but my high school is huge, and there's no point in going to a locker that's so far out of my way that it makes me late to class to use it. Instead, I break my spine carrying a 10 pound bookbag. True story.

4. What do you do if someone bullies you? Can you beat them up?
At my school, you could probably beat them up in the woods by the breezeway or on the field or anywhere, really, as long as the teachers/security guard/police don't find you. Or if you're incapable of beating them up. Usually you'd report to some sort of administrator if you're a wimp like me, except I don't get bullied because everyone loves me.

5. How do you guys study at home?

I don't. I was born and bred to be an AG kid who magically knows everything all the time and everything has come easy to me because I'm a ~smart kid~. It's led to some major issues in high school.

6. How do the tests and exams work there?

Well, it honestly depends on what classes you're taking. For example, in Calculus (booo), the exam is made up of problems you solve, and maybe a few true/false questions if the teacher's feeling merciful. Or maybe it's "MEMORIZE THE ENTIRE PROOF FOR PRODUCT RULE OF DERIVATIVES". Or maybe it's an AP test question from 2002. This year I haven't had many tests in English, mostly quizzes on the reading and in-class synthesis/rhetorical analysis essays. APUSH and APCG tests tend to be multiple choice, though the short answer questions on the CG tests are killer. I've lost so many points over those... APES is usually multiple choice with a few application questions.In a language class, it's usually a test of vocab/grammar.
Then there are AP exams, which are utter hell and I have one tomorrow and one Thursday AND THEN I'LL BE FREE. Anyway, it costs $91 to apply to take a test you're not in the class for. Say you're taking AP Earth Science and you want to take the AP Bio test. You gotta pay. So on the day of the test, you head to a predetermined location like PNC arena where they've got about sixty tables set up and everyone sits there and it sucks and sometimes people in suits who you've never seen before sit high in the stands and watch you.
SATs and ACTs are taken in-school. There's not much I can say about them. SATs are harder.
akshobhya
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akshobhya
5,063 posts
Justiciar

Storms, you study in America??
Everything is entirely different in Myanmar place. It's a 1000% different....

Freakenstein
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Freakenstein
9,504 posts
Jester

People have covered lots of high school culture, so I'll do college culture!

1. Do you guys have Textbooks? Or you just write down the notes that your teacher gives you?

We have expensive books that are either required to even pass the course or are merely supplemental material to help your understanding, depending on what course and department you're in. Oddly enough, the Liberal Arts department requires textbooks, but the Science department does not (unless your professor assigns homework or takes notes out of the book). Our science curriculum comes from PowerPoint and PDF slides, so, if course quizzes and tests come only from these two programs, one can actually get an A without ever buying the book for it.

2. Do you guys have clubs? Like in Japan?

We have many clubs, likely more than American high schools. Dance club, music club, gaming club, anime club, golf club, anything one can think of if one can organize it!

3. What are those lockers for? Where I am living, we don't have lockers.

In highschool, lockers were required, but in college, lockers are optional. Actually, lockers may be detrimental in a sense, because instead of bringing the books from your dorm or house, you'd have to travel to that locker location THEN travel to the classroom.


4. What do you do if someone bullies you? Can you beat them up?

In most cases, bullying isn't an issue in college, probably because people don't have the time to bully people. So if you have that problem in highschool, just picture the future, because it will get better! Bullying is such an isolated problem in my college, we actually have more thefts and rapes, which are already small issues.

5. How do you guys study at home?

[see highschool, multiplied by a factor of three]

6. How do the tests and exams work there?

Mostly highschool, except the special exams. Finals are two hours long, though professors state you wouldn't actually need the full time if you know what you're doing. Biology, Chemistry, and Physics majors have to take a Field Exam if they want to graduate, which consists of material of all required courses. This is like your highschool teacher handing out a stack of papers and stating "okay, what did you learn in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, no multiple choice and true/false?" Very, very rough exam, but thems the breaks!

StormWalker
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StormWalker
8,231 posts
Jester

Storms, you study in America??

I live in America. I keep the Taiwanese flag on my page because I really want to live there.

Iwannaeatyou
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Iwannaeatyou
10 posts
Nomad

1. Where do you get the Textbooks from? Does your school give it to you or you have to buy it from a specific place? If so what is that place?

2. Do they take an interview when you come from another country to study?

3. Are all the foreign languages mandatory? I don't know Spanish or French, as I had my education in India.

........................

Thank you very much guys for answering my questions in the first post!

akshobhya
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akshobhya
5,063 posts
Justiciar

I live in America. I keep the Taiwanese flag on my page because I really want to live there.

So, Storm, you are Taiwanese?

spudkikz
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spudkikz
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Peasant

1. Where do you get the Textbooks from? Does your school give it to you or you have to buy it from a specific place? If so what is that place?

The books are passed out before school begins, by the school, and at the end of the semester or year you turn them in. Most textbooks will also be available online, if you want to go that route.

2. Do they take an interview when you come from another country to study?

Usually you will meet with the principal and other administrators to discuss what grade you will be in, what classes you should be taking, and other stuff like that. I have a friend who came from Switzerland. Her year of education here doesn't count for Switzerland education requirements. She just came to America because its the easiest way to learn the language.

3. Are all the foreign languages mandatory? I don't know Spanish or French, as I had my education in India.

It depends on what school you are going to. Each state has their own requirements. For example, at my school to graduate you did not need to take a language, but to attend a major university you do need to have 2 years of language. I took 2 years of Spanish, but it was not required. It all depends on the local education requirements.

StormWalker
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StormWalker
8,231 posts
Jester

So, Storm, you are Taiwanese?

I was born in America. A very large portion of my extended family is in Taiwan.


1. Where do you get the Textbooks from? Does your school give it to you or you have to buy it from a specific place? If so what is that place?

In highschool, they usually give you textbooks, but in college, textbooks are expensive as expensive things.

2. Do they take an interview when you come from another country to study?

I've never gone abroad, so I can't help you.

3. Are all the foreign languages mandatory? I don't know Spanish or French, as I had my education in India.

At my high school, it's mandatory to have at least two years of a foreign language. I think my school has Chinese, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Latin, Japanese, Italian, and..Greek? My school's special.
akshobhya
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akshobhya
5,063 posts
Justiciar

Guys, everything is a 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% different at my place!

Riptizoid101
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Riptizoid101
6,257 posts
Farmer

I was born in America. A very large portion of my extended family is in Taiwan.

OMG storm does this mean ur asian Dx !

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