Education & Social Class in Britain—
Britain’s educational system works structurally and efficiently through the five stages of schooling. It is presented in the following: Preschool (3-4 years old), Primary (5-11), Secondary (11-16), Sixth form (16-18), and lastly University (18-21). At age 18, the student must decide what field of study they pursue to continue specializing in it at the university level. The three types of schools students may attend are state (free of charge), public (very costly to attend), or private (less expensive than public). Less commonly attended schools are faith schools and independent schools (only 7% attend), where most students attend Oxford or Cambridge University and often become judges or ambassadors. Where a student attends school reveals social class and what specific class a person may end up in.
It was shocking to learn that students as young as 18 have to choose their field of study. In the United States, students are given the chance to change their major as they please and to attend a junior college if they are not sure about their future. At the same time, the British system enables the student to become serious about education and their future at an early age because they know it is very unlikely they could change out of it. Also, it was interesting to find out that faith schools are less commonly attended because it is a lot more common in the United States.
I learned that similar to the United States, the first week of university is meant for finding friends that are alike, getting to know what programs or clubs one would like to join, and a week to “slack” off a little bit. On the other hand, it seems to me that students in the United States are more likely to mobilize within established cliques, as for British students who will probably never socialize outside of their cliques. Lastly, I didn’t know that commonly used words can tell a lot about a person’s class for example the use of the word “tea” which can refer to dinner, an afternoon tea, or actual tea.
I thought it was kind of sad that you have to find your friends the first week and then you end up sticking with them for the rest of the year. What happens if you don't like them after a week (haha).
ReplyDeleteGood point as well about the fact that students have to be more serious since they have to choose their major early on. It would be interesting to see a poll of how many people in the end still like the subject/profession they choose.