|
Grade School |
High School |
Community/Junior College |
Senior University |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attendance |
|
Mandatory, Truant Officer
enforces |
Voluntary to enroll, may or may
not be required to attend |
Completely voluntary |
|
Cost |
|
Public school is free, parents
take responsibility of payment for private school |
Relatively inexpensive |
Normally very expensive |
|
Time
Management |
Teacher controls |
Teacher takes responsibility to
structure your time during school, Teachers remind you of unfinished tasks[ |
Instructors available and helps
you learn to structure your time, relatively little demand on time,
Instructors may remind you, but are under no obligation to do so, since it is
your responsibility to know the syllabus content |
Excessive demand on time and
student is almost entirely free to structure it, Instructors offer syllabus
and evaluation only. Time and time management is often the critical
competitive edge. |
|
Conduct |
Few, if any expectations, students
feel free to blurt out personal needs during class |
You are told what to do and will
be corrected if you are out of line, but classroom comportment and on task
behavior during class expected |
Often you are resourced in case
you do not know what to do, instructors try to spell out expectations for the
uniformed, but they may not extend themselves, especially if you are out of
line |
Situation is competitive and if
you do not know what to do, you are left in the dust -- on purpose |
|
Deference |
|
Minimal etiquette enforced |
Etiquette and adult behavior
expected, but not enforced |
Great
deference expected, rare deviance from deference strongly but often covertly
enforced |
|
Class
meeting structure |
Usually on task less than one
hour, teacher makes provision for student tiredness, 6 weeks structure, so
students do not have to plan ahead |
Determined by school,
legislature, normally everyday for 10 months, sometimes 90 minute clases, but
is a semester structure, and students repeat semester if they fail |
15 week semesters, with some
exception, normally 2 or 3 times a week, increasingly more often 1 time a
week |
15 week semesters, with summer
and inter-term course at many schools |
|
Instructor
freedom |
Almost none |
Limited: must teach adopted
curriculum |
Instructor is consider the professional. Normally chooses text
and topics within state approved description, Departmental decisions are made
by committee of professors. Some schools have school wide initiatives. Instructor probably has other interests
than the subject matter alone. Either s/he is died in the wool helper of low
achieving students or is a worker in another job. |
Professor is unqualified
authority in class, and probably a recognized authority in field |
|
Outside
Work |
None |
Most work is in class and some
homework may be assigned as reinforcement, expectation is 0-2 hours per class
daily and maybe last minute test prep |
Most students can pass with
little outside work, but substantial outside study is expected; 2-3 hours per
class hours is norm |
Most work is outside of class,
often self directed, situation is increasingly competitive, at least 3 hours
and often double or more per class hour expected |
|
Library |
Mostly for enjoyment |
Nice diversion, occassional
reference paper required, but 3-5
obvious sources in all needed |
You may be expected to know how
to use it, and you may be expected to pay to photocopy required materials |
The Librarian is your best
friend, the library provides you with resources for the bulk of your work,
you are expected to know classical standards and modern discussion |
|
Help |
Teacher responsible for
everything, including providing notes |
Teachers often approach you if
they think you need help, Teachers sometimes inquire into personal lives,
counselors usually will |
Professors available if you wish
to seek help |
Ideally professors available,
but in reality often you deal with T.A..s |
|
Texts |
Assignments mostly only from
textbook |
Teacher teach from the textbook,
explain what is written there, with some research paper assignments |
Instructors lecture on same
topic as the text, but seldom follow text exactly, They WILL offer more than
texts and share their critique of subject matter. |
Instructors lecture is not the
same as text, and they may have written the text |
|
More on
textbooks |
Controversy never enters classroom |
State adoptions, controversy
enters in debate team, civics classes in better schools only |
May be adopted by Instructors or
campus, cut-down texts sometimes by same authors as universities use |
longer texts at higher reading
levels, more controversial topics and more diverse perspectives offered |
|
Books |
Handouts used frequently, cost
borne by teachers or school |
Textbook provided by school |
Textbook and supplemental
material for which you must pay |
Numerous books for each class
(e.g. 6 full length books for a semester of History would be normal) |
|
Notes |
Teacher provides material in
obvious and prioritized way |
Teachers provide information
visually and this is what you must know, alhtough students are expected to
know how to study, research |
Instructors may provide material
in a variety of formats and may highlight important information; they will
provide info orally that is NOT on overhead. You are expected to be able to
take notes on your own. |
Professors talk nonstop and
expect you to discern what is most important, you must take notes very well |
|
Level of
Knowledge |
memorize facts |
Expected to learn and
regurgitate facts, in better school, also able to relate facts to concepts,
and debate |
Expected to master facts,
concepts and begin to relate them to real life |
Expected to quickly move to
synthesis and creativity |
|
Tests |
material on tests given directly
and immediately before usually weekly tests |
Frequent |
Less frequent and you are
responsible for knowing what to study, but instructors are available to help
you learn how and what to study |
Even less frequent, and you are
totally responsible for knowing what to study and how |
|
Review |
Frequent re-teaching |
Usually review, opportunities
for re-teaching |
Reviews common but infrequent |
A professor or TA might offer a
review out of goodness of heart |
|
Grades |
All work graded |
All work graded, and daily work
usually raises test scores |
Test and papers are bulk of
grade, but extra credit or alternative credit sometimes offered |
Test and papers constitute
grades |
|
Promotion |
Some social promotion |
You may graduate if you make a D |
Ds are normally not transferable |
Only Bs and As are worth much,
if you hope to move to next level |
|
Effort |
Effort matters, and so does
teacher feelings |
Effort counts, but assessment is
largely objective |
Professors hope you make it, and
have structured what they know is a relatively easy course, but it is
normally only results they can count. School experience is structured as a
"leg-up." |
Results, competing with the best
in the nation, count; Students feel lucky to have a spot from which to
compete, rather than expect help. Some sources are intentionally weed-out
courses. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|