England - 2000 / Inspection in English Schools

IRENA VLKOVÁ teacher 

I would like to disprove some unfair and frequent accusations from my colleagues and students that I advertise America one-way. So you are going to learn something about the British people for now.

The result of my recent stay in UK was not only losing some prejudices about typical British temper, a lot of learning stuff which I will study during the holiday, spending all my money and getting a cold, but I have learnt some interesting information about teenagers living there. And I will share it with you.

+ +

++

+ +

I was speaking with British grammar school students in English Brighton and I have learned:

•Girls can´t wear painted nails (teachers have nail polish remover a delinquent has to use and pay 50 penny for using).•Compulsory school subjects are French, English and Latin languages (by the way my German colleagues had found lots of mistakes in corrected tests).•Boys can´t have too long hair, only up the their shoulders.•Girls can´t wear heels (otherwise they have to pay penalty for demolition the floor).•Students can´t dye their hair (strict prohibition of strips).•Students can wear only one pair of earrings (no piercing).•Boys have to keep the 6inch distance from girls (about 15 cm).•During the weeks students can work at supermarkets but on Sundays their work is forbidden (they must study at home).•Students mustn´t be rude and be late without apologizing•For smoking near the school they are instantly excluded from school.•Girls can´t use make-up (they have to remove it).•They haven´t got young teachers because private schools don´t accept teachers without practice.• They haven´t got traditional school trips like in Czech Republic (only courses and exchange stays).

Vicky (14 years) / Elisabeth (13 years) - private grammar school students (school fee $3.000)

Julian (15 years) / Jeff (16 years) state secondary school students

•Talented students have “top“ classes (elite).•When they want to go out after school (if they don´t study at home) they can´t go anywhere because all clubs are from the age of 18 (so they can only go to the cinema, the places for sitting and chatting are missing).•During the school year they don´t write any tests. They write only the final test.•Smoking near the school and even in the streets is unimaginable.•There is a strict ban on using cell-phones during the lessons.•They can be late only 4 times a year then they get a worse mark in that subject.•They must wear uniforms (they like it because they needn´t solve who is rich and who isn´t).•In one class there are 30 students (in the school 2 000).•They are taught 5 hours a day.•They only have about 100 computers (one pc for 20 students).•Students are overloaded (They have to do all homework at weekends and it is too much so they don´t go out. They keep studying).•There are 50% male and 50% female teachers (by the way their monthly salary is 8-9 times higher than Czech teachers get).•A parents meeting is once a year.•They don´t have to change their shoes. •Students address teachers with their first names.

And now a few remarks from English streets:

•In frosty winter British teenagers go out without warm shoes and almost naked (but the reason is not their hardiness because they usually sniffle and cough continually).•German students here are known for making noise. They are noisy everywhere and keep speaking just German language.•The English Child World is dominated by phenomenon POKEMON.•Teenagers in double-deckers go usually upstairs (because of the prohibition of eating in all the bus - the driver can´t see upstairs). •German and English students suffer from mutual xenophobia, frankly hate each other and fight together in streets.