We know that different cultures deal with things in different ways, that the Japanese will sleep in tiny hotel cubicles, and that long lunches are an important part of the working day in Italy. Our differences are what makes the world interesting, and travel so inviting. Education is one area where you can visit every country of the world and find it done in a slightly different way. The thing about the American education system is that it is seen all over the world in films and TV shows. We could all recognize a US locker room and we are aware that cheerleaders from rival schools obviously hate each other. Even with its familiarity, there are some aspects of the school system that still confuse those living elsewhere. We’ve lined some of them up here.
Early classes
In the UK, for example, most classes start at 8.30 am, in Sweden it’s 8.15 am. In America, your first class is at 7 am, which for non-Americans sounds like an un-Godly time of day. As the tweeter says “HOW DO YOU LEARN???”.
Starting classes this early does have its drawbacks, especially in Winter, when it will definitely be dark when the bus picks you up. As new research is beginning to show that teenagers’ circadian rhythms mean that they function better after 10.30 am, that’s a lot of the day to be groggy.