School year system in the UK - US Perspective

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 128881

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tonks" <tonks_op at y...> wrote:

> 
> Tonks:
> Well I didn't realize that there was so much variety is the US. I 
> went to school back in the dark ages in a small town. We had 
> different building for the K-6, 7-8, and 9-12. And 7-12 did not have 
> recess. ...edited...
> 
> Tonks_op

bboyminn:

I'm going to drift off-topic slightly to make an observation about the
generally common USA system. 

Grades = life stage
K->6 (grade/grammer school) = pre-pubescent

7-8 (Middle/JuniorHigh school)  = transitionally pubescent

9->12 (High School) = post-pubescent

While I suspect this was somewhat subsconscious, I think it does play
a factor. In a sense in the USA, we separate the innocent from the
volatile from the (relatively speaking) corrupt. This intent is to
minimize the impact of each group on the other. 

In medium size towns and larger in the USA, as Tonks pointed out,
these three groups of students would actually go to different schools
in different parts of the city which even further isolates the groups
from each other.

As others have pointed out, while not uniform, this division of
students is very common in the US which is why we find it odd that
you, the Brits, are mixing innocent 11 and 12 year olds with
hormonally-crazed sexually-obssessed pot-smoking beer-drinking
angst-ridden teenagers. 

Sadly, in this day and age, 11 and 12 year olds are not as innocent as
the used to be.

Just passsing it on.

Steve/bboyminn