While there are some similarities between the American and
Australian school systems, such as core subjects and focusing on school
improvement, there are a lot of differences. For example, they go to school
almost year round. Their terms (aka semesters) consist of ten weeks on and two
weeks off, with longer breaks during the summer and winter. They don’t call
them grades but rather years. They start in kinder, or kindies, which is our
kindergarten, then primary are years 1-5, middle are years 6-8, and secondary
are years 9-10. All students are required to get their year 10 certificates but
after this, things change. If you are 16 or younger when you finish year 10,
you are required to go on to year 11. All students must remain in school until
they are at least 17 years old. When students choose to go to college, they can
either attend tertiary classes or accredited classes. Tertiary classes are for
students who plan on attending university afterwards and are therefore harder
and focus on core competencies. Accredited classes are for students who plan on
focusing on a job or career after and focus more on life skills. Students also
have the option of taking trade classes or doing an apprenticeship.
I
should also note that almost all public and private schools until year 10, and
even some colleges until year 12, require students to wear uniforms. Depending
on what school you go to, the uniforms differ in color and style. Some schools
have the typical strict uniform with ties and dresses but others simply require
a certain color of pants and shirts. For example, the school I am practicing in
is considered a casual uniform. Students have their choice of black or blue
pants, shorts, or skirts. They also have their choice of polos, button ups, or
sweaters (jumpers, to them). For their shirt colors however, they are required
to wear them according to their years; primary wears sky blue, middle wears
navy blue, and secondary wears white.
The
university system is even different here as well. Students receive loans as
needed and aren’t required to pay back until they are making a minimum of
$54,000 a year. During this time, there is no interest on their loans so they
will only pay what they borrowed. The trade off with this is that Australia has
higher taxes in order to support those still in school or looking for a job
after school. I thought America’s post-secondary education system was bad
before and now I’m really starting to doubt us.
