All American High School Film Festival: Nurturing Young Filmmakers and Shaping the Future of Cinema

How does the All American High School Film Festival support aspiring filmmakers. What are the key rules and categories for entries. How are winners selected and what prizes can participants expect. Why is this festival considered a cornerstone for young talent in the film industry.

The All American High School Film Festival: A Platform for Young Cinematic Talent

The All American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF) stands as a beacon for aspiring filmmakers, offering a unique platform to showcase their creativity and skill. This prestigious event has become a cornerstone in nurturing young talent within the film industry, providing students with invaluable exposure and opportunities to further their cinematic aspirations.

AAHSFF is more than just a contest; it’s a celebration of youthful creativity and a glimpse into the future of filmmaking. By encouraging high school students to create and submit their work, the festival fosters a new generation of storytellers, directors, and producers who will shape the landscape of cinema in years to come.

Entry Guidelines: Crafting Your Cinematic Masterpiece

Aspiring filmmakers looking to participate in the AAHSFF must adhere to specific guidelines to ensure their entries are eligible for consideration. The festival organizers have established clear rules to maintain a fair and competitive environment for all participants.

Submission Timeline

When can filmmakers submit their entries? The submission window for the AAHSFF typically opens in early November and extends until early July of the following year. For the specified contest, entries were accepted from November 2nd, 2020, at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time until July 2nd, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. This extended period allows students ample time to conceptualize, produce, and polish their films.

Film Duration and Format

How long can the submitted films be? Generally, entries should not exceed twenty (20) minutes in length, unless otherwise specified for particular categories. This time limit encourages concise storytelling and editing skills, challenging young filmmakers to convey their narratives effectively within a constrained format.

Eligibility and Originality

Who can participate in the AAHSFF? The festival is primarily aimed at high school students, fostering creativity among young filmmakers. Entries must be original works created by the submitting student or team. The festival places a strong emphasis on originality and respect for intellectual property rights.

Participants must ensure their submissions do not infringe upon copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights. If a film includes any material not owned by the entrant, such as music or locations, proper permissions and licenses must be obtained prior to submission.

Navigating the Submission Process: From Concept to Entry

The journey from a film idea to a successful AAHSFF submission involves several crucial steps. Understanding this process can significantly increase a young filmmaker’s chances of having their work recognized and appreciated.

Online Submission Platform

How do participants submit their films? Entries are submitted through the official AAHSFF website (www.hsfilmfest.com). The platform provides a straightforward process for uploading films and completing the necessary entry forms. This digital submission system ensures that all entries are received and processed efficiently.

Required Information

What details do filmmakers need to provide when submitting? Along with their film, participants must submit personal information including:

• First and last name
• School, company, or organization name
• Email address
• Film URL

This information is crucial for contest administration and contacting winners. The festival assures participants that their personal data will be used solely for these purposes and not shared with unaffiliated parties, except as required by law.

Language and Subtitling

Are non-English films accepted? Yes, the AAHSFF welcomes entries in languages other than English. However, to ensure fair judging and wider accessibility, any film not in English must include English subtitles. This requirement allows for a diverse range of entries while maintaining a level playing field for evaluation.

Judging Criteria and Selection Process: The Path to Recognition

The AAHSFF employs a rigorous selection process to identify outstanding entries across various categories. Understanding the judging criteria can help participants tailor their submissions for maximum impact.

Evaluation Metrics

What factors do judges consider when evaluating films? While the specific criteria may vary by category, judges typically assess entries based on:

• Originality of concept
• Technical execution (cinematography, sound design, editing)
• Narrative strength and coherence
• Emotional impact and audience engagement
• Effective use of the medium to convey the intended message

The festival’s judging panel, comprised of industry professionals and experienced filmmakers, evaluates each entry on its individual merits, considering both artistic vision and technical proficiency.

Winner Selection and Notification

How are winners chosen and notified? The festival organizers select winners based on the judges’ evaluations, exercising their discretion to identify the most outstanding entries in each category. Winners are typically announced at the awards show held in October, following the submission deadline.

Successful participants are notified via the email address provided during submission. It’s crucial for entrants to monitor their email communications, as they have a limited window (usually ten business days) to respond and claim their prize. Failure to respond within this timeframe may result in forfeiture of the award.

Prizes and Recognition: Celebrating Cinematic Excellence

The AAHSFF offers more than just bragging rights to its winners. The festival provides tangible rewards and recognition that can significantly boost a young filmmaker’s career prospects.

Types of Awards

What kinds of prizes can winners expect? While specific prizes may vary from year to year, the AAHSFF typically offers a range of awards that may include:

• Cash prizes
• Filmmaking equipment and software
• Scholarships to film schools or workshops
• Internship opportunities with production companies
• Mentorship sessions with industry professionals

These prizes are designed not only to reward excellence but also to provide winners with resources and opportunities to further develop their skills and advance their filmmaking careers.

Prize Conditions and Responsibilities

Are there any conditions attached to the prizes? Winners should be aware that prizes are non-transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash or substituted. Additionally, winners are responsible for any taxes, fees, or additional costs associated with their prizes.

In some cases, the festival may require winners to sign publicity releases or provide proof of eligibility. For minor winners, parental or guardian consent and involvement may be necessary to claim prizes.

Legal Considerations and Intellectual Property Rights

Navigating the legal aspects of film submission is crucial for young filmmakers participating in the AAHSFF. Understanding these considerations helps protect both the participants and the festival.

Copyright and Permissions

What rights do filmmakers need to secure before submitting? Entrants must ensure they have the necessary rights and permissions for all content in their films. This includes:

• Music licenses for any copyrighted songs or compositions
• Location releases for filming on private property
• Name and likeness permissions from individuals appearing in the film

The festival reserves the right to request proof of these permissions at any time. Failure to provide such documentation could result in disqualification.

Originality and Similarity Concerns

How does the festival handle similar entries? The AAHSFF acknowledges that multiple entries may share thematic or stylistic similarities. By submitting a film, entrants waive any claims related to similarities between their entry and others submitted to or used by the festival. This policy protects the festival from potential disputes while encouraging diverse creative expressions.

Impact and Future Prospects: AAHSFF’s Role in Shaping Film Industry Talent

The All American High School Film Festival plays a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing the next generation of filmmaking talent. Its impact extends far beyond the annual event, influencing the broader landscape of the film industry.

Career Launching Pad

How does AAHSFF contribute to participants’ future careers? The festival serves as a launching pad for many young filmmakers, providing them with:

• Exposure to industry professionals and potential mentors
• Networking opportunities with peers and established filmmakers
• A platform to showcase their work to a wider audience
• Validation of their skills and creativity through recognition and awards

Many past participants have gone on to successful careers in the film and television industry, crediting their AAHSFF experience as a crucial stepping stone.

Industry Trends and Innovation

What insights does AAHSFF offer about the future of filmmaking? By showcasing the work of young, emerging talent, the festival provides a unique window into evolving trends and innovations in storytelling and cinematography. Industry professionals and studios often look to AAHSFF entries to gauge upcoming trends and discover fresh perspectives in filmmaking.

The diversity of entries, spanning various genres and styles, reflects the dynamic nature of contemporary cinema and hints at the future direction of the art form. This makes AAHSFF not just a contest, but a barometer for the future of the film industry.

Educational Impact

How does AAHSFF contribute to film education? Beyond the competition aspect, the festival often includes educational components such as:

• Workshops and masterclasses led by industry professionals
• Q&A sessions with successful filmmakers
• Technical demonstrations of cutting-edge filmmaking equipment
• Panels discussing various aspects of the film industry

These educational initiatives complement formal film studies programs, providing practical insights and real-world knowledge to aspiring filmmakers. The festival thus serves as a bridge between academic learning and professional practice in the film industry.

Embracing Diversity and Inclusivity in Young Filmmaking

The All American High School Film Festival places a strong emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusivity within the filmmaking community. This commitment is reflected in various aspects of the festival’s organization and execution.

Diverse Voices and Perspectives

How does AAHSFF ensure representation of diverse voices? The festival actively encourages participation from students of all backgrounds, recognizing that diversity in storytelling enriches the cinematic landscape. This approach includes:

• Outreach programs to underrepresented communities
• Special categories or recognition for films addressing social issues
• Diverse judging panels to ensure a wide range of perspectives in evaluation

By promoting a variety of voices and stories, AAHSFF contributes to a more inclusive and representative future for the film industry.

Accessibility and Support

What measures does AAHSFF take to ensure accessibility? The festival strives to make participation accessible to all aspiring filmmakers, regardless of their resources or background. This may include:

• Offering resources and guidance for first-time filmmakers
• Providing fee waivers or scholarships for entry fees in cases of financial need
• Ensuring the submission platform and festival events are accessible to participants with disabilities

These efforts help level the playing field, allowing talent and creativity to shine regardless of an individual’s circumstances.

Technological Advancements and Their Impact on Young Filmmakers

The rapid evolution of technology has significantly impacted the filmmaking process, especially for young creators. AAHSFF embraces these changes, reflecting the current state of the industry and preparing participants for future developments.

Emerging Technologies in Filmmaking

How does AAHSFF incorporate new technologies? The festival keeps pace with technological advancements in the film industry, often showcasing and encouraging the use of:

• Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in storytelling
• Advanced digital effects and animation techniques
• Mobile filmmaking and innovative camera technologies
• AI and machine learning applications in film production

By embracing these technologies, AAHSFF prepares young filmmakers for the evolving landscape of cinema and opens up new avenues for creative expression.

Digital Distribution and Social Media

How does the digital age affect film distribution for young creators? AAHSFF recognizes the growing importance of digital platforms and social media in film distribution and audience engagement. The festival may incorporate elements such as:

• Online screening options for wider accessibility
• Social media challenges or categories for short-form content
• Guidance on building an online presence and personal brand as a filmmaker

These aspects of the festival help young filmmakers navigate the digital landscape and understand the importance of online platforms in modern filmmaking careers.

As the All American High School Film Festival continues to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of cinema, it remains a crucial platform for discovering and nurturing young talent. By providing a stage for creative expression, offering valuable industry insights, and fostering a community of emerging filmmakers, AAHSFF plays an indispensable role in shaping the future of film. The festival not only celebrates the achievements of today’s young creators but also paves the way for the innovative storytellers who will define the cinema of tomorrow.

Rules & Categories — All American High School Film Festival

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Entries for All American High School Film Festival Film Contest (the “Contest”) can be submitted between November 2nd 2020 at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time and July 2nd 2021 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

ELIGIBILITY: Entrants must submit entries as required on the entry form to be eligible. Entries received after the deadline set forth in these terms are ineligible, null, and void.

HOW TO ENTER: Create a film of twenty (20) minutes or less in length (unless another length limit is specified for the category above.) (a “Film”). Visit www.hsfilmfest.com and follow the instructions to complete the entry form to submit your Film.

PERSONAL INFORMATION: To submit your Film you will be required to provide your first and last name; school/company/organization name; email address; and Film URL. The information you provide will be used only for contest administration and to contact contest winners. Your information will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any party not affiliated with the Festival and the Contest except to the extent permitted by law.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: Winners will be announced in October 2021 at the awards show. Winners will be chosen by the Festival on the merits of each entry in the Festival’s sole and absolute discretion. All winners will be notified by the email address provided in the entry form. If a winner does not respond to the notification within ten (10) business days, another winner will be chosen. Failure to respond within the time frames listed above shall mean that the provisional winner forfeits the prize.

RULES FOR ENTRY: Entries may not contain, as determined by the Festival, in its sole discretion, any content that:

An Entry must be the original work of the Entrant, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If an Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the Entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the Entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submitting such  Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by the Festival in the manner set forth in these Terms, including, without limitation, name and likeness permissions from any person who appears in or is identifiable in the Entry, music licenses and location releases. The Festival reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to the Festival from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void. By submitting an Entry, the Entrant warrants and represents that he/she and any persons appearing or who are identifiable in the Entry consent to the submission and use of the Entry in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein. Any Entry not in English must contain English subtitles.

By submitting an Entry, the Entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Festival may obtain many Entries in connection with this Contest, and that such Entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to other Entries submitted in connection with this Contest. The Entrant waives any and all claims that any Entries and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the Festival may be similar to the Entrant’s Entry, or that any compensation is due to the Entrant in connection with such other Entry or other works used by the Festival.

PRIZES: Prizes are non-transferable and are not redeemable for cash or subject to substitution. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries and the quality of each specific Entry.

TERMS FOR WINNERS: Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees as well as all additional costs that may be incurred. If the specified prize becomes unavailable for any reason, the Festival in its sole and absolute discretion may substitute a prize of like or equal value. The Festival reserves the right to condition the award of prizes upon the execution by the winner(s) of a publicity release. Notwithstanding this reserved right, entry is conclusively deemed to be permission by the Entrant for the Festival to use the Entrant’s name (without compensation to the Entrant) if the Entrant is a winner to publicize the Contest and otherwise, as determined by the Festival, unless prohibited by law. The Festival reserves the right to require the winner to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award. In the event the winner is a minor, the Festival reserves the right to require the minor winner’s parent and/or legal guardian to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document, provide other proof of eligibility and guarantee the minor winner’s obligations, representations and warranties hereunder as a condition of receipt of the prize or award.  In the event a winner fails or refuses to execute or provide any required documentation, the Festival reserves the right to award the prize or award to a substitute winner in the Festival’s sole discretion. The Festival may require the winner to be present for/participate in press and promotional activities. In addition, the Festival may request actors and other participants in the Film to be present for/participate in press and promotional activities and the Entrant shall not direct any such individuals to refuse to so participate.

GENERAL CONDITIONS: By submitting an Entry, each Entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Terms, and the decisions of the Festival, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless the Festival, the Festival’s licenses and assigns, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the Entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity and from any and all claims, debts, demands, actions or causes of actions, suits, sums of money, damages, and liabilities of whatsoever kind or nature, which have arisen or may arise as a result of the Released Parties exercise of the rights granted to them as set forth herein; (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph/Film, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide, including without limitation, on the Internet, and in perpetuity by the Festival and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from the Entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so; and (d) to hold the Released Parties harmless and to indemnify the Released Parties from and against all costs, expenses and liabilities incurred by the Released Parties in connection with the defense of any claim or claims on account thereof, including reasonable attorney’s fees.  By participating, the Entrant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on his/her own or through someone else regarding his/her participation in the Contest without the prior consent of the Festival, which it may withhold in its sole discretion.

OWNERSHIP/USE OF SUBMISSIONS: By submitting an Entry, you hereby grant to the Festival a royalty-free, fully paid up, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, combine with other works, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, edit and display such Entry (in whole or part) including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations embodied therein, and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. These rights include, without limitation, the right to exhibit the Entry at the All American High School Film Festival and to use the Entry in any and all media including but not limited to the Festival’s and the Festival’s licensee’s social media properties and/or offline media, in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to the Entrant or any third party. By submitting an Entry, The Entrant acknowledges that the Festival has no obligation to use or post any Entry submitted. Subject to these Terms, the Entrant retains copyright ownership of the Entry.

MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, processing of Entries, the incorrect uploading of an Entry, or in any Contest-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest.  Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an inappropriate or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Terms, as solely determined by the Festival, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in the Festival’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Festival, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or submission of Entries, the Festival reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, FESTIVAL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and the Festival in connection with this Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law rules (whether of the State of New York or for any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

All American High School Film Festival

Please be sure to read everything below carefully!

Technical Guidelines:

ALL Submitter Information data (Name, Phone #, Address, Birthdate & Gender) must be submitted into your FilmFreeway project file or your entry may be disqualified from any screening or awards.

All films whether directly uploaded to FilmFreeway or with an embedded Vimeo link must be downloadable or they will not be considered for selection and screening. Please assure that in your project file’s privacy settings that “Download Permissions” is set to “Festivals that I submit to may download my video.”

Your submission’s total runtime (TRT) must NOT exceed the specified time limit for the category you are submitting (See categories and time limits below). Credits are included in your TRT and credit runtime must NOT exceed 30 seconds.

We strongly recommend that you triple check your audio levels and that your audio is NOT limited to one channel (ie: right or left).

Any film that includes main dialogue that is not English must be submitted with English subtitles.

If your film has subtitles please make sure they are “Title Safe”.

If submitting using a Vimeo link, please include filmmaker’s name and name of the film in the title. All Vimeo links must be downloadable or they will not be considered for selection and screening.

Do NOT submit using a YouTube link as they cannot be downloaded.

When uploading your submission, you must use the following file naming conventions:

FirstNameLastName_FilmTitle.mov

Examples:

JaneDoe_MyFilm.mov

JohnDoe_MyMovie.mp4

We will only accept the file formats listed below:

.MOV

.MP4

Do not submit films in 4K. Please submit your film in 1080 HD or lower. Any film files that are larger than 4GBs will not be accepted.

Films that are accepted into the festival will be screened in 16:9 aspect ratio. If your film is submitted in a different ratio, your film will be letterboxed to display on the 16:9 screen.

Content Guidelines:

All music, images, titles, footage and other copyrighted material used in your submission MUST be properly licensed. You must have permission and/or the proper rights to all content submitted.

There are various resources that offer royalty free music and images. Please see our resources tab for more information. We strongly encourage you to use original music or music from our library.

The All American High School Film Festival team reserves the right to switch your submission to a different category as they see fit.

Eligibility Guidelines:

The film’s director(s) must have been in high school or younger while filming the project. Middle school students are eligible to submit.

If the film’s director(s) were high school seniors at the time of creation, but are now in college the film is eligible to be submitted.

We are an international film festival and thus accept films from anywhere in the world as long as you were in high school or high school age when the film was made.

Any submission that does not meet these guidelines will NOT be considered for judging and will NOT be selected to screen at the All American High School Film Festival.

Film Contest Rules & Terms:

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Entries for All American High School Film Festival Film Contest (the “Contest”) can be submitted between November 1st, 2018 at 12:00:01 a. m. Eastern Time and July 21st, 2019 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

ELIGIBILITY: Entrants must submit entries as required on the entry form to be eligible. Entries received after the deadline set forth in these terms are ineligible, null, and void.

HOW TO ENTER: Create a film of twenty (20) minutes or less in length (unless another length limit is specified for the category above.) (a “Film”). Visit www.hsfilmfest.com and follow the instructions to complete the entry form to submit your Film.

PERSONAL INFORMATION: To submit your Film you will be required to provide your first and last name; school/company/organization name; email address; and Film URL. The information you provide will be used only for contest administration and to contact contest winners. Your information will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any party not affiliated with the Festival and the Contest except to the extent permitted by law.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: Winners will be announced in October 2019 at the awards show. Winners will be chosen by the Festival on the merits of each entry in the Festival’s sole and absolute discretion. All winners will be notified by the email address provided in the entry form. If a winner does not respond to the notification within ten (10) business days, another winner will be chosen. Failure to respond within the time frames listed above shall mean that the provisional winner forfeits the prize.

RULES FOR ENTRY: Entries may not contain, as determined by the Festival, in its sole discretion, any content that:

An Entry must be the original work of the Entrant, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If an Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the Entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the Entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submitting such Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by the Festival in the manner set forth in these Terms, including, without limitation, name and likeness permissions from any person who appears in or is identifiable in the Entry, music licenses and location releases. The Festival reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to the Festival from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void. By submitting an Entry, the Entrant warrants and represents that he/she and any persons appearing or who are identifiable in the Entry consent to the submission and use of the Entry in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein. Any Entry not in English must contain English subtitles.

By submitting an Entry, the Entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Festival may obtain many Entries in connection with this Contest and that such Entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to other Entries submitted in connection with this Contest. The Entrant waives any and all claims that any Entries and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the Festival may be similar to the Entrant’s Entry, or that any compensation is due to the Entrant in connection with such other Entry or other works used by the Festival.

PRIZES: Prizes are non-transferable and are not redeemable for cash or subject to substitution. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries and the quality of each specific Entry.

TERMS FOR WINNERS: Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees as well as all additional costs that may be incurred. If the specified prize becomes unavailable for any reason, the Festival in its sole and absolute discretion may substitute a prize of like or equal value. The Festival reserves the right to condition the award of prizes upon the execution by the winner(s) of a publicity release. Notwithstanding this reserved right, entry is conclusively deemed to be permission by the Entrant for the Festival to use the Entrant’s name (without compensation to the Entrant) if the Entrant is a winner to publicize the Contest and otherwise, as determined by the Festival unless prohibited by law. The Festival reserves the right to require the winner to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award. In the event the winner is a minor, the Festival reserves the right to require the minor winner’s parent and/or legal guardian to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document, provide other proof of eligibility and guarantee the minor winner’s obligations, representations and warranties hereunder as a condition of receipt of the prize or award. In the event a winner fails or refuses to execute or provide any required documentation, the Festival reserves the right to award the prize or award to a substitute winner in the Festival’s sole discretion. The Festival may require the winner to be present for/participate in press and promotional activities. In addition, the Festival may request actors and other participants in the Film to be present for/participate in press and promotional activities and the Entrant shall not direct any such individuals to refuse to so participate.

GENERAL CONDITIONS: By submitting an Entry, each Entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Terms, and the decisions of the Festival, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless the Festival, the Festival’s licenses and assigns, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the Entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity and from any and all claims, debts, demands, actions or causes of actions, suits, sums of money, damages, and liabilities of whatsoever kind or nature, which have arisen or may arise as a result of the Released Parties exercise of the rights granted to them as set forth herein; (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph/Film, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide, including without limitation, on the Internet, and in perpetuity by the Festival and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from the Entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so; and (d) to hold the Released Parties harmless and to indemnify the Released Parties from and against all costs, expenses and liabilities incurred by the Released Parties in connection with the defense of any claim or claims on account thereof, including reasonable attorney’s fees. By participating, the Entrant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on his/her own or through someone else regarding his/her participation in the Contest without the prior consent of the Festival, which it may withhold in its sole discretion.

OWNERSHIP/USE OF SUBMISSIONS: By submitting an Entry, you hereby grant to the Festival a royalty-free, fully paid up, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, combine with other works, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, edit and display such Entry (in whole or part) including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations embodied therein, and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. These rights include, without limitation, the right to exhibit the Entry at the All American High School Film Festival and to use the Entry in any and all media including but not limited to the Festival’s and the Festival’s licensee’s social media properties and/or offline media, in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to the Entrant or any third party. By submitting an Entry, The Entrant acknowledges that the Festival has no obligation to use or post any Entry submitted. Subject to these Terms, the Entrant retains copyright ownership of the Entry.

MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, processing of Entries, the incorrect uploading of an Entry, or in any Contest-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an inappropriate or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Terms, as solely determined by the Festival, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in the Festival’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Festival, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or submission of Entries, the Festival reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, FESTIVAL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and the Festival in connection with this Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law rules (whether of the State of New York or for any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

All America Swimming

All America Swimming 
Award Applications are now submitted on line. Online applications can be completed between November 1 and June 15. See the full rules here. 

In order for a swimmer to be considered as a NISCA High School All-American he/she must compete for an interscholastic team and be scholastically eligible as determined by his/her state athletic association or school authority. All swimmers must be in at least the 9th grade level of school to be eligible. Swimmers are limited to 8 consecutive semesters of eligibility. Fifth year seniors, 7th and 8th grade students are not eligible for consideration. See NFHS National Records Committee Policy Handbook Definition #1.

All times submitted must be achieved in a regularly scheduled interscholastic meet (no time trials) and will include times achieved up to and including State Meet Performances. 

All times must be submitted to the one-hundredth of a second. Meet times MUST include documentation (copy of or link to official meet results) as well as the signatures of the Meet Manager and Meet Referee for Dual Meets. NO MANUAL TIMES ACCEPTED. Automatic timing ONLY! 

A swimmer may be listed in as many events as his/her times qualify. 

Relay teams are limited to FOUR swimmers. Only ONE TEAM PER SCHOOL. 

Each year, an “All America” time will be determined and published. Upon receipt of the accepted application blank, the swimmer may be announced as an All-America if they have achieved the published time. 

The fastest one hundred (100) ATHLETES as determined by time in each event will be named All-America. For a complete list of the rules, click HERE.

For questions about the All America Swimming award program, please contact the boy’s or girl’s All America Swimming Chair.

For Archived Lists click here. Archived lists older than 5 years (from 1998 to present) are available only for registered members who are logged in to the website. 

Note We are no longer mailing out Membership cards. You can print a .PDF copy of your membership cards by clicking HERE. If you can not remember you membership number you can look it up here.

2020 MaxPreps High School Football All-America Team: Five Alabama commits appear on first team

MaxPreps has recognized the nation’s top high school football players at the conclusion of the season over each of the last 15 years. Past members of the MaxPreps High School Football All-America Team include Jadeveon Clowney (2009), Stefon Diggs (2011), Myles Garrett (2013), Derrick Henry (2012), Julio Jones (2007), Trevor Lawrence (2017), Kyler Murray (2012, 2013) and Chase Young (2016).

MaxPreps National Player of the Year selection Jaxson Dart of Corner Canyon (Utah) highlights this year’s selections. The USC signee threw for 4,691 yards while shattering the state single-season touchdown pass mark with 67. He added more than 1,100 yards rushing and 12 more scores on the ground as the Chargers captured the Utah 6A title for the third consecutive year.

MaxPreps National Junior of the Year Travis Hall of Collins Hills (Suwanee, Ga.) earned a spot in the first team, while MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year Lebbeus Overton of Milton (Ga.) makes an appearance on the second team.

Selections are based on team success; individual production; and local, regional and state honors from the recently-completed season. Potential at the college and professional level is not a primary consideration for the MaxPreps High School Football All-America Team. Players in post-graduate and non-scholastic programs are not eligible for inclusion.

2020 MaxPreps All-America first team

Offense

QB Jaxson Dart, Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 210
Status: Signed with USC | Class: Senior (2021)
Broke state single-season record with 67 touchdowns while his 4,691 yards passing rank second. Added 1,195 yards rushing and 12 scores for the 6A champions.

RB Jonathon Brooks, Hallettsville (Texas)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 185
Status: Signed with Texas | Class: Senior (2021)
His 70 touchdowns rank third on the all-time single-season list. Rushed for 3,530 yards and added another 284 yards receiving for the 3A Division 1 runner-up.

RB Donovan Edwards, West Bloomfield (Mich.)
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 190
Status: Signed with Michigan | Class: Senior (2021)
Put on a clinic in the Michigan Division 1 championship, rushing for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Finished his senior season with nearly 1,700 yards and 30 total touchdowns while leading Lakers to first state title.

WR Shadrach Banks, North Shore (Houston)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Texas A&M | Class: Senior (2021)
One of the nation’s most versatile playmakers, the future Aggie helped the Mustangs to a third consecutive top 10 finish.

WR Noah Kjar, Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 180
Status: Committed to Weber State | Class: Senior (2021)
Led nation with 1,918 receiving yards while his 22 touchdowns receptions were good for fourth best. 

TE Thomas Fidone II, Lewis Central (Council Bluffs, Iowa)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 225
Status: Signed with Nebraska | Class: Senior (2021)
Nation’s No. 1 tight end according to 247Sports had nearly 1,000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.

OL J.C. Latham, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 305
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
The Ascenders went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country and the top-rated offensive tackle was a big reason.

OL Amarius Mims, Bleckley County (Cochran, Ga.)
Height: 6-7 | Weight: 315
Status: Signed with Georgia | Class: Senior (2021)
Georgia’s top-rated player dominated in the trenches.

OL Tommy Brockermeyer, All Saints (Fort Worth, Texas)
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 285
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Showed why he’s the top-rated prospect in Texas bouncing back after missing junior year with an injury.

OL Nolan Rucci, Warwick (Lititz, Pa.)
Height: 6-8 | Weight: 295
Status: Signed with Wisconsin | Class: Senior (2021)
The five-star offensive tackle is one of the most well-rounded lineman in the country.

OL Donovan Jackson, Episcopal (Bellaire, Texas)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 310
Status: Signed with Ohio State | Class: Senior (2021)
The top-rated offensive guard in the nation excels at both run and pass blocking.

AP Travis Hunter, Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 170
Status: Committed to Florida State | Class: Junior (2022)
Lone junior to make the first team hauled in 137 receptions for 1,746 yards and 24 touchdowns while tallying 51 tackles and eight interceptions on defense for the AAAAAAA runners-up. He’s the MaxPreps National Junior of the Year.

K Joe McFadden, Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 180
Status: Signed with UConn | Class: Senior (2021)
Connected on 11 of 12 field goals and also averaged better than 40 yards per punt while being a touchback machine on kickoffs.

Defense

DL Dallas Turner, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 245
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Had 12 tackles-for-loss and 13 sacks in his lone season for the back-to-back 7A champs.

DL Maason Smith, Terrebonne (Houma, La.)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 315
Status: Signed with LSU | Class: Senior (2021)
The top-rated player in Louisiana is a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen.

DL Shemar Turner, DeSoto (Texas)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 280
Status: Signed with Texas A&M | Class: Senior (2021)
The five-star defensive end had 76 tackles, 18 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 sacks in 2020.

DL Brandon Buckner, Chandler (Ariz.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 235
Status: Signed with Oregon | Class: Senior (2021)
Helped one of the country’s top teams to a fifth consecutive state title, piling up 16 tackles-for-loss and 12 sacks.

LB Kendrick Blackshire, Duncanville (Texas)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 245
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
One of the most physically imposing players in the country dominated after missing junior season with a torn ACL.

LB Barrett Carter, North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Clemson | Class: Senior (2021)
Does it all from the linebacker position and also accounted for 10 touchdowns on offense.

LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Clemson | Class: Senior (2021)
Played a huge role for the three-time defending 6A state champs and No. 3 team in the country.

DB James Williams, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Miami | Class: Senior (2021)
Returned to Heritage for his senior season and dominated on defense, leading the Patriots to first state title since 2017.

DB Ga’Quincy McKinstry, Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 180
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
The nation’s top-rated cornerback starred on both sides for the 6A champs.

DB Ja’Den McBurrows, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 165
Status: Signed with Michigan | Class: Senior (2021)
Lined up against the opposing team’s best wide receiver each week and finished with four interceptions despite quarterbacks rarely targeting him.

DB Avante Dickerson, Westside (Omaha, Neb.)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 170
Status: Committed to Minnesota | Class: Senior (2021)
Led the Warriors to a Class A state title. Had four interceptions while accounting for nearly 1,000 total yards and 11 touchdowns on offense.

AP Ja’Tavion Sanders, Ryan (Denton, Texas)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Texas | Class: Senior (2021)
The top-rated athlete is one of the rare players who could be a five-star on both sides of the ball as a defensive end or wide receiver/tight end.

P Tommy Doman, St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 170
Status: Signed with Michigan | Class: Senior (2021)
The second-rated punter in the country, according to 247Sports, averaged 44.8 yards per punt with over half landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Also connected on 6-of-7 field goals with a long of 53.

2020 MaxPreps All-America second team

Offense

QB Dematrius Davis, North Shore (Houston)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 200
Status: Signed with Auburn | Class: Senior (2021)
One of the best quarterbacks in Texas high school football history finished senior season with 4,428 yards total offense (3,553 passing, 875 rushing) and 60 touchdowns.

RB Corey Kiner, Roger Bacon (Cincinnati)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 205
Status: Signed with LSU | Class: Senior (2021)
Ran for 1,866 yards and 35 touchdowns, ending prep career 10th in Ohio history in rushing yards and third all-time in total points, total touchdowns and rushing touchdowns.

RB Marquis Crosby, Seminary (Miss.)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 170
Status: Signed with Louisiana Tech | Class: Senior (2021)
Led nation with 3,678 yards rushing, adding 39 total touchdowns.

WR Agiye Hall, Bloomingdale (Valrico, Fla.)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 190
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Talented four-star wide receiver is the complete package. Had over 1,000 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns, averaging over 20 yards per reception while also standing out as a blocker.

WR Jack Bech, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 215
Status: Signed with LSU | Class: Senior (2021)
Helped the Cougars to a second consecutive Division II championship. Hauled in 69 receptions for 1,391 yards and 16 touchdowns.

TE Jake Briningstool, Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.)
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 220
Status: Signed with Clemson | Class: Senior (2021)
Capped his high school career with 774 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns, averaging better than 20 yards per catch. Added seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

OL Kingsley Suamataia, Orem (Utah)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 280
Status: Signed with Oregon | Class: Senior (2021)
One of the most polished offensive lineman in the nation led Tigers to a fourth consecutive state title.

OL Jackson Light, Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 285
Status: Signed with Oregon | Class: Senior (2021)
Heart and soul for the No. 8 team in the country dominated on both sides of the trench.

OL Jaeden Roberts, North Shore (Houston)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 340
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Played a huge role on the offensive line over the last three seasons while the Mustangs went 45-2 and won two state titles.

OL Wyatt Milum, Spring Valley (Huntington, W. Va.)
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 275
Status: Signed with West Virginia | Class: Senior (2021)
State’s top-rated prospect didn’t allow a sack over his final three years.

OL Bryce Foster, Katy Taylor (Katy, Texas)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 330
Status: Signed with Texas A&M | Class: Senior (2021)
“The Mountain” could make an immediate impact for the Aggies.

AP JoJo Earle, Aledo (Texas)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 170
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Made plays at a high level no matter where he lined up. Helped Bearcats to school’s 10th state title.

K Jack Tannehill, Oxford (Miss.)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 175
Status: Signed with Southern Miss | Class: Senior (2021)
Connected on 15 of 18 field goals during his senior year and also averaged 41.9 yards per punt.

Defense

DL Leonard Taylor, Palmetto (Miami)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 265
Status: Signed with Miami | Class: Senior (2021)
Five-star prospect dominated the opposition in 2020. 

DL Victoine Brown, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 230
Status: Signed with Louisville | Class: Senior (2021)
Brown was leader in the trenches for one of the most dominant defense as Rams won AAAAAA title and earned No. 2 ranking.

DL Damon Payne, Belleville (Mich.)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 295
Status: Signed with Alabama | Class: Senior (2021)
Five-star prospect dominated in the trenches for a 10-1 Tigers squad.

DL Lebbeus Overton, Milton (Ga.)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 245
Status: Uncommitted | Class: Sophomore (2023)
National Sophomore of the Year is the lone 2023 selection. Led the state of Georgia with 21.5 sacks with 38 tackles for loss.

LB Chief Borders, Heard County (Franklin, Ga.)
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 245
Status: Signed with Florida | Class: Senior (2021)
Four-star linebacker broke school record, finishing his senior year with 163 tackles.

LB Terrence Lewis, Central (Miami)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 200
Status: Signed with Maryland | Class: Senior (2021)
Ended his high school career winning three consecutive state titles while playing a huge role on defense in his lone season with the Rockets.

LB Prince Kollie, David Crockett (Jonesborough, Tenn.)
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 210
Status: Signed with Notre Dame | Class: Senior (2021)
Racked up over 100 tackles and 11 tackles for loss to close out prep career.

DB Nyland Green, Newton (Covington, Ga.)
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 185
Status: Signed with Georgia | Class: Senior (2021)
One of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the country made an impact on both sides of the ball.

DB J.D. Coffey, Kennedale (Texas)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 180
Status: Signed with Texas | Class: Senior (2021)
After a monster senior season, finished career with over 300 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 19 interceptions.

DB Jayvian Allen, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 180
Status: Committed to Tennessee Tech | Class: Senior (2021)
Underrated prospects played a big role in the Rams’ first state title since 2016. Led the team in tackles (103), interceptions (four) and rushed for three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Collins Hill (Suwanee) in the AAAAAAA championship.

DB Kendal Daniels, Beggs (Beggs, Okla.)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 190
Status: Signed with Texas A&M | Class: Senior (2021)
Top-rated prospect in Oklahoma finished senior year with 120 tackles and four interceptions.

AP Billy Bowman, Ryan (Denton, Texas)
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 175
Status: Signed with Oklahoma | Class: Senior (2021)
Plays at a high level in all three phases of the game. Accounted for over 1,300 total yards and 18 touchdowns on offense, snagged two interceptions on defense and is a dangerous punt returner.

P Connor Weselman, Westminster (Atlanta)
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 190
Status: Signed with Stanford | Class: Senior (2021)
Averaged 41.5 yards per punt in 2020. 

McDonald’s – All American Games

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Sports Illustrated names its high school First Team basketball All-American team

From professional stars to Final Four stars last season’s inaugural SI All-American Boys Basketball Team went on to accomplish mind-boggling feats in their first post-high school year.

Still, this year’s crop of All-Americans has the talent to potentially surpass their predecessors as we unveil 15 of the top high school basketball players in the country broken up into three teams.

In a year where sample sizes were condensed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, each player has exhibited a level of play this season that will make them a household name at the next level and beyond.

RELATED: SIAA Second Team | SIAA Third Team

Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) star Chet Holmgren was named SI All-American Player of the Year after dominating the competition this season, averaging 20.7 points (80% from the field), 12.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 5.1 blocks a game.

Holmgren played a handful of nationally televised games against other SI All-Americans and managed to be the best player on the floor every time, a telling feat in itself.

“It’s a major honor to be named Player of the Year anywhere, but definitely with a brand like Sports Illustrated,” Holmgren said. “For me, it’s just a reminder of what hard work and dedication can get you. I’m appreciative, but it just makes me want to work harder, honestly.”

Still, as dominant as Holmgren was this season, he had stiff competition for the SI All-American Player of the Year honor.

Here’s a look at the players that pushed him all year and earned their way onto the SI All-American first team in the process.

Player of the Year

C: Chet Holmgren, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.), 2021

College: Undecided

Watch Holmgren’s Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: Holmgren has earned the moniker of “Unicorn” because of his ability to dominate the game in all facets, playing all five positions. Holmgren is an efficient scorer on all three levels and creates a nearly impossible matchup for opposing bigs because of his versatile skill set. Holmgren is equally dominant on the defensive end with precise timing on his blocks in the paint and a tenacious motor that remains in overdrive.

First Team

F: Paolo Banchero, O’Dea (Seattle), 2021

College: Duke

Watch Banchero’s Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: The pandemic cancelled Banchero’s season, but his dominance with his travel teams proved that he’s taken his diverse skill set to the next level. At 6-foot-11, Banchero can play all five positions with an elite motor that enables him to outwork the opposition. He averaged 32.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, three assists 2.3 blocks a game while running with club teams this season. This is Banchero’s second appointment to the SI All-American team.

F: Michael Foster, Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2021

College: Undecided

Watch Foster’s Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: Foster was one of the most dominant players in the country this season, regardless of class, using his versatility and 6-foot-9, 220-pound frame to dominate the opposition. This season, Foster, now a two-time SI All-American, averaged 32 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four blocks a game for Hillcrest which finished 32-3 this season.

PG: Kennedy Chandler, Sunrise Christian (Bel Aire, Ariz.), 2021

College: Tennessee

Watch Chandler’s Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: Chandler opened the season as the No. 1 point guard in the SI99 and despite all of the extra attention that accompanies the appointment, he managed to elevate his game and dominance. This season, despite playing in the toughest league in the country (NIBC), Chandler averaged 16 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals a game while running the show alongside multiple Division I prospects. Last week at GEICO Nationals he led the Buffaloes to the title game.

SG: Jaden Hardy, Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), 2021

College: Undecided

Watch Hardy’s Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: Hardy is the most lethal backcourt scorer in the country, regardless of class, because of his limitless and efficient range, quick release, strength and athleticism. Hardy eventually opted out of finishing the season due to concerns surrounding the pandemic, but not before averaging 36 points a game with his club team. Hardy had some of his best games this season against fellow SI All-Americans.

SF: Emoni Bates, Ypsi Prep (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 2022

College: Michigan State

Watch Bates’ Highlight Video

Why He’s an SI All-American: Bates is the lone underclassmen to make the first team, but his consistent dominance this season made him a shoo-in for the honor. Bates, now a two-time SI All-American, averaged 24.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals a game, while playing a grueling schedule this season. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Bates’ fame as “the next big thing” garners him, arguably, more defensive attention than any other high school player in the country.

Rosters revealed for High School All-American Game (Boys)

The rosters have been announced for the High School All-American Game, which is being held on May 29, 2021 in St. Louis.

Featuring 45 of the nation’s best athletes, the High School All-American Game is an annual matchup between teams of top prospects from the East and West regions of the United States.

After the pandemic caused the postponement of the 2020 event – which was originally scheduled to be played in Orlando, Fla. in December – the game this May is being held as a makeup.

See below for a look at the boys rosters for the East Team and West Team. For more information on the event, Click Here.

East Team

• Jack Anderson – The Loomis Chaffee School (Windsor, CT.)
• Arnezha Astwood – Northwood School (Lake Placid, NY.)
• Jai Bean – South Kent School (South Kent, CT.)
• George Culp – Westchester Country Day (High Point, NC.)
• Van Danielson – Mount Saint Joseph (Baltimore, MD.)
• Eryk Dymora – Clifton High (Clifton, NJ.)
• Grant Farley – Gilman School (Baltimore, MD.)
• Aidan Farwell – Milton Academy (Milton, MA.)
• Jack Foht – Erie Cathedral Prep (Erie, PA.)
• Micaah Garnette – Gill St. Bernard’s (Gladstone, NJ.)
• Will Horn – Montclair Kimberley Academy (Montclair, NJ.)
• Josh Jones – North Penn High (Lansdale, PA.)
• Ben Liscum – Lewisburg Area (Lewisburg, PA.)
• Amer Lukovic – Clifton High (Clifton, NJ.)
• Babacar Niang – The Pennington School (Pennington, NJ.)
• Richie Nichols – McDonogh School (Owings Mills, MD.)
• Franceso Pagano – Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, NY.)
• Alvaro Garcia Pascual – Northwood School (Lake Placid, NY.)
• Mohammed Seidu – South Kent School (South Kent, CT.)
• Hunter Sekelsky – Louisville Collegiate (Louisville, KY.)
• Andrew Serafino – Suffield Academy (Suffield, CT.)
• Luke Snyder – Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg, PA.)
• Scott Testori – Daniel Hand High (Madison, CT.)

West Team

• Josh Adam – Brighton High (Brighton, MI.)
• Gabe Anguil – Marquette University High (Milwaukee, WI.)
• Isaac Bennett – Reitz Memorial (Evansville, IN.)
• Luke Brothers – Mariemont High (Cincinnati, OH.)
• Charles Eaton – Chesterton High (Chesterton, IN.)
• Mitchell Farrar – St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, KS.)
• Max Floriani – Warren TWP. (Gurnee, IL.)
• Marcus Garcia – St. Pius X (Albuquerque, NM.)
• John Garcia – John Burroughs High (St. Louis, MO.)
• Josemir Gomez – North Central (Indianapolis, IN.)
• Sean Green – Chaminade College Prep (St. Louis, MO.)
• Garrett Hattery – Massillon Jackson (Massillon, OH.)
• Jose Ibarra – Streamwood High (Streamwood, IL.)
• Zacary Kelly – Holt High (Holt, MI.)
• Will Navarre – Nicolet High (Milwaukee, WI.)
• Cole Parete – Brunswick High (Brunswick, OH.)
• Marko Rimac – St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH.)
• Vincent Rose – Franklin High (Portland, OR.)
• Zachary Susee – Shakopee High (Shakopee, MN.)
• Jordan Sykes – Skyview High (Nampa, ID.)
• Eron Syljmani – Gull Lake High (Richland, MI.)
• Barnabas Tanyi – Gross Ile High (Gross Ile, MI.)

90,000 School education in the USA – system and features

The secondary education system in the United States is not at all similar to the Russian one. Not only the length of study differs (12 versus our 11 years), but also pedagogical methods, curricula and much more. Understanding what constitutes schooling in the United States.

Methods and programs

There is no single state education standard in the United States.The formation of the curriculum in the most general form (list of main disciplines, start and end dates of the school year) is the responsibility of the Board of Education under the state administration. At the same time, all the specifics, such as teaching aids, the volume and nature of the material taught, are determined by the school staff independently.

This means that each educational institution is free to dispose of its students’ time as it sees fit. The variety of programs and teaching methods in American schools, on the one hand, makes it possible to choose an educational institution that meets the individual needs of the student.On the other hand, the breadth of choice makes life difficult for parents and, at times, only makes it difficult to find a place to study.

Form of ownership

School education in America is represented by 2 types of educational institutions: public and private schools. Most of the country’s population studies in municipal institutions, since education is free for local residents. The government of the country is responsible for financing such institutions. Private schools, which cost a lot of money, are self-sufficient.

For objective reasons, free public schools, as a rule, cannot boast of either a particularly high academic level or an advanced material and technical base. Private in this sense have more opportunities, and the quality of education in them is usually better.

Overseas students can study at both public and private schools in the United States. In both cases, you will have to pay for education – for non-citizens of the country in the States there is no free education.Of course, the cost of studying in a public school in the United States is much lower than in a private one. However, it should be borne in mind that American universities are more willing to take graduates of private boarding schools. “F’s” received in a public school will not make a special impression on the admissions committee, unlike, say, “fours” earned in a prestigious private school.

Structure

Secondary education in the United States has a 3-level structure. At the age of 5-6, the child enters elementary school, where he studies until the 6th grade.The elementary school curriculum usually includes several academic disciplines (arithmetic, reading, writing, basic science), as well as music, physical education and drawing.

Middle school starts from 11-12 years old. Students are required to study mathematics, English, history, natural sciences. In addition, each student is offered 2-3 optional subjects (foreign languages, art, etc.)

High school provides children with even more freedom in terms of choice of subjects.From 9 to 12 grades (14 – 18 years old), students independently form their curriculum, there are even more additional subjects. As a rule, by this time, children already more or less imagine what they want to do in the future, and choose those disciplines, knowledge of which is necessary for entering a university.

During the last 2 years of high school, adolescents are preparing for the final SAT testing, based on the results of which they are admitted to college, and, if desired, attend advanced courses in some of the subjects – Advanced Placement (AP).The AP program usually corresponds to the program of the first year of study at a university, so after admission, the university can count this course as already completed.

It should be noted that the division into elementary, middle and high school is not conditional in the States. Unlike Russian schools, where both first-graders and graduates are under the same roof, in the United States, each age group relies on a separate educational institution – with its own building, teaching staff and administration.

Extracurricular activities

The purpose of the secondary education system in the United States is to educate a versatile personality with an active lifestyle. Therefore, in American schools, a lot of attention is paid to the student’s extracurricular activities.

Children spend a lot of time at school – and it’s not about the number of lessons.

Children are actively involved in sports: physical education lessons, similar to those that take place in a Russian school, end in American schoolchildren in middle school.High school students do not have physical training. Each high school student chooses the most interesting sport for him and is engaged in it quite professionally. Fortunately, the technical equipment of educational institutions (gymnasiums, courts, football and basketball fields) allows training at the highest level.

In addition to sports on the basis of the American school, there are usually many clubs of interest: someone plays in the theater, another attends a debate club, the third is studying the basics of painting.

But homework in the States is given a little. At the same time, often, its implementation also requires the child to be present at school – the children prepare reports and work on creative projects while sitting in the school library.

Control of progress

In America, the letter grading system is used: A, B, C, D, F, where A is the equivalent of the Russian “five” and F is “two”. By the way, each of the estimates, except for F, can be accompanied by a + or – sign. Based on school grades, the GPA (grade point average) is formed.This indicator is usually required when entering a university.

Another important form of performance monitoring in the US school system is the test. American children get acquainted with the annual testing procedure towards the end of elementary school. The test results influence how prestigious the next educational institution in a child’s life will be. The better the student studied in middle school, the higher the class will be high school. The higher the high school scores, the higher the GPA, which means the more chances of getting into a good college.

In addition, tests (which, by the way, are developed by the city or state board of education) are not only a way to assess the performance of students, but also to check the effectiveness of the staff of the educational institution.

The secondary education system in the United States is mainly aimed at preparing a child for university studies as efficiently as possible. That is why studying at an American school is a great start for children from abroad who would like to receive higher education in the States.

90,000 Secondary education in the USA – description and study diagram

There are over 90,000 public and 30,000 private high schools in the United States. The Americans themselves, provided they have sufficient financial resources, certainly prefer private secondary schools. In the United States, there is a large selection of private schools: boys ‘schools, girls’ schools, religious schools, military schools. The main task of private schools: to prepare students for admission to prestigious universities.

Unlike European private high schools (for example: Great Britain or Switzerland), only a few private high schools in the United States offer “full board”: boarding and boarding on school grounds. Most often, it is offered to stay with an American family.

Secondary schools in the USA are famous for their individual approach to each student, respect for him as a person, friendly attitude of teachers towards students (a teacher is primarily an ally, friend, mentor), as well as a great emphasis on independence and independence of thinking, practice-oriented approach and great attention to sports and health of students.

In high school (grades 6-8), students are required to study subjects such as mathematics, English, science, social sciences and physical education. Students choose one or two subjects themselves, usually foreign languages, technologies and arts.

From high school (grades 9-12) students choose their subjects more freely. Typical minimum requirements for a degree are: 1 year of study in chemistry, biology and physics; 3 years of studying mathematics; 4 years of study of literature; 2-4 years of study of the history and government of the United States; 1-2 years of physical education.

Students choose the rest of the subjects themselves. The set of subjects depends on the preference of the student and the financial situation of the school.

Grades in US schools: A / B / C / D / F, where A is the best grade, F is unsatisfactory, and D can be considered satisfactory or unsatisfactory depending on the circumstances. All marks, except F, can be appended with “+” or “-“.

After graduating from high school, students can go to university or college.

US colleges (local colleges – community college) give a 2-year education, at the end of which a “two-year degree” – associate’s degree is issued.After receiving this degree, young people can either go to work or can continue their studies further at an American university (another plus 2 years before the Bachelor’s degree).

After school, it is not necessary to go first to college, you can immediately go to an American university and, after studying there for 4 years, get a bachelor’s degree.

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree, if you wish, you can continue your studies in the United States and get a master’s degree (1.5-2 years of study) or further finish your studies to a Ph.D. (3 years or more).

Make the right choice too! And we will help you realize your dream!

90,000 Secondary education in the United States: help in choosing an institution, admission fee

Features of secondary education in the United States

In each of the 50 states of the United States, the work of schools is controlled by its own committee, so in different states, American secondary education has its own characteristics. However, there are some common points.

How do American schools differ from Russian ones?

• Duration of training – 12-13 years.
• 100-point rating scale or letter system (A is the best grade, D is the worst).
• Specialization and individual schedule for each high school student.
• Particular attention to physical development and extracurricular activities.
• Continuity between school and university.

Americans can study in public schools, private day schools, and boarding schools. Foreigners are allowed to spend only a year in a public school, therefore, children from abroad are sent for long-term education only to private schools.Usually, parents choose boarding houses where students live on the territory, in residences.

Stages of secondary education in America

Elementary school . Primary school, where children usually go at 5 years old. Zero grade is called Kindergarten, after which primary education continues for another six years. Almost all subjects are taught by one teacher, the main disciplines are arithmetic and English, the history of the region, natural sciences in an easy way.

Middle school .At the age of 11-12, children go to secondary school, where they study from grade 6 to grade 8. Several subjects are added to the compulsory disciplines to choose from.

High school . In grades 9-12, adolescents prepare for admission to the university and choose almost all subjects on their own, depending on what they want to do after school, what profession to get. High school students often have applied vocational courses to help them get their initial vocational education.

The basic 12-year school course is called the High School Diploma. After him, the graduate is ready to enter the university. The international Baccalaureate program is also taught in US schools – with its diploma, you can enter a university in any English-speaking country.

A graduate can also stay at school for one more year to take Advanced Placement, an advanced training course that gives an advantage when entering a university.

How much does it cost to attend private schools in the United States?

A year in an American boarding house costs an average of $ 25,000 to $ 50,000.dollars. Are such sums justified? Certainly. These schools employ the best teachers, and the infrastructure offers everything for learning and development – from the latest technology to sports grounds, laboratories and art studios.

In addition to serious academic training, pupils of private boarding schools in the United States go in for sports and creativity, devote a lot of time to volunteer projects, and organize study and entertainment trips for them. In any residence, children are looked after by a whole team of mentors, ensuring comfort and safety.

Why choose secondary education in America

• Modern Techniques for Strong Academic Preparation and Personal Development
• Rigorous selection of teachers and personal tutors for children
• Small classes (up to 15 people)
• Rich infrastructure: science laboratories, design studios, libraries, sports fields, swimming pools, etc.
• Variety of extracurricular activities: sports, music, art, foreign languages, craft, etc.
• Diploma with which you can enter any university

Top US Private Schools

One of the most attractive features of American boarding houses is their variety. Here are just a few schools to recommend for budding kids.

How to choose a private school in the USA

Many parents who send their child to study in the United States choose the boarding school, because this solves the issue of accommodation. These schools offer the highest levels of safety and discipline and create an environment for children to feel at home. Thanks to the quality of education that American boarding schools guarantee, their pupils enter the best universities in the world.

What should be considered when choosing a school?

• Abilities of the child. In the United States, there are many private schools with a specific bias – sports, science or creativity.
• The school’s policy towards foreigners. It is worth choosing schools that are focused on accepting students from abroad and are ready to facilitate their adaptation in the United States.
• Location of the school. Proximity to the metropolis or the coast, a closed area in the mountains or in the center of New York – you can study excellently everywhere if the environment is comfortable for the child.
• Age. Some private schools in America only accept high school students, others even five-year-olds.
• Type of training. Most boarding schools in America are coeducational schools, but there are also boys-only or girls-only schools. There are advantages in both cases.
• Living conditions. The child will spend most of the time within these walls and among these landscapes – let him be comfortable.
• Approach to teaching.American private schools usually offer their own programs in core subjects, choose their own methodology, teaching aids, etc. Therefore, it is important to understand whether the school can develop the strengths of your child.

Entry Requirements

Each American private school has its own requirements for admission. Regardless of them, you need to have translations of documents on academic performance, a certain level of English.

High school students sometimes take exams in specialized subjects, younger children are interviewed.As a rule, all tests are organized remotely. After them, you need to get a student visa.

How to prepare for admission to a private American school?

Preparation for admission to a private school in the United States lasts at least a year. The process includes the selection of a boarding house, collection and submission of documents, raising the language level, sighting, preparation for departure.

Often, such a school is a step before entering an American university, and with this stage it is better not to delay until high school.It’s good if the child has time to get used to the new education system, to improve the language and academic knowledge, and then fully prepare for the university. To do this, it is worth starting training in an American boarding school from high school, at the age of 12-13.

Admission to a boarding school in the USA with Allterra Education

Among American boarding schools, there is sure to be one that is perfect for your child. It is the task of parents and study abroad consultants to find it.Allterra Education specialists will help you find a school based on your capabilities and plans, apply, organize the enrollment process, endorsement and departure. Learn more about private schools in the USA in consultation.

Counseling on secondary education in America is free. Call

• in Moscow: +7 (495) 510-6445
• in St. Petersburg: +7 (812) 313-6445
• free call within Russia: +7 (800) 700-6435

American Schooling | History of new Russia

The difference between a philosopher and an engineer is “100 thousand dollars a year”

School education in the United States is very different – free and paid, religious and civic, good and bad.There are rich and poor schools, and teachers’ salaries vary widely across states. Almost anywhere in the country, you can find a school that suits your taste and income. The only question is the price and the time that will have to be spent for the child to get into it by the beginning of the lessons. Yellow school buses carry only public school students. Many private schools also have their own buses, but the parents of the students of expensive private schools, as a rule, drive them themselves, sometimes they unite and draw up schedules.

Good schools exist where residents pay high local taxes, including on real estate.In areas with good schools, there are better-off Americans; in areas with poor schools, there are low-income Americans. As a result, a good, prestigious public school increases the value of real estate and attracts people with a high level of income. They pay substantial taxes to the local treasury, which is a big plus for the school. She can pay higher salaries to teachers, repair premises more often, etc. Breaking through this financial and educational circle is difficult.

In order to somehow equalize the level of education, the city authorities periodically review the school zones, yellow buses in many cities began to carry children from poor areas to schools in wealthy areas.On the contrary, it is naturally not practiced. By the way, in poor areas there are inexpensive private schools, usually of a religious orientation. But many local parents do not have the money to send their children to them. And if they did, they would move to wealthy neighborhoods with good, free public schools. And they move – just for the sake of a better school.

In other words, America is a land of opportunities, but you and only you must decide for yourself to take advantage of them. The state is not your assistant here.Then your children will thank you or ask indignantly why you have done so little to ensure that they receive a decent education. Therefore, most Americans do not skimp on education. Many American families start saving money for the education of their children even before they are born by creating special education accounts that are tax-free. To a large extent, the border between “bad” and “good” parents is based on the educational qualifications of children, according to what school they graduated from, what university or college they entered.

In America, there is no federal law on compulsory general education, there are no state requirements and uniform standards for the level and quality of knowledge. Education and the right to it are not mentioned in the Constitution. You can’t force an American to learn. It is believed that it is more important to create the widest possible opportunities for those who really want to learn, to give them the opportunity to show their creativity and abilities, than to row everyone to the one comb that is obligatory for everyone. And life itself will force a person to get an education, to constantly improve it, to raise qualifications.This is what happens in the United States. A tough, competitive system that requires constant attention to the level of education and professional qualities is closely connected with the labor market, with salaries and taxes. Although freedom of choice has a downside – the level of illiteracy in the United States is higher than in most developed countries and in Russia, many adults do not really know how to read or count …

The goals of the Russian and American education systems are different. This applies not only to secondary schools, but also to colleges and universities.The traditional European education system, which worked in the USSR and is largely preserved in Russia, is aimed at educating an intelligent and well-educated person who knows “a little about everything” that is supposed to know in the modern world, and is able to maintain a shallow conversation on almost any topic. Rather, it is called education.

The American education system is pragmatic, its goal is the maximum life, professional success of a person. It prepares narrow, high-class specialists who are able to independently work as much as possible at the world level, but not widely educated intellectuals, as in Russia.Of course, not all Americans reach the top level, but the system gives them that opportunity. Exaggerating, we can say that the American education system goes in depth, and the Russian one – in breadth.

An educated American cannot endlessly maintain a conversation with an educated Russian on an unlimited range of topics. His actual knowledge will be exhausted relatively quickly. Hence the widespread but unfair stereotype about the poor education of Americans. But in the professional field, Americans show a complete and deep knowledge of the subject, are able to independently make decisions, take responsibility for themselves and be responsible for the results.

Director of the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore Vadim Gushchin, who graduated from the Pirogov Medical University in Moscow and left for the United States in the late 1990s: “Although I had a red diploma and a Lenin scholarship, there was nothing to retrain. I learned everything anew. The volumes of knowledge are incomparable. In America, they are taught to extract information according to certain principles. You may not know something about the patient – he forgot to say, but you know exactly how to get information and how to interpret it.It’s a big shock when you read foreign textbooks. They do not say that stomach cancer should be treated this way and that, as it was said in Soviet textbooks. Here they write: such and such studies were carried out, which showed that if you do this, you will get one result, if that way – another. And you yourself are already conjecturing which situation is preferable to you. It’s strange at first, uncomfortable, but when you master the ability to make critical decisions, everything falls into place. The main thing is that every doctor should know why, on what grounds the standards were written.I have seen many translations of European standards in Russia, but this is useless: in order to understand them, doctors must read scientific literature. This is a very big job. Everyone in America and Europe does it. ”

In other words, education should provide high professionalism, the ability to make decisions and be responsible for their consequences. But such an education is entirely in the personal interests of the American student. The system gives him the opportunity to excel professionally in life. Whether he takes this opportunity or not is his own business.His success, monetary income, and standard of living depend on this. In Russia, there is no such connection between life and education. In Russia, intellectuals leave educational institutions, in the USA – specialists. In the United States, getting an education is a purely practical and utilitarian thing; in Russia, education is a part of a person’s spiritual self-awareness, a way to gain universal approval and respect. What’s better? In the USA they joke: “What is the difference between a philosopher and an engineer? At 100 thousand dollars a year. ”

One can argue why the Russians do not want to use the American experience.America’s position is clear: it makes no sense for a market state to spend money and time on the mass training of well-educated intellectuals, the market needs specific specialists, even if only for “two or three movements.” Then, with his own money and in his free time, an American can supplement his education with something not particularly practical. And 50-year-old doctors and lawyers, entrepreneurs and engineers go back to colleges, take purely humanitarian classes – from the history of literature to the theory of photography, from medieval philosophy to the culture of black and white cinema.But they do it already in the wake of their success, including money, and without an ambitious professional goal.

American educational institutions provide this opportunity for people of mature age. Prior to that, the minds of Americans have a different value: “education is a way to strengthen yourself in life, to earn more than those around you; this is your competitive advantage, your personal safety. ” Advertisements for American schools, colleges, universities are full of comparative data on how much more a person earns in his life with a particular level of education.Americans say: “You can lose money, housing, family, health, but not education. This is your eternal capital, in which it is not a pity to invest, because the return on it will be until the end of your life. ”

Elementary to High School

At school, Americans are laid the foundations of national and political culture, worldview, values ​​that will remain with a person for life. Everything that they then believe in and with the help of which they evaluate the world around them. Without understanding this American measurement scale, it is impossible to understand the American dream, American politics, or American logic of thought.

Primary school. Children aged 6 to 11 (grades 1-5) study here. As in Russia, there is only one teacher per class (although there are exceptions). The composition of the primary classes is usually “shuffled” every year in order, on the one hand, to give students the experience of social adaptation, on the other, to identify more capable students and teach them according to advanced programs. Recently, in many school districts, secondary schools have practiced mixing in the same classroom students from strong and weak schools, from prosperous and bad areas.Parents of children from good schools in this matter, somehow not in an American way, have almost no words. Their maximum influence is manifested in the election of the head of the school district and school administration.

In America, primary school students are often seated not at their desks, but directly on the floor in a specially designated part of the room. There they read books, show films and conduct group exercises. This change of scenery makes it possible to sit next to friends, who are usually at the other end of the room.Children can sit on the “ice” floor, while they are happy, they are not bored. Not boring is another important component of school education in the United States. Each class project, assignment or test takes no more than 15 minutes, after which the teacher switches the activity of the children. They form new groups, move around the classroom, sit at different desks or on the floor.

In this way, Americans instill in the child an interest and a desire to learn, even if at the expense of a decline in the quality and effectiveness of specific school lessons.In terms of the volume and quantity of knowledge, Russian (and formerly Soviet) schools are significantly ahead of American ones. However, a significant part of the graduates of the American school, having in their heads incomparably less knowledge and skills than the average Russian student, knows how, and most importantly, they want and are ready to study further.

Primary schools in the United States are overwhelmingly good, give a pretty decent education, children like the learning process, including foreigners. Secondary schools vary markedly in quality, with the peak being reached in high school.

High School covers grades 6-7, and in some states grades 6-8 or even 9. In some school districts, high school is divided into middle school (grades 6-7) and junior high school (grades 8-9). The secondary school is attended by children aged 11 to 14 years. Often, graduates from several independent elementary schools in the same district are consolidated into one high school, although in some states, elementary and secondary schools are administratively combined into primary, or “core,” schools in the district.That is, education in secondary school takes 3-4 years.

In secondary schools, as in Russia, subject teachers teach. The program includes compulsory sports training. Sports are given special attention from creche to college. Talented young athletes receive bonuses (including financial ones) in the learning process, and high schools and universities track them and lure them into their place, tempting them with better study conditions and potential career advantages.

Senior (higher) school – 9-12 grades, age of students from 15-18 years old, training lasts 4 years.Those who graduated from it have completed secondary education, or “education of the second stage.” In most of these schools, specialization in subjects begins, students themselves choose the lessons they attend, in addition to compulsory subjects. True, secondary subjects (singing, drawing, housekeeping) are chosen by pupils already in secondary school.

In high school, students try to express themselves as actively as possible in extracurricular activities that emphasize their interests and talents (sports, student newspaper, “debate” teams, amateur theater, computer games).This activity helps to get into college, you can count on receiving financial assistance from it upon admission. Especially appreciated are those who managed to organize something real (hobby group, yard sports team), who showed leadership and civic qualities. Those who volunteered for community service, especially outside of school (helping nursing homes or animal shelters, visiting the sick, or working in free cafeterias for the homeless) are gladly recruited by universities that specialize in reproducing the American elite and political class.

Values ​​and Morals Inspired in Americans Since Childhood

USA is a “salad bowl” where racial and ethnic relations, their history are closely intertwined. No one in the world feels these realities more than the Americans themselves. This is the basis for the existence of a united United States. Therefore, from an early age, parents, school and the whole life around them teach the American to get along as much as possible with people around him who are different from him.

Paradoxically, for all their notorious individualism, from childhood, Americans value sociability, trust, generosity, tolerance, patience, and the ability to empathize above all else.Already the very first stage of American education is aimed at developing a collective attitude among children, the ability not only to tolerate others, but also to respect them, to work with them.

In order to teach children to live in harmony with classmates who differ from them, to work together, group lessons are practiced in primary and secondary schools. Pupils are not sitting at desks, but at tables with 3-5 others. During the academic year, the distribution of seats changes several times. The group includes schoolchildren with different abilities, preparation and motivation.Successful people pull up those who are lagging behind, often to their detriment. The consolation is that “the student’s leading position in the group helps him develop leadership qualities.” Most successful American politicians have shown leadership qualities in school. Other children, without protesting, become “led” and try to prove themselves in other spheres – professional, sports, creative.

The American duality manifests itself in the use of the group approach: the desire to simultaneously strengthen the unity of the group and strengthen the individuality of each of its members.This is the main contradiction of the entire American social structure – the contradiction between the individualism of a person, the protection of his private life, which Americans highly value, and the cohesion of society, which has (in contrast to the Russian) a stable consensus on the main issues of life.

From the 1st grade, and sometimes from kindergarten, children are taught that society consists of different people, united by certain characteristics or a common history, and everyone has a goal – to independently achieve success in the freest country.It is a central part of the lifelong mentality of an American. To do this, children are taught to believe that everyone, first of all , deserves equal access to the opportunity to express themselves in any area they choose; secondly , everyone can succeed if they put in the effort. In other words, we are talking about equal opportunities guaranteed by the political and economic system of the United States.

Of course, in reality this is not entirely true. Everyone has different starting opportunities. Especially financial, which is reflected in the different quality of schools.But even here, American children are quickly made aware that this difference in starting conditions is due to the fact that parents of some children worked harder to achieve success, worked harder, or tried to maximize their creativity. And other parents managed to achieve much less in life, so their children have worse starting conditions. But American morality teaches that this is not a reason to relax. On the contrary, today’s children must compensate for the relative failures of their parents with their successes and provide their children with higher starting opportunities.

Already at school in the psychology of a little American the need for constant mobilization for personal success, the idea of ​​competition with others and the dynamism of life is laid. “Children should live better than their parents, and grandchildren – better than children.” If this does not happen, then the whole country is at least marking time. And if this does not happen in a particular family, then the next generation must take on the responsibility of pulling the family out of the vicious circle.

But in practice, the poor remain poor, the rich get richer, the distance between them in the United States continues to grow.However, this moral postulate continues to “live and conquer”. Therefore, many children from poor African American families go to sports, considering this a real chance to reverse the negative family trend. Others are involved in crime for the same purpose. Moreover, in the mass culture of the United States, the images of smart, dexterous and successful criminals are strongly romanticized, and anti-government activities have always been respected, given the history of the birth of this state. Charming crooks are especially popular in the nonviolent crime field.

It must be admitted that the Americans, with all their love for the system in their souls, are romantic revolutionaries. For some of them, criminal criminal activity is the same protest against the established order in the country, in their opinion, unfair and dishonest. It is not for nothing that the mafia relocated from Italy to the United States in due time. But in recent decades, American crime has increasingly taken on traditional, purely criminal forms and incentives.

Another important thing from early childhood is laid in the American psychology – the belief in the equality of all people before the law.This is being instilled in schools as well. Under pain of severe punishment and dismissal, teachers should not choose favorites, openly prefer individual students, and be overly critical of others. Posters with rules of conduct hang on the wall in every classroom, the teacher can clearly show the disobedient child why he was reprimanded.

The American school fights against the student’s feelings of injustice or self-prejudice on the part of the teacher or school administration.Therefore, it is not a teacher who monitors the discipline, but a special employee who is able to conduct a competent conversation with the offender and determine an adequate punishment. This helps maintain an atmosphere of equality and fairness in the classroom, albeit an illusory one. American teachers hide their negative emotions in every possible way – only benevolence, understanding, love, sympathy, empathy. Children learn from teachers that they should always smile, show interest in another person (even if only demonstratively), overcome their negative emotions and never show them in public.

From an early age, American children are taught to be proud of their personal accomplishments and be sure to share them with others. Already the elementary school should teach the child to keep a balance between the interests of the collective and the interests of one student, yourself or someone else. How she copes with this is another matter. This delicate balance in everything and everywhere serves as the basis for the structure of internal life in America. A compromise of interests, flexibility, a system of checks and balances, in other words, the equality of different interests.

Cool Capitalism

Children in America learn early that everything around costs money, to get it, you need to make an effort, and after earning, take care and spend wisely. Schoolchildren are taught to be independent, to take care of their own and other people’s things, to take care of the class. In grades 3-5, “jobs” are offered for which a child can apply. One is responsible for cleaning the room, another is watering the plants, the third checks at the end of the day to make sure that no one has left their belongings in the closet.One of the most desirable positions is to be the “line leader”, to lead the class when he goes to the court or to the cafeteria, to make sure that no one is lagging behind and not being bullied. This duty lasts a week, then is passed on to the next child. For example, a very responsible job of a traffic controller. He is given a token, a sword belt and a wand, forced to learn and take an oath. It regulates (of course, together with an adult traffic controller) the movement of cars and pedestrians on the streets adjacent to the school. In addition, he is responsible for discipline on the school bus, feels personal responsibility, because you have to force everyone to sit while driving, pacify violators, and even communicate with their parents.

In many schools, children are paid for work in imitation currency. At the end of the year, a flea market is held in the classroom. Schoolchildren bring games, books, CDs, their own handicrafts, homemade cakes from home and put them up for “sale”. Those who have worked the most and saved money can buy more. Sometimes teachers set up a “bank” in the classroom, where children can store their savings, give them imitation checkbooks, or even debit cards with which they keep track of their expenses.Thus, children develop the skills of a responsible attitude to personal finances, get acquainted with the monetary situations that they face in the adult world. Schools actively, persistently and consistently teach children “financial capitalism”, but this has little to do with “money blackmail” in exchange for good grades and behavior. Children quickly learn that it is in their own long-term interest to learn well. They do not expect any additional reward.

Another thing is that many parents encourage their children to help around the house, clean their room, take out the trash, mow the grass, wash the car, help set the table for a certain amount of money.Babysitters who sit with small children are paid. Parents give their children personal credit cards with a limited limit, such as $ 200–300 per month. The card cancels pocket money. Children decide for themselves how to spend this money, what to spend it on, how to get a loan from a credit company, how to pay off debts. The child develops an important skill in planning their finances.

Private territory begins with a school locker

Unlike the first years in school, when fundamental American values ​​are being taught to children, the adolescent stage is in a “crisis management” mode.The emphasis is on discipline and self-discipline, on the ability to resolve conflicts and make the right decisions and options for action. High school – the transition from the state of “cheese rolling in oil” to “sandpaper”. Middle and high school provide a good understanding of how Americans feel about discipline and punishment, freedom and authority, individualism and conformity.

This is where individualism, independence, and the famous American sense of ownership begin to emerge most.It is developed in a little American from the first years of life and dominates throughout his life. America is not only a country of well-established and well-protected property, but also an excellent example of the realization of private property as the sacred foundation of liberal democracy.

In high school, in the 6th grade, for the first time, children have for the first time not just a theoretical understanding of the right to property and its importance for a sense of personal freedom, but a practical sense of “their own property”: their school locker is a locker (to lock), individual schedule, your own style of communication with teachers and administration, your own company of friends.Lockers store notebooks, textbooks, sports uniforms, clothes, personal belongings, diaries, which they cannot entrust to a writing desk in their room at home for fear of being seen by their parents or curious brothers. Often they also serve as a mailbox.

Lockers make life easier for students, without them heavy backpacks would be overwhelming, and make life difficult for school administrators who care about drugs and weapons stored there. Since a locker is a small piece of private property protected by laws and American morality in a building that is a public place, the administrator has to constantly weigh which is more important – the need for a search or the student’s right to privacy?

In 1985, the US Supreme Court even expressed its opinion on this matter.He decided that school safety and order outweighed the student’s individual privacy rights. The decision came after a case in New Jersey. There, teachers, finding a student with a cigarette in the toilet, searched her bag and found marijuana. She was expelled from school. Numerous defenders of her rights have appeared. The dispute reached the Supreme Court. It does not accept all cases for consideration, and the queues for consideration are long. But this question seemed to the court to be significant, since it concerned the most important characteristic of American life – its private, closed nature, on the one hand, and security problems that are increasingly worrying American society, on the other.

The Supreme Court ruled that school administrators can search lockers, bags and backpacks if they think there is a good reason to do so, which angered students, their parents and advocates. After repeated scandals, clear rules were established describing situations when the administration has the right to check the property of a student. These rules do not depart from the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable or unfounded searches and seizures of property.Now, prior to searching a locker, school administrators must reasonably justify and confidently assume that it contains material proving that the owner of the locker has violated school rules. During a search, administrators are obliged to behave reasonably, not to check things beyond what is necessary, for example, not to read personal letters, if this is not related to the purpose of the search. Searches are an extraordinary and relatively rare occurrence.

In any case, a locker is a purely personal space of a student. It fosters respect for private property and privacy in the society in which the child lives.This feeling will remain with him for life and determine his attitude to the world around him, government, and the media. And in the family life of Americans, there are areas that are not “common property” of the spouses (separate accounts and investments, property rights and shares in business, which the other half often do not know about). In the United States, private property and privacy are protected from different sides, if required, and from a spouse. Getting used to it starts at school.

In the aftermath of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act passed by the United States Congress hit hard on this primordial American value.For the first time, the Americans, shocked by what had happened, allowed lawmakers to limit privacy for the sake of increasing security … Terrorist attacks changed the fundamental foundations of the American way of life and thinking, attitude towards the world around them. After the events of September 11, 2001, American children, adolescents and young adults learned that the world does not really like their country and its foreign policy, does not admire American values. This understanding made them think that something was wrong with America and needed some work.But it influenced much more the tolerance of Americans who grew up after 2001. It is more aggressive and suspicious of other countries and people, less open to the world. Today these people make a significant contribution to the situation of general instability, mistrust and paranoia. But the main thing is that America has become less democratic, its state structures are increasing legal and sometimes illegal pressure on American society …

Crime and Punishment

Respect for privacy, freedom of behavior of students in the classroom, equal relations between students and teachers do not cancel punishment for violation of discipline.In lower grades, children are not severely punished, they are temporarily removed from the group, and sometimes they are forced to write an apology for an insult. Any unkind word spoken against a person or group of people who may not even be present in the class is considered an insult.

For example, in the 5th grade we read an illustrated book about Australia. When they reached the page with a photograph of an Aboriginal girl, the student loudly exclaimed that she was scary. After that, she had to sit down at a separate table and write to the girl from the illustration a letter of apology and remorse for her words.Judging by her recollections, she has learned forever that it is not good to speak out about the appearance of others. In America, this is considered one of the “golden rules” of etiquette and political correctness, not only for children, but also for adults.

But there is no punishment for cheating and hints widespread in Russia. This is not what American schoolchildren do. Of course, they cheat and help a friend before class, but in class it’s unthinkable. This is a consequence of the individualism of American life, school competition, the organization of classroom activities, which destroys the very basis of cheating and prompting – sooner or later, schoolchildren with different levels of ability and perseverance end up in different classes or study groups.

The schools are constantly leveling the level of students studying together in the same program and at the same speed. Those who are ahead move to a more advanced group, those who lag behind go to the rearguard. There are slightly advanced and highly advanced classes that provide the student with hours of future college or university credit. A student can get into an advanced class in one or two subjects, and remain in the general class for the rest. That is, the American school does not make “complete excellent students”, but gives the opportunity to focus on subjects that are interesting to the student for his future career and for which he has clear abilities.

Since tests and exams are taken on computers, where you can easily mix up the order of questions and answers for different students, it makes no sense to look into a neighbor’s computer. He has different questions and a different order of answers. “A true American friend, regardless of his personal affairs, will work with you to prepare for your graduation tests and will spend as much time on it as you need. A real Russian friend will simply give you all the answers to the test questions as soon as the opportunity arises, and regardless of whether you asked for it. “

However, the American school has enough problems with other disciplinary violations. Pupils are imprisoned: forced to stay at school for several hours after the end of the school day, come to school on weekends to “serve” their sentences, locked in a special room – a soft personal “prison” … A study in the state of Texas found that almost 60 % of middle and high school students have been detained at least once after school, temporarily suspended from attending classes, or dropped from school altogether.The study directly linked these disciplinary practices to low high school graduation rates and higher crime rates among former students in the state. Schoolchildren from ethnic minorities received more severe punishment than whites.

“School-prison pipeline”, or “discipline tablet”

There is a direct link between harsh and frequent punishment of children or expulsion from school (often found in poor school districts) and an increased level of crime.This is the so-called “school-prison pipeline”: many students from public schools in poor areas are sent to correctional facilities for juveniles or adult criminals. These children already have special educational needs and disabilities and suffer at home from poverty, violence or parental negligence. Instead of providing them with additional education and counseling services (for which schools in poor areas do not have enough money), schools isolate, punish and exclude them – push them back into the environment that is the source of their underdevelopment and bad behavior.

The American school system finds no way out of this vicious circle. And he is unlikely to find, for he repeats a similar circle, covering the entire American society. The “school-prison pipeline” is just a particular example of it. The poor in their areas pay little taxes because they earn little. Few taxes mean bad hospitals, police, schools with teachers whose salaries do not encourage them to study hard. There are no opportunities for children living in such places to receive a full-fledged education, preventive work with them or provide them with options for spending their free time.The most fortunate ones choose themselves from this situation through sports or some kind of talent, luck or chance. Most go further in a circle: connections with criminal structures, prison, poor life, poor housing and social conditions for new children.

The “school-prison pipeline” problem is directly related to the “zero tolerance” policy adopted by schools after the tragic shooting at Columbine in 1999: zero tolerance for the slightest violation of school rules, increasing the severity of punishment and rapid expulsion from school.Policemen appeared in school buildings, students began to be arrested more often for violations of discipline, which the school itself had dealt with earlier (for example, for fighting or carrying penknives). African-American and Hispanic schoolchildren are most often the victims of such disciplinary methods.

These trends reflect the traditional American ambivalence over where the line between freedom and personal responsibility lies, between discipline and punishment. As opponents of “zero tolerance” say, police cannot teach discipline to children at school.Parents are responsible for this. teachers, school psychologists and other staff. But in American schools, as in the country as a whole, the use of the police force, the court and the prison system is considered a routine disciplinary method. America resorts to it immediately and immediately, instead of leaving them to last resort, giving people the opportunity to learn from what happened and, perhaps, improve.

School Psychologists and Attention Deficit Disorder

Americans are convinced that your personal problems should remain in your personal life, going out into society, be so kind as to keep them to yourself.Society is not responsible for them. Therefore, schools show little patience for those who violate discipline, prevent others from learning, even if they have serious and objective reasons for this, which they themselves are not able to overcome. “If other children can behave well, then the naughty child has simply made a personal decision to behave badly and does not deserve the extra attention and energy of the teachers.” He is now the concern of psychologists and law enforcement officers. School psychologists, who are called counselors, are present in schools from elementary grades, but they are most in demand in middle and high schools, when students have serious problems with drug and alcohol use, depression and aggressiveness.

In the last 20 years, psychologists and psychoanalysts have supplanted lawyers. If earlier, in the event of a conflict, an American turned to a lawyer, now he first visits a psychoanalyst, who tries to explain to him not only the reasons for the conflict, but also everything that was wrong in his life almost from birth. Having withdrawn a certain amount of money, the therapist retreats sooner or later – and the American still goes to a lawyer.

Americans are convinced that prolonged fatigue, bad mood, unwillingness to communicate with others, family problems and conflicts, and indeed any antisocial behavior, are signs of a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be corrected with the help of medicine.The same applies to learning difficulties or cravings for discipline. If a child does not study well, cannot sit still, it is difficult for him to read, mathematics is not given, then, of course, he has attention deficit disorder. Such children cannot be punished, they must be treated. And a growing number of schoolchildren are taking medication for psychological disorders.

It turned out that the level of diagnosing attention deficit disorder in school districts is higher in those states where school funding depends on test results.In other words, when schools are given financial incentives to improve academic performance, their students are most likely to have attention deficit disorder and prescribe medication for treatment. On the one hand, schools need funding to teach children well, on the other hand, they need to have good students in order to receive it.

Four years of fierce competition – to stand out from the others

The most intensive phase begins in the 9th grade of high school. For the first time, the student gets the opportunity to truly personalize his school curriculum and, within the framework of general requirements, choose subjects that are most suitable for his interests and abilities.All four years of study pass in continuous and fierce competition with classmates and with all high school students in the country for the highest places in the academic rank. In America, the Grade Point Average (GPA) is used – from 0.0 to 4.0. The enrollment of the applicant to the university depends on it, especially to the prestigious one (Harvard, Yale, Princeton). So, the average academic score of applicants to Harvard University is 4.03, it accepts only 6% of applicants. But a high score is not enough.

Schoolchildren try to stand out from their peers in two ways.

Get into “advanced classes” in various subjects (advanced placement classes). Academic extremals are recorded in them. Participation in such classes is not a formal requirement for admission, but in practice, without successfully completing at least one “advanced course”, an applicant cannot immediately get into a decent university. Advanced class programs reflect the fundamental American belief that diligence, patience, and personal initiative are key to success.If a high school student was not afraid of the difficulties of such a class, he challenged himself, thereby demonstrating his approach to life, to further studies and career. Such people are more readily accepted into universities and then work. Their starting salaries are higher and they are growing faster.

The credit points obtained after successfully passing the exams are counted on admission, graduates can legally skip the general introductory lectures at the university, which are required for all students, and take more in-depth courses at once.Parents have a positive attitude to the possibility of their children to get free credit points at school, for which they then have to pay at the university.

Schools also like to offer such classes – the percentage of their graduates who enter prestigious universities and, in general, universities immediately after graduation is increasing. This important indicator increases the prestige of the school among parents and local authorities. And universities get the opportunity to unload their massive compulsory courses and build their curriculum more dynamically.

Actively participate in extracurricular activities and extracurricular activities. At the same time, it is important to choose the right ones, depending on which university the graduate will enter (sports, art, social life, etc.). Many are involved in school or local youth government – this activity reflects, in particular, leadership qualities. There are high school leadership circles throughout America.

In high school, teenagers are united according to specific characteristics (club of young African American entrepreneurs, club of Indian dances, Latin American union of schoolchildren, Russian community, religious clubs, clubs of young democrats, young republicans, young independent, clubs for human rights, women’s rights, gays, clubs conservationists).Almost all American politicians went through such clubs in their youth, many of them became their leaders and earned their first political capital. The practice of uniting, depending on their interests, characteristics, values, views, gives students an idea of ​​how the political system of the United States and the diverse American civil society function. In part, this system resembles the Soviet Komsomol, but in the United States such clubs and organizations are much more independent in their activities and in the development of internal rules and norms.

A good way to increase your attractiveness for the university is to be a member of a sports team, show your ability to fulfill long-term commitments, interact with other people, and fight for the victory of the team, not just yours. Sports are the most popular activity for American schoolchildren. High school sports teams are as famous among the local population as university and even professional ones. Their matches are shown on local TV channels, newspapers write about them, the stars of school teams are local celebrities, and their coaches and managers receive solid salaries that are significantly higher than the average for the region.The head coach of a varsity football or baseball team is paid at least the salary of the university president. It’s the same in schools.

Particularly gifted athletes can count on automatic university admission and financial aid to pay for their education. American colleges with strong athletic teams and traditions actively maintain their athletic rankings and each year recruit student players who are willing to pay big bucks for them. The sports fame of a university and even a school in the United States is easily converted into an influx of sponsors, an increase in the prestige of a diploma and fame.Schools and colleges often significantly soften the educational requirements for sports students, they are accommodating in the assignment of grades so that they are not fired from the team due to academic failure. And this is where the commercialism of the American educational system is manifested. Education is not a duty, not a charity, but a business.

Anything that demonstrates to others the ability of a student to write interestingly, express his thoughts and observations, talk with people (editorial, journalistic and publishing activities – in a school newspaper or magazine, on a school website or radio, in an annual class and school book) is also popular.The desire and ability to help others free of charge (work as a volunteer in a hospital, shelter for the poor or homeless, library, shelter for stray dogs) is appreciated. The main thing is to be different from the rest and to please the selection committee.

Americans carefully collect the acquired skills, write them down in their resume, and try to develop them. After all, you never know when this or that skill can “shoot”, any experience, skill, skill can be useful in a market economy. All this helps to “sell” oneself faster and more expensive, to increase their competitiveness and professional flexibility – an important lesson that American teens learn in high school and that stays with them for life.The ability to “sell” oneself as profitably as possible is becoming the most important characteristic of all American psychology, an indispensable part of the American dream.

And another important lesson the school drills into the American for life – in case of failure, blame only yourself, and not someone from outside. “It’s me who didn’t finish my studies, I didn’t try much, I didn’t allocate my time so well, I didn’t set my priorities so well, I didn’t do it enough, I didn’t train much.” In the USA, a childish joke is popular: “Here, knock! – Who’s there? – Your chance. – Not true. Chance does not knock twice. “

In American public schools, it is customary to ignore the socio-economic status of parents, in paid private schools it is different. The parents who pay the most for a child’s education may exert more influence and pressure on the school or district administration, but not on the teacher. The financial situation of the parents can only indirectly affect the status of the child within the school. For example, a child of wealthy parents may afford to wear fashionable clothes or be the first among classmates with their own car.The son or daughter of a sports or television star will certainly be more popular in their classes. But this does not guarantee a good relationship with teachers.

Digest: Nikolay Zlobin. Empire of Freedom: Values ​​and Phobias of American Society. Chapter 2. Character – American. Moscow: Ed. “E”, 2016.

Author: Nikolay Zlobin, American and Russian political scientist, historian, publicist, president of the Center for Global Interests (Washington).
90,000 10 main differences between American and Russian schools – Skyeng Magazine

Everything is learned in comparison.We compared two types of schools: our tricolor flies above one, the American flag flies above the other. At first, only the yellow buses, on which the students were brought, were striking. But then other differences were found: approaches to uniform textbooks, class composition and tests.

?? unified curriculum
?? methods and textbooks at the discretion of the school

It does not matter where the Russian student lives, how he studies and what he enjoys. Something about him is known for sure: in the sixth grade he will study “Taras Bulba” and pore over the spelling of pronouns with “not” and “no.”Domestic standards are unified, themes and literary works are rigidly tied not only to classes, but also to academic hours.

There is no single educational plan in America. There is a certain core, there is even a more or less general strategy developed by the state administration. However, the teacher is free to choose any textbook, experiment with methods, and may even give up Taras Bulba altogether.

?? general program for all
variable programs for different levels

In Russia, children study according to the same program, no matter how close they are to organic chemistry.If she is in the program, teach. At the same time, the domestic teacher feels that reaching Kolya up to the top three is a personal challenge and a matter of honor.

In the States, the principle “if necessary, Kolya will take it himself.” Nobody bothers anyone there. From the third grade, American students take state tests. If the teacher notices that Kolya has shown outstanding abilities, he will be sent for an additional test, after passing which he will have the opportunity to study additionally under the “Gift and talented” program for gifted children.In addition, in the United States there are different levels of education, and from high school, each student chooses courses from the sciences he likes best. So that it turns out that the whole year a person went to physical education and life safety, there is a requirement: a certain number of hours must be devoted to lessons from each group of subjects, that is, sciences, languages, art, and so on.

At Skyeng’s Skysmart Online School, we create an individual learning path for each student. Our children learn only what they need and are interested in.

Enroll your child in a free introductory lesson

Individual and group lessons in English and Mathematics

permanent class
new teachers and children appear all the time

With my friend Lenka, you can sit at the same desk up to grade 11. In the United States, Lenka can only meet on a social studies course and only if she also chooses him in high school. In American elementary grades, students are shuffled every year for better socialization.This year a bully and a fighter can sit with you, and next year he will go to poison the atmosphere in another team, and you will meet completely new guys. Teachers change, too: you don’t go all the way in grade A, you move from Mrs. Stewart’s first grade to Mr. Johnson’s second grade.

one building for elementary and high school
elementary, middle and high school – different institutions

In Russia, everything seems to hint at stability: people walk the same corridors for 11 years, but nothing changes in the teacher’s room …American schoolchildren were less fortunate. They all the time need to get to different places, at least three different buildings: elementary school (elementary) schools from grades 0 to 5, middle (middle) from grades 6 to 8 and senior (high school) from 9 by 12.

?? the school has nothing to do with housing in your area
school rating affects the price of real estate

In Russia, bad and good schools are formed quite chaotically: then an enthusiastic teacher will open a unique elective and lure all the surrounding botanists, then the head teacher-tyrant, turned on physical education, will disperse all the clever people who are not able to pull themselves up on the horizontal bar three times.Moreover, all domestic schools are financed from the general budget. It’s good that you can always send your child to school in another area, where it seems like strong mathematics.

In the United States, you cannot come to a school outside the place of registration. And the school itself is fed from the local budget, which is determined by the taxes of the residents of the area. Thus, specially selected teachers with good salaries end up in a prestigious school, pupils’ parents have a similar level of income, and all around them are expensive housing.

?? collectivism
respect for the individual

The American school is turned on personal boundaries.Respect for them is constantly being spoken about, and zero tolerance for bullying or physical abuse has been declared. For an unsuccessful saichka, you can fly out of school.

The Russian school does not pay attention to such trifles, the teachers will not sound the alarm because of the footboard, but rather say something like “We guys have a friendly class!”. By the way, in the friendly class they heard little about privacy. The situation is wild for foreigners: at the parent meeting, the assessments of all children are announced publicly, and they even say that “Tanya doesn’t manage to count verbally at all”.

?? breaks for 10-15 minutes
almost no change

In our country, an ordinary break lasts 10 minutes, and a big one – as many as 20. Sanitary rules and regulations prohibit breaks less than 10 minutes, because during this time it is impossible to rest, move around, stretch stiff legs.

In America, with the changes, everything is sad: at the beginning of the day, everyone has to sit at a meeting-meeting, at which birthday people are congratulated and plans for the day are announced. American schoolchildren also have a 20-minute lunch break.And between lessons you have to be content with a miserable four minutes, which is only enough to run to your closet and change your textbooks. Americans believe that big changes are not needed: at the beginning, children do not sit at their desks for the whole lesson, but move freely in space. flexible classrooms are in vogue, that is, transforming study spaces where you can work even on fitballs, even on a rug on the floor, even in hammocks.

?? five-point grading system
differentiated system

Distant relatives of Russian schoolchildren are often interested in whether he has a poor student by chance.We are accustomed to a five-point system and we know who has a physics troban here. In the US, in fact, the picture is the same: the letters A, B, C, and D represent passing scores in order of worsening. The role of the unit is assigned to the letter E. But the difference is that American teachers do not rate the entire subject with a three: the score is divorced according to competencies. For example, we would give Vasya five for the oral count, three for the ability to draw triangles, and four for practicing speed problems.

In the United States, instead of a triple by language, you will receive separate grades for spelling, punctuation and reasoning of the statement.In middle and high school, teachers are more likely to give not a grade, but a percentage of work done. You can safely answer a visiting relative that you divide into a column by about 76%.

?? regular school not for everyone
inclusion

In our country, there are correctional schools, boarding schools or separate classes for children with physical or psychological disabilities.

In America, the principle “everyone has the right to education” is implemented in practice. In regular classes, hearing impaired children, autistic children, schoolchildren in wheelchairs or with Down syndrome study.Teachers talk a lot about integration, about how we are all different and special personalities. If necessary, the school assigns an additional adult assistant who helps the child to adapt in the classroom, meets him or accompanies him to the cafeteria. The right for every child to have access to education also extends to visitors: even if you are only six months in the United States on a visa, your child will be taken to a local school, and English for foreigners will be offered as an additional subject.

?? Day of Knowledge with gladioli
no September 1st at all

Every year on September 1st, Russian children stand on a ruler and hide behind someone’s white bows and gladioli.The director makes a speech into the microphone. Parents secretly wipe away a tear. Everything looks terribly exciting and solemn. American students have not heard of such a holiday – Knowledge Day. For some, studies begin in August, for others in early September. They can come to school not only without flowers and bows, but even in a Spider-Man costume.

School in the USA and Russia: Common and Differences | by Nata Shama

Russian education is considered by some to be much better than American education, while others – shamelessly worse, and there is no third.While the rivalry between countries continues, let’s sort out the difference point by point.

Approach to learning

Russia is proud of its general education system, built on the Soviet methodology for the comprehensive development of youth. In contrast to the Russian approach of “giving everyone equal knowledge,” Americans have relied on individualized education within the general course. Children in the United States are encouraged to learn what is interesting and be responsible for their choices.

The entire Russian education system is controlled from one “command center” and is subject to the general standards of the Ministry of Education.In the United States, there are directives from above, but vital rules and regulations are determined for themselves by each state. The schools themselves have much more freedom, especially the private ones. They can change the program at their discretion, adhering only to the general standards of final exams and norms for credits (the number of courses taken).

In Russia, all students study according to a single school curriculum with a specific curriculum plan. Some schools have advanced study subjects. In the United States, every middle and high school student chooses a course from the subjects they like best.For development to remain comprehensive, children must gain sufficient hours in subject groups. For example, take three courses in science a year, four courses in English, three in mathematics, and one in arts.

9 out of 10 Americans attend free public schools. 1 in 10 studies in private. Private school students usually have university admission privileges, but it all depends on the child’s efforts. A small percentage of children are homeschooled because of religion or parental fear that the child will end up in a bad environment.In Russia, 0.23% of private schools, the level of education in them is one of the lowest in private schools in the world.

It is realistic for an American graduate to enter Princeton or another elite university if he studied well and scored the required number of points and credits. The system of admission is honest, open and everything really depends on the student himself.

School time

A full course of study in a Russian school lasts 11 years, in an American school – 12 years, in addition, children can attend kindergarten if their parents have no time to sit with them.They take to a Russian school from 6 years and 6 months and up to 8 years, if there are no contraindications. They go to an American school from the age of 5-6, if without pre-school (preparatory group, kindergarten).

Both in Russia and in the United States, education is divided into three stages: primary, secondary and senior. The expense is insignificant over the years, but the types of classes for students are different.

In primary school in the United States, children have a classroom and one teacher, with whom they spend time much more freely than Russian schoolchildren.Children can walk around the classroom, sit on the floor, play, do things that are interesting, such as reading or sculpting. The teacher gives them general information about the world, teaches them to formulate their thoughts, count and write in the game. In the US, elementary school students are rarely given homework. At the same time, in Russian schools, children from the first grade are taught to perseverance and discipline. Lessons are also given, if not in the first, then in the second grade, for sure.

In secondary school, Russian children study according to the general subject curriculum, moving between classrooms all together.In the USA, students are taught compulsory subjects, but they choose part of the program for themselves. Before the beginning of the year, all students take sheets with a list of desired subjects, then the school draws up a general schedule so that it is convenient for everyone to study.

The student is in charge of the program himself, but must collect enough hours in each group of subjects: science (natural sciences), mathematics, English, humanities, physical education, art.

Already in high school, an American can choose for himself the kind of sport that he will do in physical education: football, swimming, basketball, running, etc.e. There can be several such activities, the child gets into the school team and does what he likes. You can also choose a foreign language. Usually there is an opportunity to learn French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and other languages.

In high school, the choice of subjects is repeated under the same conditions, only much more directions are given. For each subject, the student receives a certain number of credits (units). Different universities require different amounts of credits. Sometimes schoolchildren take additional loans under the complicated Advanced Placement program, at the level of the first year of the university.This allows you to enter universities at a higher level.

A school day in the United States lasts from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm or so. Toddlers start learning a little later. Most people get to school by school bus, although it does not pick up students who live near the school. High school students often drive their own cars.

A student has 6-8 lessons per day, depending on the number of subjects in the schedule. Items are usually repeated day after day, that is, five days a week. Homework assignments, starting from high school, are constantly asked, and they must be completed and taken, even if the child is missing school.

Grades

Grades for classroom work and homework are a student’s personal business in the United States. The teacher distributes the checked papers and does not announce the results to the whole class. Parents receive four report cards for their child per year.

Grades are the points that a student collects for admission to a university. People are not divided into social groups according to estimates. There is no chasm between the excellent and the unsuccessful, at least because of the points.

A student’s efforts in an American school are graded with the letters “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “F”, where F is an unsatisfactory result, close to zero in points.Sometimes pluses and minuses are added to the letters, depending on the state. An “A” score is often perceived as a special exceptional result.

Due to the different grades of letters in different states and schools, it is difficult for universities to take into account the school grades of students, so the set and number of courses taken plays an important role in admission to a university.

Upon completion of training, students take a general exam, which can be retaken as many times as necessary until the required number of points is obtained, but this is paid.Grade for it also plays a key role in admission to a university.

Usually the student has the results of the exam already in the middle of the last year of study, so in recent months only very enthusiastic children are really studying.

Social communication at school

Since there is no stable classroom in American schools since the age of 11-12, children do not have a class teacher either. Only in high school does an advisor appear, whose task is to help the child enter the university correctly.Each advisor has 50-60 students, so he is not responsible for the child, like a second mother.

Schoolchildren of different ages in the United States study separately, middle and high school are divorced in different buildings, kids generally have a separate world. The breaks between lessons are short, 4–5 minutes long, and this time is spent getting to your locker, putting down textbooks from the last lesson, picking up new ones, and reaching the new class. In the middle of the day, there is a 20 minute lunch break, which is spent in the cafeteria, outside, in the schoolyard, etc.p. After the first lesson there is a “meeting”, when the children gather with the curator to listen to announcements, fill out questionnaires and stuff like that.

Teenagers often gather in hobby groups: theater, music, sports, discussion clubs. Additional activities take place under the guidance of a teacher, usually in the afternoon.

There is no solemn Knowledge Day in America, they begin to study after Labor Day on the first Tuesday of September, but in general there are a lot of holidays and festivals in schools.Parents are invited to all such events, except for discos. Social and cultural life is fun, and is carried out with the active participation of the schoolchildren themselves, who have the opportunity to hone the skills of the organizer, so that later, with a clear conscience, add a line in an essay for admission to a university.

In US schools, children are often friends in small groups of 3-6, which helps them gain a little stability in an ever-changing community. These groups are usually closed to new members and are isolated, there is often competition between them.

Relations with teachers in the United States are markedly formal. If an American teacher allows himself to say something like, “Have you forgotten your head at home ?!” or patting a student by the ear, there will be shock, scandal and, possibly, judgment.

Access to Knowledge

In the United States, a child is tied to a school in their area. There is no registration, but when you are admitted to school, you give receipts for a communal apartment with an address or a lease agreement to confirm that you really live here. In Russia, the school can be changed freely, and in the United States, for the same purpose, people are forced to cheat – to move, to negotiate with the owners of the house in the desired area that they will indicate their address as the main one and all that.This is due to the fact that not all schools are equally good.

Access to education is guaranteed for any child in the United States. If you are in the States for six months on a visa, it will be enough for your child to be taken to a local school for the period of stay in the country. The school provides the child with textbooks, a locker for storing things (they do not go around school with a backpack), textbooks can be taken home, but at the end of the course they must be returned. The books are good, high quality. The family buys the stationery.

Immigrant children can include English for foreigners as an additional subject.It’s a great way to learn a language quickly and for free at school.

Conclusions

The difference between Russian and American education is colossal, because the approaches differ. In Russia, they want to pump up children with knowledge, and in the USA they want to give skill templates for practical application: how to formulate an opinion, defend a point of view, and seek information.

It is difficult to judge and compare these two educational systems based on their results, but one thing is certain: sending a child to school in the United States is not scary, and he may well learn very well here.

MacDuffie School – US High School

Vitaly Tikhonov, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Yekaterinburg, in August 2013 was admitted to MacDuffie School, one of the rating schools in North America (USA and Canada). Vitaly is now in the 8th grade. In his review, he talks about his studies in America.

MacDuffie School located
in Massachusetts, between Boston and New York. Ranked in the top 100 best American schools.100%
school graduates annually over the past 15 years enter the most
prestigious universities in the world, including Harvard and Stanford
universities, as well as the universities of New York, Boston, Washington.

I flew to
America with my father at the end of August. The flight was not that hard though
and took 12 hours. At customs at Kennedy Airport in New York, we had to
to stand for a very long time – 2 or 3 hours, because the airport was overcrowded.After
after I went through all the procedures, we went to school.

MacDuffie
The School is located in the suburb of Granby, Massachusetts. It’s small and quiet
town about 30 minutes from the school, where there are quite
wealthy people .. There is little entertainment in Granby itself, therefore, so that we do not
it was boring school very often organizes trips to different places in New
England. For example, in Boston, New York, New Hampshire. For shopping we are usually taken to another city of Holyoke,
20 minutes from the school.

Near
the school has a small forest and a lake, as well as an ice cream parlor, which is very
like the students.

Territory
schools, like many private schools, are huge. True, there are few buildings – the main thing
educational building, residence, gym. We live in double rooms. there is
several rooms for 3 people. High school students from grade 10 can
get a private room. At the moment, all students in grades 11 and 12 live in the school
in single rooms.

My first
the week passed very calmly. Although I was still very nervous at first.

I took
standard subjects, since there is no choice of subjects for secondary school. IN
class of 10 people. The school is mostly American, but there are also many students with
all countries of the world, a lot of students from China and Korea. Foreign students and
some Americans from distant states live on campus. There are about 100 of them
human. Day students at school also
about 100 people, i.e.e those who live not very far from the school. They are usually
They bring them to school in the morning and pick them up in the evening.

i
I met and became very friends with almost all the guys.

Dress code
free at school. The food at school is excellent, possibly one of the best in
America. The selection usually consists of several dishes.

Lessons in
schools start at 8:00 am. There are no classes on Saturdays.

Teachers
in this school, I think they are very good.The teacher helped me to overcome the difficulties with the language,
to which I went additionally during free blocks. School itself
assigned it to me. He helps in general with everything I need help with. MacDuffie
School wins by being small
a school with great teachers. This school always gives enough
attention to students!

Racism in
this school or fights are harshly suppressed. So in this school everyone lives very
amicably, I have not seen any fights or fights during my entire stay at school.

One piece,
which be sure to pay attention to. This school is sometimes confused with the old one.
campus, which was in Springfield. Which I did, because most
sites information old! Well, the old campus was blown away by a hurricane,
therefore the school built a new, modern and very comfortable campus and moved to
Granby.