School and Schooling

Read the text 1.

– We’ve been studying at our school for 5 years and I think you’ve got your opinion about it.
– Well, I’m sure our school is a good one. It gives me the necessary knowledge. It helps me to become a well-educated person. As you know, good education develops our intelligence and widens our outlook. Do you agree with me?
– Definitely yes. At every lesson we get to know a lot of useful and curious things about nature, our Earth, and about the history of our country and other countries. It’s exciting to know more about the wide world around us.
– And our teachers are skilled. They are strict but kind. They teach us to be clever, hard-working, honest, polite, friendly. They give us good knowledge in different subjects. They try to make the lessons interesting. There are a lot of subjects on our timetable, aren’t there?
– Yes, there are. And I like many of them. For example, my favourite subjects are…
– Why do you like these subjects?
It’s interesting for me (to do sums, to read and discuss books, to sing and listen to music, to run, to jump, to compete in relay races, to play team games, to speak English, French, German, to learn to make things with my own hands, to learn to cook, to sew, to knit, to embroider, to learn about many things…). What subjects are you good at?
– I’m good at… I’m rather poor at. I have problems or troubles with (Maths, English, History…).
But I’m sure I’ll make some progress if I try my best…

Reading is a wonderful pastime that gives us an opportunity to learn a lot, to be amused and excited. As for me, I try my best to read as much as possible. Of course, I read the books which are recommended at school – Russian classics and modern literature. As our school specializes in English, we read books by American and English authors. We read some stories in English but oftener in Russian. I have a special liking for reading detectives, adventure stories, and historical novels.

WORK IN GROUPS

1. Here are different reasons why you go to school. Discuss them and say whether you agree or disagree with them.

School...

• introduces you to different sorts of people;

• helps you make your own decisions;

• helps you understand yourself better;

• makes you polite and well behaved;

• introduces you to new scientific ideas;

• helps you to use your free time sensibly;

• helps you train for a job;

• teaches you moral values;

• teaches you about your country, its history, culture and its present-day place in the world.

2. Decide which of the reasons you think is the most important.

3. Make up a dialogue.

VOCABULARY

1. Match the kinds of schools to the definitions.

1. nursery 2. kindergarten 3. primary 4. secondary 5. junior high 6. high school 7. elementary 8. college

a) a school for advanced education, especially in a particular profession b) a school in the US and Canada for children of 14 or 15 to 18 years old c) a school for children aged two to five d) a school for children who are between three and five years old e) a school for children between the ages of 11 and 16 or 18 f) a school for children between five and 11 years old in England g) a school in the US and Canada for children aged between 12 and 14 or 15 h) a school in the US for the first six years of a child’s education

Key: l. d; 2. c; 3. f; 4. e; 5. g; 6. b; 7. h; 8. a

2. Match the jobs with their meanings.

1. teacher 2. tutor 3. lecturer 4. professor 5. instructor 6. coach 7. trainer 8. head teacher

a) the teacher who is in charge of a school b) a teacher at a university or college c) someone who gives private lessons to one student or a small group d) someone who teaches a sport or practical skill e) someone whose job is to teach, especially in a school f) someone who gives lectures, especially in a university g) someone who trains a person or team in a sport h) someone who trains people or animals for sport or work

Key: l. e; 2. c; 3. f; 4. b; 5. d; 6. g; 7. h; 8. a

3. Match the words with their meanings.

1. student 2. pupil 3. freshman 4. sophomore 5. junior 6. senior 7. graduate 8. postgraduate

a) a student in their last year of high school or university b) a student who is in the second year of study at a college or high school c) a student in the first year of high school or university d) someone who is studying at a university, school e) someone who is being taught, especially a child f) a student in the year before the final year of high school or college g) someone who is studying at a university to get a master’s degree h) someone who has completed a university degree

Key: 1. d; 2. e; 3. c; 4. b; 5. f; 6. a; 7. h; 8. g

4. Write the words teacher, coach, trainer, referee, instructor in the sentences.

1. The _____________ made the athlete train for five hours.
2. The ________ blew his whistle to start the match.
3. Her brother works as a racehorse _________.
4. One of the players was sent off for arguing with the _________.
5. Svetlana’s the _________ of the volleyball team.
6. Do you want to be a professional teacher ______?
7. She worked as a fitness _________ in Australia.
8. Her dream was to become a primary _________.

Key: 1. coach; 2. referee; 3. trainer; 4. referee; 5. coach; 6. trainer; 7. instructor; 8. teacher

Read the text 2.

Pedro’s School Day

Pedro lives in Colombia in Central America. For him, school always starts at seven o’clock in the morning but Pedro has to leave his house at six-thirty. Do you know why? Because he wants to get a seat near the front! In Pedro’s class there are fifty students.
The students play in the playground before school starts. Some of them wear the school uniform. For boys it’s a white shirt and brown pants. For girls it’s a white blouse and brown skirt. When they arrive at school, many of the girls take off their blouses and skirts. Underneath they are wearing T-shirts and shorts. They do this because the children don’t want to get their uniforms dirty.
Before the class begins, the students usually sing one or two songs. Then they have Maths. Many of the students don’t have any textbooks. The teacher writes the questions on the blackboard and then Pedro and his friends copy them into their notebooks. When the students have all the questions, they do the problems by themselves.
Pedro’s teacher is strict and the class is always very quiet. “I like it to be quiet in class,” says Pedro.
When school is over, Pedro plays football with his friends for a little while and then goes home by bus. When Pedro gets home, he has something to eat. He usually watches cartoons on TV before he does his homework.

Answer “True”, “False”, or “I don’t know”.

1. Pedro comes from Central America.
2. School starts at seven o’clock in the morning.
3. He always wears the school uniform.
4. The school uniform is a T-shirt and blue shorts.
5. Pedro likes his math book.
6. Pedro’s teacher is not strict.
7. Pedro likes working quietly in class.
8. He plays soccer after school.
9. He goes home from school by car.
10. He plays football when he comes home.