Tuesday, September 21, 2010

British vs. American

As an American who is now teaching at a British school, this is my comparison of the two systems and cultures...

The Brits love to socialize, and it's considered more important to go out for drinks than to work oneself to death.

Americans value working hard above hanging out with co-workers. They even have a name for it, "workaholic".

The British school system is very structured, with the "time table" (schedule) given to teachers.

The American system gives teachers a lot of responsibility and they create their own schedules in the classroom (for the most part).

The UK has a national curriculum.

The US has state curriculum.

The UK and US systems do a lot of testing these days!

The British system has more checks and balances for their teachers, putting more responsibility on the school rather than the teacher.

The American system is trying to have more checks and balances (No Child Left Behind), but haven't figured out how to balance responsibility yet. (Opinion of course.)

British teachers spell "artefact" and "colour".

American teachers spell "artifact" and "color".

British teachers in Kenya have a drink on campus.

American teachers have to wait until happy hour.

The Brits have lots of holidays. Long holiday breaks.

The Americans don't know how to take a break, and most of them think there is too much vacation for schools. Learn to take a break!

British people travel to other countries.

Americans travel to other states.

British and American teachers are good at practicing patience every day!

This is all a matter of opinion, but it's mine. :)

2 comments: