European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 30, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Britain self paced learning to some the British school system May seem a Little among other the British school year extends from september to and there is no grading until the student is about 14 or 15 years other differences Are the Lack of a rigid Structure of required the absence of the kindergarten through 12thgradc progression and a Lack of state or National achievement British schools take a less competitive approach to teaching children than american instead of grading and comparing students on a they teach the individual child to learn for at his own the Only grouping is by no matter what the intelligence level of the with some extreme the Early years of schooling Center on individuality and from the children Are taught Basic skills primarily language that they will build on to master subjects Independent study is since education in Britain has been compulsory for children from Ages 5 to the department of Edu cation and science is the overseer of the but the primary role of running the individual classrooms and responsibility for the million school age children rest with education authorities at the local the system is set up to give parents and the local authorities a voice in what is taught in the the main Job of the department is to set National school policies and allocate it has Little to do with school curriculum or administration of the individual the Job of running the schools is in the hands of local education most Are divided among boroughs or counties and function like state school systems in the United they Are responsible for hiring buying books and keeping the schools the 97 local education authorities in through local property fund about 80 percent of the Edu cation it int difficult to find Village schools with fewer than 100 but what used to be the Norm May soon become an budget cuts and the demand for More resources per student Are making the going Dorita Haddock with Tuddenham primary school pupils teaching individual children to Fearn for at their own Tough for Small Village local authorities Are putting pressure on the Small schools to Cut costs or close Down and bus the children to larger the schools Are usually divided into three children normally begin their education in a primary school at age 5 and continue there until age they go on to then secondary schools until the age of after reaching the mandatory they May opt to learn a Trade at a vocational school or continue their studies at higher after about five years at a secondary students can choose to take the exams for a and o advanced or Ordinary although not these exams can earn students a certificate which is similar to an american High school it can help a student enter the Job Market or provide him with the necessary qualifications to continue study at a University or Post secondary the advanced a level exams Are usually needed for entry into a students usually study for level exams for about two years after taking o ironing out the cultural problems Tuddenham head teacher Greta Doig listens to Pupil As student Joyce Illee Page 14 the stars and stripes about 20 percent of Greta dogs students Are that a Large proportion for a British school Well above the Norm but it Doest make much of a difference at this Pri Mary school in just a few Miles from two major air Force bases at Mildenhall and the americans Are hard to distinguish from the britons unless one listens carefully for the stray american even then they May be missed among the because these children Between the Ages of 5 and 9 pick up the dialect the head teacher at the Tuddenham primary and her three teachers think of the 13 americans at their school As assets but nothing kids Are they As one might expect to hear from a their Only aim is to teach the american or there Are differences Between the two Doig but usually the major problems Are ironed out soon after the children Start the school american children Are More outspoken than British Chil Doig their attitude toward teachers is quite their attitude int very British children Arent As Likely As americans to talk Back to a teacher or question a she after the first few weeks of Doig the differences Between the two cultures the younger the the quicker the despite the Gap in the children seem to take Little notice of nobody thinks of them As being any Doig said of the Ive never heard any child Hes an Doig also recognizes the benefits of having american and she and the other teachers use it to their for she Calls of the americans to give presentations on american traditions and holidays such As thanksgiving and Independence but there Are a few problems outside the Doig american parents must get used to the fact that their son or daughter will never bring Home a report card or a graded she said the american parents also sometimes think that their children Arent advancing fast enough in subjects such As spelling and Doig those problems usually Are cleared up during regular Parent teacher one american a principal at a Dodds moved from Germany solely to Send her two children to British the who asked not to be believes the British school methods and approaches to education Are better than the their approach to learning is More activity she this Type of which she called is More meaningful and More valuable for she educator also praised the Way British schools stress the use of she said this concept teaches children to express themselves better a skill she finds Many american schools she thinks the practical such As taking children on Field trips to actually see what they Are is one of the big pluses of the British i think the British teachers Are much More attuned to the Way children she the american children can cause problems for the Brit ish especially those near bases which Are plagued with a fluctuating enrolment caused by moves and by parents who switch their children to Dodds schools a year before they return to the dogs budget and resources depend on when her school loses the budget is Cut and her school feels the Pinch the next we get a Little Cross sometimes when the children reach 7 or 8 and the parents take them to the she children at those Ages Are just starting to reap the benefits of their first years of she the teacher explained that americans sign an agreement when they enrol their stating that they will not withdraw them from the school As Long As they live in the Many though dont Honor the agreement and later Send their children to american yet american parents Are some of the most involved in the schools Doig said a Large percentage of the Parent volunteers Are american the school some times asks parents for help for one none Reading lessons and other american she can usually be counted on to april a positive experience for an 8yearold sending their 8yearold to a British school has caused some problems for air Force Gary and Diane for a Erynn didst want to admit she was in shed and sometimes she would come Home from the Shillington school complaining that the kids were calling her her total association was with British said her the budget officer at Raf Erynn is the Only american among the 52 children who attend the Shillington school near the base in Central the situation May cause some troubles for the Boul but they say they  have it any other they say they Are sending Erynn to a British school for the cultural experience and they believe she is getting a better education than she would in an american Treyve been impressed with the results Treyve at the age of the Boulware Erynn is forming a firm foundation and positive attitude about her the chief of Supply at Raf said that within a week of Erynn started attending the Shillington school she had already read several the Boulware prefer the British approach to they say the children Are encouraged to learn at their own Pace and creativity is they boast that after three years in the school their daughter Hast come Home with a report the results Are in Erynn and not Irr a Grade her father Erynnis schooling has also extended to her parents the Boulware said the majority of their friends Are British Many of them Are parents of Erynnis the Boulware have measured Erynnis Progress and ability with other kids her age attending american they feel that Erynn is about two years ahead of but they say they wont be putting Erynn in a higher Grade than her age group when they return to Ohio next our preference is to put her where Shell be socially her father he is afraid that if they advanced Erynn shed later suffer the effects of the age Gary Boulware with daughter besides the Quality of the Boul wares say sending Erynn to the has other advantages for them and their they want to make sure Erynn Doest grow up thinking the world is weve never lived on Gary Boulware if we lived in the states and had the Choice of Send ing her on or off wed Send her off there Are All kinds of cultural Diane Boulware and that what makes it so value in an american sheepskin seventeen year old Karen Williams says that if american parents Are thinking of sending their children to British they should do it when the children Are Williams should Shes been in and out of and British schools much of her last year she finished her studies for the English equivalent of a High school diploma but decided to do an extra year at the american High school at Raf whose father is an air Force senior master sergeant and whose Mother is said that the american sheepskin will be of More value to her when she returns to the Williams spent most of her school years in the United states with her Ive grown up to think that you should finish school at so i didst want to finish at she i thought it would be better for me when i went Back to the i could say i graduated from a High school than if i i got cases certificates of secondary people  know what i was talking Williams said she plans to return to the states to the High school senior got her first taste of school in Britain when she was she cant remember much of that but she does recall the last three years she spent in two British High schools near Williams said the two schools didst differ much from american schools in the Quality of education or the main difference in the two she lies in the approach to vocational she thinks that finishing school in the English system could be disruptive for while in the British secondary she missed certain aspects of the traditional american High such As football class rings and school i find the american schools More she adding that in the British school spirit is a rare the atmosphere in american schools is More she Williams said she thinks her daughters education in several schools has broadened her she she admires her for doing an extra Karen Williams comparing school year a Lakenheath to get a sue Williams said she didst think the difference be tween american and British schools was she said she remembers bad and Good schools in the states and there All she it just depends on where you the stars and stripes Page 15