EXPLORING SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD

xHave you ever thought about what it would be like to attend a school in another country? It may be very different from your own school. Going to school is important for kids, and helps children learn skills that will be needed as they grow up. Lets learn more about what a typical school day looks like in countries around the world.Getting to SchoolIn the United States, some children walk to school, ride the bus or are driven to school by their parents. But in some other countries around the world, kids have to get to class on time in very strange ways. In Peru and Guatemala, many children take boats to reach their schools which can be on the other side of some of the largest rivers. Children in the Philippines ride to school in a rickshaw, a cart that is pulled by a bicycle or an adult. And in Bolivia, a horse-drawn wagon is used to transport the kids each day. If youre lucky and live on an island, you have to use a small plane to go to your classroom! Students who attend school on Kelleys Island in Ohio and on the Orkney Islands in Scotland must use a plane for transportation during the winter months, or when their local ferry is not running.

A School is not always a BuildingSome schools are in buildings and have lots of classrooms but this is not always the case. In many countries, there is not enough money to build a school, so classes are very different. In remote areas, there is just one large classroom for kids of all ages and grades. Kids in some areas of Kenya attend classes under the trees in their village. Other schools have their classes outside, with children sitting on the ground and doing lessons in nature. In Afghanistan, there are no buildings in a lot of places so tents are used as classrooms. Some students in Bangladesh attend classes on wooden boats moored to a riverbank. And the kids who travel with their parents on Mercy Ships, which are hospital ships that travel the world to give healthcare, do their homework in their cabin or in the ships library and stop at different ports in different countries to do their classwork.

What Will Kids Learn Each Day?There is usually a teacher in the classroom or learning area. But in some countries, boys must have a male teacher while girls can only have a female teacher. In Iran, boys and girls go to school separately at the primary grades. When they start university, men and women can go to classes together. In Afghanistan, classes are segregated and the girls have only female teachers.Almost every child around the world will learn to read and write in their native language / mother tongue and many schools will teach children more than one language. Some schools don't have books for their classrooms, so students copy their lessons onto chalkboards or notebooks each day. Science, math and computers are also popular classes in many developed countries. For rural schools, classes in farming and animal care are important. And some children help clean their school and care for local animals as part of their school day.

Lunchtime Lunch is an important part of the day in every country. For example, in Japan, the kids help prepare and serve the food during lunchtime. Rice or noodles are the main ingredient in hot lunches for many schools around the world. Many schools also serve soup. These are popular because they arent too expensive and can be cooked in large amounts quickly. And in some countries such as Brazil, children will go home to share lunch with their family before returning to school for afternoon classes.

How long is a school day?Most schools begin around 8 am and end the day around 3 or 4 pm. Some countries also have evening study sessions where kids can return to do their homework after dinner. While many children attend school each day and then go home at night, there are some kids who live at their schools. These are known as boarding schools. If you attend a boarding school, you live in a dormitory and attend classes with other students at the school. In England, theres even a boarding school in a castle Kimbolton Castle allows children ages 11 and older to board at the historic dorms and attend classes at the castle!In Kenya, Russia and India, children attend school 6 days each week. In Japan, school is five days a week plus two Saturdays each month. (And until recently) children in France attended school four and a half days each week with a half-day on Saturday and no school on Wednesdays or Sundays.