The Education System in Indiana

Here comes some information about the education system in Indiana:

The American students start first school after kindergarten when they are at least five years old. They do not have to go to kindergarten though. The students all go to school for 12 years of primary and secondary education.

There are generally five years of primary (elementary) school, during which students customarily advance together from one grade to the next as a single cohort or "class". After primary school you go to middle school for three years, which may have cohorts, and four years of high school, where you have some compulsory and some optional classes. At Ben Davis Year 9 is taught in a different building, the so-called 9^th Grade Center.

All the schools are comprehensive schools, and even kids with disabilities are included.

After high school the students can go to college; four years later they can have a Bachelor degree, six years later a Master degree.

In contrast to Germany, American students usually do not need to repeat a year.

Another big difference are the extra-curricular activities: In Germany a lot of teenagers are members of football clubs, swimming clubs or other clubs, and that`s where they go after school. Or they learn how to play an instrument with a private teacher or play in an orchestra. In America the schools offer most of these activities, so there are lots of teams and groups at Ben Davis. Tomorrow we are going to watch the Ben Davis Football Team play, and hopefully I get the chance to play golf next week. Katharina joins the swimming team tomorrow.

Ultimately I would say the schools in America are very interesting and totally different from German schools, so it's a great experience to have the chance to go to Ben Davis High School!

Jan Hömberg

And what happened today?

Well, as most of the American students had to take a national exam in English and Math (psat) we spent most of the morning in our Home Room. We got the chance to have a close look at our presentations again, ordered Ben Davis Hoodies, chatted and skyped with friends back in Germany and shared our experiences. And some of us, including Mrs Hennemann, were caught while walking through the building without a corridor pass. That was a new experience, too. A policeman (yes- there a several policemen at Ben Davis every day!) had taken us  to the athletics department where we wanted to look at the Ben Davis clothes, so it had seemed okay, but on the way back we were stopped and it took ages to get back to our Home Room. Next time we`ll know what to do.   

After school we had a small party in the German department. The two Germans teachers had prepared a few games (see pictures) (thank you!), and we got the chance to meet some new Americans as well as two German girls who are spending a whole year at Ben Davis.

                                                                                                                Photo 1: Whose mummy looks best?

Photo 2: Mirco trying to eat an apple.

Photo 3: Simon trying to eat an apple

Photo 4: Mr Ziliak with a candy apple

KH