Education

the act of getting (acquiring) general knowledge or special skills and preparing oneself for mature life (adulthood) is very important nowadays if we want to succeed in a higly-developed society and find a good job afterwards Some serious changes have been made in educational system in Slovakia, the National Curriculum has been changed and a new school-leaving exam has been introduced at secondary schools

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. Albert Einstein

Pre-school includes kindergartens, nursery schools or creches

Preschool education is the education for children between the ages of three and five is voluntary which means that children don´t have to go there it prepares children for compulsory school attendance Children play there, learn basics of counting or reading, sleep or go for walks

Primary Education In SVK primary education is compulsory from 6 to 16 (in Britain from 5 to 16) Divided into two stages - the first stage with the grades 1- 4 and the second stage with the grades from 5-9 When children finish a primary school they can choose what secondary school to go on to ( either secondary grammar school or some vocational or technical schools) Nowadays they don´t have to pass an entrance exam, they are accepted according to their results at primary school There are different kinds of schools in SVK: state, private or church ones State schools are free of charge, financed by state

Pupils get there general education, they can study foreign languages, History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Arts, Religion or Ethics and Physical Education. Every school year takes 10 months (from September to June). Pupils have to learn, because they are examined and they write tests to be assessed by marks from 1-5 At the end of the school year and every half year pupils get the school reports.

Secondary Education the final stage of compulsory education There are different secondary schools – secondary grammar school, vocational – business or hotel academies, nursing schools) or technical schools The study there lasts 3, 4 or 5 years and is finished with a school-leaving exam called Maturita Secondary students get either general education or besides they are prepared for practical jobs as well

Secondary schools end with a school-leaving examination, which includes an oral exam and a written test in several subjects Written exams are taken in March in 2 or 3 subjects – the Slovak language, one of the foreign languages and Maths, oral exam is taken in May or June After passing the maturita exams students get a school-leaving certificate and can apply for a university or find a job

Post-secondary eduction non-university education After finishing secondary school Students specialize in such fields of study as tourism, accounting, entrepreneurship or IT The study lasts two or three years and is completed with a final exam

Higher Education also called tertiary education that follows the secondary school. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of academic degrees (BC – bachelor degree or MA – master degree after 5 years of study)academic degrees

Questions 1. What type of secondary school do you attend? Why have you chosen this particular school? 2. Give a short talk on your school (type of education, the number of students, what after school activities).

3. What are the differences between the British and Slovak educational systems? 4. What may be the advantages/ disadvantages of wearing a school uniform?

5. What happens in your school if a student cheats at school? Why do students cheat? 6. Are teacher-parent meetings helpful? In what way? 7. How serious of a problem is truancy in Slovak schools? What other reasons are there for skipping school?

8. What should be done to make students attend school regularly? 9. What negative influence can cutting classes have on students? 10. Are language skills important in everyday life?

11. What learning strategy do you use? 12. What strategy do you use to learn new vocabulary in English?