"Across Classrooms: How U.S. Education Differs from Latvia"

 A look at key differences between Latvian and U.S. education, exploring structure, subject focus, and evolving choices in how students learn. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

How uh different was the US education system compared to um before you moved over here?

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Um well we touched upon foreign languages, you know, so the foreign language instruction started in pretty much fourth grade. Um just the math was separate into algebra and geometry since like fifth grade. So I just we had that separate, like you had algebra every day and you had geometry every day. So it was and it would go on um to to high school. Um but the sciences were more separated, like here you have science until it becomes like our science and biology in high school. We had chemistry, we had physics in middle school, um, so you had more specialized subjects. Um middle school, the middle school ended in ninth grade. So middle school went from grade five to grade nine. And at that time, if you finished that in grade nine, you actually had a choice. You could go to a high school, which was grades for grades 10 through 12, and it was pretty much a college prep. So if you're going to college, high school was for you. If you wanted to go to like a trade school, you went to a trade school that provided you was high school education and gave you a trade. So I was actually wanting to go to a trade school to become a music teacher. So like I was finishing, I finished my music school because I went to music school, and that was, you know, yeah, I played piano, but I also had like music theory and sofegia, all that, all yeah, all those nine uh everything. So I was wanting to just go that route and be a music teacher. So for that I would, you know, have to go to like a trade school uh to have my music education, but also finish my high school education. So that was the difference. And I did not get into the college that c what was like a community college of my choice. Did not go to the one that my my teacher wanted me to, and I went on to high school and I really focused on languages. So that's in high school they really just like academic tracks. So I picked up German, you know, I had English and German, you know. So I just focused on kind of humanities part. And those who wanted to go toward more like mathematics, so they would they would take more of the mathematics and sciences.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Um and then you would just take entrance exams and go into uh go to college.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Which language was the hardest to learn?

SPEAKER_02 2:42

I think really German because I don't like it. Okay. Because you have just in different inflections and it just sounds rough. So I really never took took the German.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Yeah, yeah. Where do you see the future of the US education system?

SPEAKER_02 2:57

I think we are living in very troubling times now. It's almost like at the crossroads. Where are we going to take um our educational system? Um because I don't want people to kind of be misled by so many different options. They need to be able to see the needs of their children first. And of course, virtual options are becoming very plentiful, which could be a great thing because I oversee virtual education in our county. And it's a life-saving choice for some of the students. I mean, they graduate from virtual school and it they just found their niche. They just they like it, and we they get really good education. Um, but it's not a good option for those who think regular school is too much, that you have to get up every day and you have to come to school. Um and I don't tolerate this. I've because for me, you need to get an education. You know, I'll help you any way I can for you to get education, but I'm not going to be tolerant if you just sit and just peel around and do nothing. But with some virtual school choices that there are, they allow they're allowed to do that. And to me, it's a disservice. So, in what I'm afraid is happening in some choices is there's not a good literacy or mathematics instruction. So I don't want people to come out of this being illiterate. Right. And again, how do you contribute to your country? Because if we have businesses who want to come in to do to have qualified workforce to be able to contribute to the state of West Virginia, we need to be able to provide qualified workforce. Um and that's my biggest worry because whatever schooling option there is, we need to be able to assure there are quality educational choices for our students.