Jumping the gap between a US and UK high school education

Andrew Maynard:

Tomorrow, my 16 year old daughter is leaving her home in the US for the UK. She'll be there for the next two years while she studies for her A levels. It was a heart-rending decision for my wife and I to agree to her living apart from us in a different country. But the stark reality is that my daughter's high school education here is just not good enough to prepare her for a British University - and in two years' time, that's where she wants to be.

I've long been worried about the US approach to science education in particular. When I was at school in the UK, we started studying physics, chemistry and biology in parallel from the age of 13. It didn't suit everyone. But I wouldn't be here as a science professor and department chair in a major university without this early start. It was key to me getting hooked on physics at an early age, while gaining a broad and integrated understanding of how the different disciplines complemented each other. In contrast, both of my kids have been following a sequential science track - biology (grade 9), geophysical science (grade 10), chemistry (grade 11) then physics (grade 12).

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 4, 2012 2:03 AM
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