School Education in Venezuela Compared to The US

How different can two educational systems be in the same continent? Even though, Venezuela has accepted the American educational system, when I came to North America I noticed that it was much different than I thought. Unlike most other countries, the United States does not have a centralized educational system on the national scale. There are several differences between them such as the years of schooling, the uniforms, and the class schedules.

Venezuelan students begin their studies in kindergarten for one and up to two years, depending on the age of the student. First we have 6 years of elementary/middle school, then five years of high school, and after that it depends on the university you go and what your major is, it can be from three years and up to seven, until you get your degree. However, Americans begin in the kindergarten and after that, they go to elementary school for five years, middle school for three years, high school for four years, college for two years, or university for four years. In Venezuela a new school year starts in February, but in the U.S. it starts in August. Venezuelans have three months of summer break and just one month during winter break. On the other hand Americans have longer summer breaks and shorter winter breaks.

In Venezuela, students have to wear uniforms. Even though the efficiency of uniforms, in improving academic performance and student attitudes, is often debated. Each school in Venezuela has to have a uniform with its respective symbol and flag. Students who don’t wear the correct uniform are asked to go home and change. Public schools have a uniform in common, for example, in kindergarten kids have to wear a red shirt with blue pants, in middle school they

have to wear white shirts with dark blue pants, in high school, students have to wear dark blue pants with a sky blue shirt or beige shirt. Unfortunately, the fact that we have to wear uniforms make us feel as if we are losing our individualities and makes the school routine even more repetitive and boring. On the contrary, American students do not have to wear uniforms to go to school, and they are free to decide whatever they want to wear for school. But, it is sometimes difficult to make a final decision when you have so many options

Also, the class schedules are very different. We can see the difference by comparing the fact that in Venezuela the classroom is always the same one. As a result, we do not have to move each time to a class teachers go to the classrooms. But, being in the same classroom all year long is very boring and repetitive. Students in Venezuela cannot choose the classes they want to take because all classes are already scheduled for all students. In contrast, Americans have to schedule their own classes whenever they get to high school. Teachers have their own classroom, so the students have to go to their teacher’s classroom whenever they have a class. As a result, students do not have to be in the same classroom all day long, and they might not have the same classmates in all classes. This fact makes the classes less boring and makes the day shorter.

In conclusion, the American educational system gives more freedom to students. In Venezuela students can choose their classes just when they are in a university and they are still required to wear uniforms in most universities. Even though we are in the same continent there still some differences in concern to educational systems. Regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.