A particular quirk(古怪举动)of Canadian education is that there isn’t one system but 13. All 10 provinces and all 3 territories have the right to run their own education systems. It’s established in the Constitution.
This means there is no national standard. Nobody agrees on the grade at which one makes the transition from elementary to secondary school, nor on how many years’ schooling is compulsory, nor how many grades there should be before college or university, nor how schools should be funded. Families relocating often get a surprise when they are informed that the children will have to repeat a grade because the one they have just finished does not cover the required courses to pass into the next grade where they are now.
Older children from isolated areas may be sent away to boarding schools, but this practice is falling out of favor. These days children in a very small community are more likely to attend the same school from kindergarten to grade 12(13 in Ontario, 11 in Quebec). In rural areas, pupils are taken to the nearest school in large yellow buses, some spending over an hour on the bus each way. Some never do a spot of homework at home because they always complete it on the bus. With the arrival of computers, high-quality education has now become possible even in very remote areas. It also enables parents to educate their children at home.
Colleges in Canada are sponsored by the state. Fully 75% of Canadian students go on after high school to some sort of further education. Having a university degree is fast becoming the minimum standard for employment but is far from a guarantee of a good job; those with a PhD in Philosophy, if not holding tenure at a university, are likely to be flipping burgers at a fast-food joint.
75 ______________________
Strange education system |
76 _____________ |
Not one system but 13 |
No national standard |
*No agreement on the grade at which one transfers from elementary to secondary school |
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*No agreement on 77_______________ |
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*No agreement on78____________ before college or university |
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*No consensus about 79________________funding schools |
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80 ____________ |
*Older children from isolated areas studying in boarding schools |
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*Children in a very small community 81________ the same school till Grade 12-13 |
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*Children in rural areas taken to the nearest school spending over an hour in large school buses 82 _______________ |
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College education |
* Fully 75% high school students83 ____________ |
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* Getting a university degree becoming 84 ______________ for employment |
I never expected that I would be so busy. Why can’t there be 25 hours a day?” complained Lou Ran in Hong Kong as final exams were going on.
The 18-year-old girl was Fujian Province’s ___48__ scorer in last year’s college entrance examination. After leaving school, she chose the Chinese University of Hong Kong __49__ both Peking University and Tsinghus University promised her a place.
“I want to experience a more international school and social life in Hong Kong. I’m __50__ in journalism, so Hong Kong will surely help widen my horizons,” Liu said.
It is about four months since Liu Ran set __51_ on Hong Kong. She missed home a lot at the beginning, because of the food and __52__problems.
“The canteen offers mostly Western or Guangdong food, but it’s convenient to cook for ourselves in our dorm if we like. People speak Cantonese and almost all classes are in English,” Liu explained.
Her English and Cantonese are now improving, but she still needs more __53_ to adapt to the new environment.
“I’m happy that I made the right __54__ to study here. With a mix of the Eastern and Western__55__, there is so much to discover and learn,” she said.