D is for Differences (3): School Subjects

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I write YA fiction, which has led me to wonder how growing up is different for young people in different countries. In my first post we spoke about school systems: how the different years are organised/labelled, private vs public schools and when/how long school holidays are. In my second post we spoke about school dances: when they are, who they're for, and how over the top they become!

Today I want to know what you actually studied (or pretended to study!) at school.

Source

I live in South Africa and when I was in high school I did:

English

Afrikaans

Mathematics

Science (that's Chemsitry + Physics)

Biology

Music

Additional Mathematics

Other common high school subjects in this country are Accounting, Business Studies, Drama, History, Geography, and all the different African languages.

So, tell me: where do you live and what did you study at school?

Differences (2): School Dances

I'd really like it if someone could properly explain the terms homecoming and prom to me!
  Like, I don't know what the difference is,
  I don't know who is allowed to go to them (anyone from any year? Or only kids from a specific year? Only kids from that school? Or can you bring someone from another school?),
  I don't know when they are (are they always at the same time every year?),
  I don't know where they are (at the school, or does the school hire a separate venue, or is it different at different schools),
  and what's up with the king and queen business?

Here's how school dances work in South Africa:
(for all the schools I know of)

At the end of primary school (Grade 7) there was some kind of "social" thing. I can't even remember if it had a special name. I think it was like a pre-teen "disco" effort. Now that I think about it, it doesn't even count in this discussion!

Okay, moving onto high school (Grade 8 to Grade 12 a.k.a. Matric).

• At the end of Grade 11 some schools have a Grade 11 Dance (in my year, we didn't get one because on our Bonding Tour (that's a whole other story!) some people trashed part of a hotel with shaving cream and eggs...). It's for the Grade 11 students but if you want to bring a date from another grade or another school that's okay (unless your school has a rule that it's only for their Grade 11s)
• In Grade 12 (Matric) there is the Matric Dance. This is like the dance of one's high school career. People make way too much a major fuss over it: Girls have their nails and hair and makeup done and (if you have the money!) you get your dress designed for you. (Guys pretty much just hire a suit and show up on the day!). The dance is for the Matric students (duh!) but if you want to invite a date from a younger grade or another school that is usually fine. It happens at different times of the year at different schools and (as far as I know) we don't do the king and queen thing. Some schools decorate their school hall for the dance and others (like mine) waste a huge amount of money fundraise so that they can hire a fancy venue.

My Personal Matric Dance Experience

So there was this guy I liked :-) (isn't there always?!) I finally worked up the courage to ask him to go with me -- and he said YES! I can't tell you how ecstatic I was! Then a few days later he came over and said...

Ex-date: So [girl-who-used-to-go-to-our-school] really wants to come to our Matric dance because, you know, she knows everyone here, so [boy-who-still-goes-to-our-school] said he'd take her. But now he's taking [some-other-girl-I-don't-remember] and... well... I totally forgot about this but a while ago I kinda said to [girl-who-used-to-go-to-our-school] that if no one else was taking her I'd take her.

Me: *shock*

Ex-date: So... how about this? If, two weeks before the dance, neither of us is going with someone else, then we can go together..?

Me: *Thinks* Sure, I'll just wait until the last second, just in case you still happen to be available, and while you're at it, why don't you just dump a bucket of ice-cold water over my head and punch me in the stomach, asshole?!!
*Says* Um, sure, okay... no problem.

Anyway, I didn't end up waiting till the last minute. A family friend set me up with this really nice guy from another school. We chatted via text and e-mail and met up a few times before the dance. The dance itself was kinda awkward (because one of my friends also didn't have a date so I got really-nice-guy to bring his friend along for her, and I don't think they got along too well...) and in the end I decided that far too much fuss is made over school dances! Really-nice-guy and I ended up going to the same university and staying in brother and sister residences (so we had all our meals together) and while I did like him for a while, we ended up just being friends :-)

So how do school dances work where you live?

And if you'd like to share your school dance experience please feel free to :-)

Differences (1): School Systems

Welcome to my Differences series!

First up is school systems... and I want to know how it's all organised (and "labeled") in your country.

When I watch American television I hear words like junior and sophomore... and it took me a long time to figure it all out (and I might actually be wrong!). Here's how it is where I live:

Pre-Primary School - 3 years
Grade 000 (3 year olds)
Grade 00 (4 year olds)
Grade 0/Grade R (5/6 year olds)
the R stands for Readiness

Primary School - 7 years
Grade 1 (6 year olds) to Grade 7 (12/13 year olds)

High Scool - 5 years
Grade 8 (13 years olds) to Grade 12 (17/18 year olds)
Grade 12 is also called Matric

Source

Private vs Public and School Uniforms
Where you come from is there any kind of stigma attached to going to a public school? In South Africa it's generally accepted that most private schools are "better", but there are still a lot of good public (or state) schools.

As for uniforms... I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any schools in South Africa where the kids don't have a school uniform. Some schools (like the one I went to) may have a more relaxed uniform, but it's a uniform nonetheless.
Is there any kind of pattern with uniforms and private/public schools? Like do most private schools have a school uniform and most public schools not have a school uniform? Or is that not the case at all?

School Holidays
(added based on a comment below)

We have four terms (we don't use the words quarters or semesters). The first term starts in mid-January and the fourth term ends at the beginning of December. So we have four holiday periods: two weeks in March/April, three weeks in June/July, one week in September, and six weeks in December/January.
Also, we call them holidays and not vacation :-)

I'm curious! Tell me how it is where you live.

Differences: A New Series Coming Soon!

I've been thinking about the different words/terms that people from different countries use.

Why?

Well, I've been thinking about target audiences and settings of stories and stuff like that...
If I write a story set in South Africa, then it makes sense to use the "South African" terminology I've grown up with. But what if I write a story set somewhere else? The US, the UK, Australia... Or what if it's a made up location that could actually be anywhere you want to imagine it to be, but the biggest market for that type of story is NOT in the country you've grown up in?

It makes sense to use words and terms that your audience understands, doesn't it?
(Plus I'm just curious!)

So I'm going to be doing a few posts based on various YA-type topics (because those are the stories I write!) where I tell you how it is in my country, and then you tell me (pretty please!) how it is in your country :-)

Watch this space!