Diary - Today, my teacher discussed school life with me.

[Maybo]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

Today, my teacher discussed school life with me. She told me that in the US, students can arrange their lessons freely in secondary school. I think Hong Kong schools should also have some flexibility in class arrangement because students can leave school earlier and do something they are interested in. However it's difficult to put into practice because we need to start to learn from 8am to 3:30pm. Actually there is no gap between classes, except a break and lunch hour. Why do we have so many classes?

 

[Tarheel]

I think you mean that in the US students have some flexibility in terms of scheduling classes. (That wasn't true when I went to school, but that was a long time ago.)

I think you mean that students in Hong Kong are required to attend class from 8:00am to 3:30pm.

We had, I think, five minutes between classes. I'm not sure if we had a whole hour for lunch or not. Maybe so.

I bet you could write that without using "actually" at all.

You have that many classes because you have a lot to learn.

 

[Maybo]

You have that many classes because you have a lot to learn.

 

[emsr2d2]

She told me that in the US, students can arrange their lessons freely in secondary school.

Are those the exact words she used? If so, I think you need to go back to her for further explanation. If students were free to arrange their classes however they chose, there would be chaos! If those aren't the exact words she used, tell us what she really said.

 

[Maybo]

Are those the exact words she used? If so, I think you need to go back to her for further explanation. If students were free to arrange their classes however they chose, there would be chaos! If those aren't the exact words she used, tell us what she really said.

No. She meant, for example, there are three time slots for Maths(three classes are the same) and students can choose which one they want to take. Some students choose all the morning classes so they can have more time to do other things, such as part-time jobs.

 

[Tarheel]

What you mean is they choose to have all their classes in the morning.

 

[Maybo]

What you mean is they choose to have all their classes in the morning.

Yes, but not all. Some students might have their classes four days per week so they can have one day off. It depends on how they schedule their classes.

 

[emsr2d2]

All you can really say is that, in the US, students have some flexibility in their study schedule.

 

[Tarheel]

In the US they have options. It's not a strict schedule. There is some flexibility to it. You can, for example, choose between three different times for math class. ("Maths class" in BrE.) You can, to make up an example, choose between a class at 8:00am or one at 11:00am or one at 2:00pm.

How did I do?


(The current system in Hong Kong is pretty much the way it was when I went to school, back in the Stone Age. )