Orlando, FL I've got some questions

I'm really sorry about this (invading your board and such), but I don't know where else I can find answers to these questions (they have nothing to do with Star Wars, even if I am a huge fan!)

1) What is the age range for high school?

2) What comes before high school, and what is the age range?

3) Are braces (on your teeth) considered as a humiliating thing in America?

By the way I'm from Yorkshire in England, so if these questions seem like common sense to you the reason I don't know is because the English school system is different to yours.

Thanks for your help
Scout

 

Hey it's no problem. Never hesitate to ask a question. Heck I've not been on these boards myself for months.

1) Age group for high school is (I think) about 14-18.
2) Middle school or Jr High School is what comes before.High School. The ages are like 10-13 I think.
3) Braces are a VERY common thing in America. Almost everyone has them or has had them at some point. I had them for 4 years.

Are you just curious or will you be visiting America at some point?

 

OK it's been a few years for me and I'm sure some people can correct me but here goes:

1) What is the age range for high school? 14-18 years old.

2) What comes before high school, and what is the age range? Middle school is before high school. I believe that's 12-14 (some schools have a date if you're born before, then you are in the next "grade") so I'm not sure. You'll probably be placed in high school based on your school records but I could be wrong.

3) Are braces (on your teeth) considered as a humiliating thing in America? Braces are fairly common here and are pretty accepted. I wouldn't say everyone has them but a good majority has worn them or are still wearing them in middle school or high school.
Remember they aren't forever and then you have a perfect smile. In the meantime, confidence and attitude are everything. If you have it, people will respond to it. If you're shy & withdrawn because you're self conscious that will actually prevent you from making friends more than braces ever would.
Didn't mean to get wordy. I taught swimming to high school students and have nephews & a neice your age. We've all had braces (I'd say about 8 out of 20 in swim class at one point had braces). Myself, all of my nephews & my neice also had braces.
I'm sure it's hard for you but just being your age is hard enough. Trust me, it does get better!
Melanie aka Raiza123

 

wow... it's been so long I almost forgot how to post.
OK, before I answer your questions, I just wanna say sorry for ... leaving (?) the fan force for a while. I guess I got all caught up in other things, you guys understand... no hard feelings? soft feelings? ok, good. oh and also i guess i gotta meet all these new members. I'm Anthony. Hi. Ok, now that that's done, on to the questions.

numero uno (1): High school ranges from 13-19 at the maximums.

numero dose (2): before high school there is middle school or junior high. that is grades 1-8.

y numero thres (3): because we are such filthy and lazy americans we eat loads of candy and thus that makes out teeth fall out, or get bent out of shape. if i had to guess, i'd say about 1 out of 4 kids has braces, so it's an extremly common thing. so you will not be out of place if you fall in that cataglory (sp?).

and there you have it, filthy american teenagers. dont worry, i'm doing my best to help clean them up

PS: Pardonde el espanol, me gustaria estudiar para la exam de final. !Adios!

 

Elementary school would be grades K - 5, middle school 6 - 8, and high school 9 - 12. It can vary from state to state, but that's basically it. Ages range from (on average) 6 to 10 in elementary school, 11 - 13 for middle school, and 14 to 18 for high school. And many kids get braces, and not just because they eat a lot of sugar. I had to get braces to straighten my teeth and pull them back a bit. I also had to wear a retainer at night which I absolutely hated. Grrr.

L8r

 

This changes from state to state, sometimes from county to county within a state. A vast majority of places I have visited in the U.S., as well as where I went to school, has a total of 13 grades, or years. Those would be kindergarten through 12th.

Most places have K - 6th grade as elementary school, 7th and 8th as middle school, and 9th - 12th as high school.

However, especially in Florida, that is sometimes changes to K through 5th for elementary school, 6th, 7th, and 8th for middle school, and then, of course, 9th - 12th for high school.

*However*, some still have a difference and don't start high school until 10th grade... very odd.

As to your questions:

1.) 13 - 18 years old in most places. There are exceptions; you may find, on a rare occasion, a 19 year old or something if he or she failed or got held back (held back means failed so, well, whatever)

2.) Before high school is middle school. Age ranges, again, very depending upon if 6th grade is considered middle school in a particular area. Where I grew up, middle school did not begin until the 7th grade. I have already read the other responses, and as you can see, they differ in terms of the age range of middle school. The highest age would be 13 or 14, the lowest, well, again, it completely depends on other factors.

3.) Braces are fairly common, though, still, not everyone gets them. It depends upon how "bad" one's teeth are, if a family can even afford them, or, then, if the kid even WANTS them. Some really don't care, some really DO care. Anthony said about 1 in 4 kids has them, and that sounds somewhat accurate. I might lower that number to 1 in 5, maybe even 1 in 6. But even then, that means that they are, in fact, common. You will *not* be made fun of for them, not at all. In the "olden days," probably, but, again, not now. If you have some huge head gear or something, then, yes, maybe.

As others have said, if you have any more questions, just ask. I'm sure my response will not be the last one, either.

Brandon

 

As a former Florida teacher and mother of 3 children, 2 of which have so far attended school in Florida this is what I can tell you:

1. The age range for public schools within the State of Florida for high school, starts at the earliest ages of 13 and can go to the age of 19. Some children start school later if their birthdays fall too late in the school year (after Oct I do believe), some children can actually skip grades if they are extremely intellegent, and some children fail grades. If you fail a grade, in most cases you must repeat that grade until you pass. That is the reason there are children as old as 19 in high school. I started school late as I was born in December and graduated at age 18. My oldest son, who turned 18 in January, just graduated high school last Tuesday. Most kids are graduating at around age 17.

2. In Florida, you have 3 different schools before high school. There is Primary, grades K-2. A good deal of the Florida counties have adopted this over the years in order to separate the smaller children from the larger ones. As a teacher, I can't begin to tell you some of the horror stories I've seen over the years with 5th graders actually beating up 1st graders. Very sad. After Primary, there is Elementary, 3-5 grades. Then comes Middle School, 6-8 grades, and finally High School, 9-12 grades. This is information for the Florida Public School system. There are of course other schools, such as religious, academic or college prep and some counties let you finish up your high school credits at trade schools, which we call Technical Institutes. I went to a college prep school (private) that is run by Florida State University. Private schools cost monies and sometimes require testing to be done before admittance. Frankly, when push comes to shove, I think the public school system in this country is atrocious. The reason I no longer teach.

3. It is a little bit more difficult to notice braces nowadays as they use the "invisible" type of braces on the teeths. I don't think I would say 1 in 5, but more like, 1 in 15. Although we eat lots of junk foods, I think Americans in general take care of their teeth now better than in the past. People are more aware of dental hygiene and usually visit the dentist quite often. Eating sweets has more to do with cavities, not braces. Braces are normally used to correct teeth gone wrong due to genetics or accidents. Only 1 person in my family ever required braces and I have a pretty big family (extended).

Hope this helps. Most Americans at this point are more worried about teeth whitening at this point.

jedigirl

 

Thanks for all your replies i never thought there'd be so many!

I was wondering about the school stuff because I want to visit an American school when i've finished my GCSEs (you do these exams when you are 15/16) and i was wondering which type of school i should ask. If anyone knows a school that would be willing to let me visit for a few days i love to hear about it.

With the braces question; in England there are quite a few TV channels that are American based, eg. Disney. On these there are series about American tennagers and braces are portrayed as a curse, i was wondering weather this was really the case, or not. What you describe sounds the same as over here. There's only one of my friends who hasn't had/isn't having a brace. I got mine today, to straighten my bottom front teeth. I don't feel self concious about it, my friend didn't even notice I had it on. My orthodontist told me that Tom Cruise had a brace reacently as well.

 

Well, I just graduated from Dr. Phillips High here in Orlando. It's a fairly big school, but it pretty much fills the typical high school prototype. I'm sure they would love to have someone come visit, as they often have foreign exchange students come and visit for a couple of days, and are very open to international "attention." The only thing is that school will now be out for the summer, so it is suggested you come around in August or September...

If you need info, here's their website:

http://www.drphillips.ocps.k12.fl.us/