I often saw many cars which had a sticker on the back. I saw a variety of stickers, "Save our nature", "Support Our Troops", "Jesus", "Law for gays" That's interesting to see them.
Have you seen the sticker printed "Honor Student"? People who have visited or lived in the US might have already known it. I guess that the sticker will be given to the student who is a good sports player or gained an excellent grade for studies.
One day, I saw another sticker. It said that....
"My dog is smarter than your students"
haha!! I was made to laugh. How hilarious sticker you have! I like nice jokes like this.
But I haven't known the meanings of this sticker and how to get it. I wonder who makes a decision if he or she is an excellent student enough to prize.
Hi eko,
You might be surprised that the requirements aren't very high for earning the title "honors student". Basically any student who maintains a 3.0 grade point average for one year will end up on the "honor roll" and be entitled to receive a bumper sticker like that one. The highest possible GPA is 4.0, so 3.0 is only 75% of the highest score. Doesn't it seem kind of insulting to the really good students with a 4.0 or 3.9 to include people as low as 3.0 in the honors category?
There is also something called the "honors program", which lets honors students take more advanced classes than non-honors students. Except for one year in middle school when a teacher got mad at me and gave me a low grade, I always took honors program classes, but there didn't seem to be anything particularly hard about them to me. In fact, when I was in college and met people from Europe, I learned that my "honors" classes were much easier than regular classes in European schools. American standards must be pretty low. That guy's dog really might be smarter than some honors students...
In addition, there's another program called the AP (advanced placement) program. The best honors students are allowed to join it, and those classes are much harder than the honors classes. (Despite being called "advanced" placement, I suspect they're the same difficulty as normal classes in Europe. ^^;) At the end of taking an AP class, there's a major exam you can take if you want to, and if you pass it you will earn college credit. So it's possible by doing well in high school that you can make your college years shorter by earning credit in AP classes.
Hi Emo,
I haven't talked to many Japanese people about their high school days, so I can't really compare the American education to the Japanese one. I've heard the tests are very hard, though, and that many kids go to special cram schools to prepare for them. In the 1980s and 90s, the US news sometimes talked about Japanese kids committing suicide because their test scores were not high enough to go to the best university.
Maybe my friends from Europe were joking when they told me how hard their classes were and what they studied. From what you wrote, it sounds like German schools may not be that difficult after all. If nothing else though, their English classes must be very good, since many Germans speak English better than native speakers do! ^_^
On the topic of bumper stickers, I saw a couple today: "Your kid may be an honor student, but you're still an idiot." And "Be nice to your kids. Remember, they'll choose your nursing home."
Hello
I think it is good system, because it is kind of open system.
And they have a good sense of a Joke.
I suppose that good and yes have similar nuance.
I had thought that good and yes were positive word, until my friend taught me.
Sometimes, good and yes have the meaning of yes and no.
In other words, it is just giving responses.
We can say uh-huh.
日本語のハイハイと同じだ。
English is difficult, and a word is mysterious.
See you! (＾＾）/
I was talking about college education.
I might have misunderstood you! hehe.
Personaly, my high school was very easy.
I didnt need to study much. However, not many students go to good University from the high school though.
(I ran away to US! Exams to go to Universities in Japan were very competitive.)
As my conclusion, it depends upon how high your school level is.
It may be difficult to compare the exact level of education over contries.
Hi Emo,
Sorry for confusing you! Looking back, I realize that I didn't write very clearly. When I mentioned college, I meant that I had the chance to compare high school experiences with other people after I went to college.
Your escape to the US was a great idea! I think anyone who has the chance to live abroad should go for it. By the way, I really love your blog. Although I haven't commented yet, I enjoy reading your stories whenever I visit there, and your drawings always bring a smile to my face. Thank you!
Dear everyone
Thank you for your comment and I'm really sorry for the late reply.
I had been very, very busy for lots of things.... (;'へ`)ノ
Michael,
Thank you for telling me about Honor Student! I had really wanted to know about it for a long time , so I'm so glad to know it at last, through your mention. I like such kind of system and sense of a joke American have.
Taka-san,
I also had thought that good and yes were only positive words.
It may digress from the topic a little bit, but I've heard that "Dame" だめ - it means "no good" or "Don't " in Japanese as you know, sometimes sounds like "Damn it" to native speaker. Of course "Damn it" is not good ward in English also. Words sometimes have similar sounds and meanings even different language. It's mysterious, isn't it?
I lived in Rockville, MD for 3 years and half. Despite the fact I'm poor at English.... I try to write about memories of life in the U.S to practice English. Maybe you will find many mistakes on it, so please correct them!
