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School in the USA is quite different when compared to school in Germany.
All the students go to the same kind of school. That's the reason why the American schools are so huge. All the kids from a certain area attend the same school. They aren't divided into higher and lower skill levels like in Germany (Hauptschule; Realschule; Gymnasium). The normal "school career" looks like that: Elementary School --> Middle School --> High School. You can also choose to attend a private school. You have to pay a lot of money there, but you are supposed to get a better education. Only rich people can afford this.
Students start their school life at the age of 6 with four years of elementary school, which they finish after 4th grade. They attend middle school for four more years and they all finally attend high school. They`ve got only 12 grades, which means that American students normally finish school at the age of 18. After high school many students go to college. Most of the students already try to figure out which college they want to go to lateron at the beginning of 12th grade. Going to college is very expensive. If you pick a pretty good one you have to pay about $10 000 - $15 000 per year, but there are also some colleges where you have to pay up to $25 000 a year or even more.
In the USA school is more specific than in Germany. You can elect some of your subjects at the beginning of 9th grade. From grade to grade the number of subjects is increasing. There are electives and requirements. In 12th grade you can elect most of your subjects according to your interests. You have just got to consider that you choose a subject from each section, e.g. a language, a science and a kind of math (trigonometry, algebra or calculus). That means that every student has got a different schedule. The single days of the week are counted over from A to F. Although there are only five schooldays a week, they have a 6-day-rhythm. You don't say that today you've got a Monday, you say today is an A-day, but a Monday isn't always an A-day. You keep counting: The first Monday of the schoolyear = A-day, Tuesday = B-day, Wednesday = C-day, Thursday = D-day, Friday = E-day, the second Monday is an F-day then. If e.g. Tuesday is a holiday, Wednesday is the next A-day.
You've got the same schedule every day. But there are some subjects you've got only on two of the six days, e.g. sports, chorus, health... You have e.g. sports on A- and D-days and on B-, C-, E- and on F-days you've got study hall. That means you have to go to the cafeteria, where you have to work quietly. Talking is strictly forbidden. There are normally three persons who check your attendance. They've got a list of all the students who are supposed to be there. Skipping a study hall period doesn't work! You can do your homework or simply relax a bit, but you have to sit at a certain table and you aren't allowed to change your seat and sit next to your friend!
The breaks between classes are extremely short. You've got only three minutes time to "run" to your next room. The hallways are very crowded.Therefore you are always in a hurry! Going to the bathroom doesn't work in the breaks. Either you have to ask your teacher if you can go there or you are late for class and that could mean detention! All the punishments are very hard in American schools and there are soooooo many rules to keep!
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