Thermal
August Member
The previous two posts have measurably lowered the IQ of the forum.
Declining IQ of college grads
- Thread starter AlaskaBushPilot
- Start date
What on earth is a "high school degree"?
Thermal
August Member
It's the thermostat reading when the school's air conditioning is on the fritz.
novaphile
Quester of Doglets
Americans seem to 'graduate' a lot.
Junior High School, Senior High School.
Perhaps they even 'graduate' from primary school?
Is there a primary school degree?
novaphile
Quester of Doglets
I have been known to complain about a school policy that should be called:
"No child shall be allowed to get ahead."
It was my experience of primary school and high school, that they did their utmost to try and prevent me from getting an education. (They even went so far as to confiscate my books at school).
Fortunately that went away when I started my first degree.
"No child shall be allowed to get ahead."
It was my experience of primary school and high school, that they did their utmost to try and prevent me from getting an education. (They even went so far as to confiscate my books at school).
Fortunately that went away when I started my first degree.
Thermal
August Member
American here. No, no graduations from junior high (very casual term) and we don't even use the term "senior high". We do have a kinda sorta graduation from primary school, because many districts give you a choice of high schools to attend, some of which are not in your district and in the same system, so you formally are leaving one curriculum and entering another. So we have maybe one more "graduation" than just high school, but it's pretty low key and informal, mostly a pomp ad circumstance feel-good thing for mom.
Craig4
Penultimate Amazing
I "graduated" from 8th grade but it was a Catholic school so the nuns made us feel bad about it.
That change definitely happened, but the transition happened IIRC* in the 40's and 50's, and while college admissions were increasing then, they were still no where near modern day levels.
I don't remember if we have actual research on this, but I think there's reason to believe that IQs of college grads went up during that early period when it was still a small elite who were attending college, but it had shifted away from the children of the upper class and toward the high achievers looking to climb the social/economic ladder. Of course it was (and remains) a mix of both.
Perhaps also worth noting is the the elite institutions today remain extremely selective, perhaps more so than in the past.
*I'd have to double check, it may have been slightly earlier.
Do you really not know what he means?
novaphile
Quester of Doglets
We ask questions like that, because terms don't necessarily map from USA to Australia.
For example, we have terms like:
Leaving certificate;
Year 12 certificate;
Matriculation certificate/High School Certificate/ATAR.
Notice the lack of the word 'degree' ?
A High School degree would be some kind of academic qualification for teachers, something like a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) or a Master of Education (Secondary) for someone with other tertiary qualifications.
You're welcome,
Well, I'm pretty sure that Darat wasn't actually confused enough to think that ABP was talking about academic qualifications for teachers. Personally I see language as a means of communicating ideas, and as long as I understand what someone means, it has done its job.
If you or Darat actually were confused, I apologize, but his posts seemed clear enough to me. Making a nitpick correction is completely fine, I just don't believe that Darat didn't actually understand. As I said, he can correct me if I'm wrong.
Thermal
August Member
Americans have never in history referred to a high school degree. You get a diploma. ABP's post is the only known usage in American history, save a few functional illiterates here and there.
Typical USA is grade schools give a cert of completion, HS gets a diploma.
If you get a HS equivalence later after after dropping out of school, tech schools offer a GED program to show you have passed the typical HS program.
Colleges give degrees.
If you get a HS equivalence later after after dropping out of school, tech schools offer a GED program to show you have passed the typical HS program.
Colleges give degrees.
Yep. My point isn't that he's correct, it's that he's understandable.
Thermal
August Member
Agreed, if he was maybe an ESL guy. But I'm pretty sure he isn't, and is quite deliberately screwing up the terminology. So if see Darat's question as inviting clarification, more than actual confusion.
I agree that if he's doing it on purpose then the confrontational tone is probably justified, and remove my objection. I read it as just an honest mistake, but your reading makes sense too.
Carlotta
Graduate Poster
Belated nitpick: in the original story, Fauntleroy is a fairly streetwise kid who lives in New York with his "Dearest" widowed mother. The privilege comes about later on.
I was confused and sought clarification, thanks to watching way too many USA trials I know that you have to meet a certain level of achievement to "graduate" high school, given the topic of this thread it had me wondering if some folk are saying High schools now offer degree courses!
In that case I apologize. It seemed obvious to me in context that he had just messed up, and I misread your reply. Sorry about that.