where do the best high school?

wjwoodward wrote:

In practical terms the standard of education and curriculum changes very little from state to state or province to province.

I think the school districts of Connecticut and Mississippi might disagree with that.

wjwoodward wrote:

Hi Alice,

Both the USA and Canada are noted for their exceptionally high standards of public education. Education policy in both countries is basically determined by the federal government, while administration and actual service providing is done by the state or province. In practical terms the standard of education and curriculum changes very little from state to state or province to province.

Really no matter where you attend high school you're going to get an education that is far better than anywhere in Brazil, by simple virtue of the fact that in North America one has 7 hours of classes per day, unlike in Brazil where you're lucky to get 3 or 4 at most. Also teachers in North America are required to have superior qualifications, unlike in Brazil. Gosh, I can remember trying to speak to the English teacher of the son of my ex-wife. I started to speak to her in English and she stopped me immediately, in Portuguese (which by the way was not even as good as mine) she said that she was sorry, but that she didn't speak English. When I asked how that could be, an English teacher who doesn't speak English, she replied that "she only taught what was in the book". Something like that would never happen anywhere in North America..... believe it.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team

thanks!
But, what do you think about accent? how I said, my english isn't perfect and I think which  a state with an accent will be hard for improving my English.

usmc_mv wrote:

Your dad really needs to be diligent with exchange student programs - especially if you are to live with a host family and he remain in Brazil.

There has been quite a few instances of "not ideal living conditions" (to put it lightly) with host families and he needs to check their background and qualifications before committing. I will send him a message directly about this.

ok!!
Do you think which is better  i stay at school than   family's house??

ECS wrote:

I agree with stressedmom that you might want to look at location first- if you're a city girl and you end up in a tiny rural town, it might be very difficult.

however, in terms of the accent of English you acquire, I knew an Icelandic woman who'd gone to school somewhere in the deep south and had learned this interesting local lingo. She had wanted to work in the US after graduation and despite being very qualified, she had no luck. My feeling was that her accent might have been part of the problem.

When people are trying to be as neutral as possible with the American English accent, generally the midwestern accent is considered to be the most uncomplicated. However, if you stick to big city areas, they generally have a big mix of people which neutralize any big regional variations.

If you go to school in a smaller town you may find the local accents are stronger and therefore harder for you to understand.

I'm afraid that this also happens to me, I will try make the college there..

MiaCulpa wrote:

I chose my school based on the school, not on the state.  You spend more time in class than anywhere else anyway.

Yes, I agree. However as stated before they can only pick the state - the Feds pick the city. Anywhere from population 200 - 200,000.

MiaCulpa wrote:

In that case, I would choose New Jersey, Connecticut or Rhode Island.

Move to New Jersey on purpose, possibly wind up in Patterson?