The American Way

Today is a holiday in the USA. It is Martin Luther King Jr day and the whole country remembers back to a darker time in US history. Todays a day about hope and freedom, about fighting for a worthy cause and celebrating an amazing and brave man.

Today is also a highlight for me of the differences between the two countries and the holidays they celebrate.

One of the biggest differences between the US and the UK is the schools. Scholastically there are differences of course, but the biggest for me is in the way which the children act within the school and the way in which the adults interact with them. England is definitely more old fashioned, the children are expected to be reverent with adults and the school assemblies are fairly serious and quiet affairs.

Bi-weekly, Ethans school over here have a child run assembly. They call it AMPd. The older students plan the whole thing, they prepare videos and plan the acts. Alongside this, they present the morning assembly. The younger years take turns to perform during the assemblies and this week was Ethans Grade 2 performance. They chose a word that best describes them and helps them understand why they are good at what they do. I recorded parts of AMPd to give you an idea as to what it is, and how different it is from the British Private schools especially. Enjoy it and let me know what differences you notice.

The FIRST VIDEO is a mix of pre-show, information about extra curricular clubs, the national anthem (which with the pledge of allegiance is done at each assembly) and American sign language to music.

Ethans Grades performance is in the SECOND VIDEO, see if you can spot him and what word he chose to best represent himself.