Ms. Johnson is a beloved Braintree High School chemistry teacher known for teaching full comprehension and understanding of real world application of the material. It’s common to know about work experience in other countries, but how many know more about the experience?
Johnson’s experience extended to multiple places in the United States, including Braintree, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, along with Jamaica, London, and some time in Australia. During her time teaching, Johnson noticed differences between education systems.
“The British style system is very high stakes,” she explained. “External exams determine how you progress through the education system. That was what it was like in Jamaica, London, and in Australia.”
Johnson experienced Jamaica’s British style system firsthand.
“There were not many places at good high schools, and not many places in schools,” she started. “I had to take an exam at age 10 to be selected into what are called traditional high schools. And the year I did, maybe 50,000 students took the test and 10,000 made it.”
It didn’t end there, however, as she had to take another exam at age 15. As the years progressed, fewer and fewer students made it further in high school.
“Out of the 10,000 students who made it to high school, 2,500 of us were able to do the last two years. And at the end of the 7th year, 17-18, we did another set of exams. If there were 2,5000 kids who went onto those last two years of high school, it was maybe 1,000 who went on to university.”
Johnson, having lived it, has a love-hate relationship with the exam style system.
“I liked the curriculum I was teaching because it was very interesting and my students were constantly being exposed to why the chemistry they were learning mattered,” she said. “But I feel like there was so much pressure to get through it, I don’t think they were fully able to appreciate the beauty of it.”
Johnson also had critiques of the American education system, as her favorite places to work were any of the schools not in the United States.
“There’s never an opportunity for the whole school to get involved and to feel like we’re all in together.” Meanwhile, the British Style system has “houses, and inter house competition”, which Johnson compared to “what schools are like in Harry Potter.”
Johnson, however, did not only notice the differences between these countries. A lot of the value in traveling was noticing the similarities.
“Students generally valued education and were very invested overall. If you get the opportunity, pick it up and travel. Always a good thing.”
