Home and school: what is a child's life like in Nova Anglicana?
Education in Nova Anglicana has four pre-university stages: pre-primary, primary, junior high, and senior high. Pre-primary is ages 3-4, primary is ages 5-11, junior high ages 12-13, and senior high ages 14-17. Nova Anglicana has a 200-day school year and observes public holidays as well as extended breaks around Christmas, Easter, and part of the summer. Education is mandatory through grade 10, though 97% of Nova Anglicans stay on through grade 12.
Pre-primary is available, but not mandatory, at age 3 for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and available but not mandatory for all at age 4. More than nine in ten Nova Anglicans send their children to pre-primary education, though about seven in ten choose public pre-primary, while two in ten choose private pre-primary. It mostly focuses on physical development, social development, emotional development, and language and literacy development and is typically half-day.
Primary education goes from kindergarten to grade 6. Students will have a primary teacher who will teach language and literacy, mathematical and numerical skills, science education, and social studies such as history or geography. The school day runs from 8:30 to 3:30 for grades one through six, and because education is a provincial responsibility, whether kindergarten is half-day or full-day varies by province. All students will spend 30 minutes at lunch and at recess, and 45 minutes of "quiet time" is mandated per day. For kindergarteners, this is typically time to rest, with mats provided for napping, while for other grades, students usually read, write, draw, or take the opportunity to rest at their desk. All students also get 45 minutes of instructional time in supplementary subjects, such as music, art, physical education, language, or technology, attending these classes for a week at a time. The most heavily studied non-English language at the primary level is French, though Latin is also taught at some schools. In French-speaking areas, there are schools where French is the primary language of instruction and English is the supplementary subject.
In junior high, students have one teacher for each core subject: writing/literature, mathematics, science, social studies, and physical education. They then choose several other classes such as language, visual art, drama, choral or band music (some schools offer orchestra), and vocational or technical education. The most popular languages offered are again French and Latin, though rounding out the top five are Spanish, German, and Chinese. Education primarily in French ceases at this level, though all districts in French-speaking areas are required to maintain a bilingual school. The hope is to prevent language segregation. Students again attend from 8:30 to 3:30, with classes ranging from 45-60 minutes. The four core subjects besides physical education are taught each day and then students will take their supplementary classes, though schools vary as to whether they take those classes every day for a semester or every other day for a year. Physical education is required each year, but may not occur every day. Comprehensive sexual education begins at this stage, with additional health education such as first aid, nutrition, and physiology also being incorporated into the physical education classes. Some schools find time for recess and/or quiet time, though not all.
Senior high is much the same as junior high, except that classes range from 45-90 minutes and supplementary subjects become much available. Some senior high schools will branch out to Japanese, Korean, or Arabic in terms of language education. Vocational classes also expand, and supplementary subjects also begin to be offered in the core areas, such as additional science, literature, social studies, and physical education classes. Advanced studies like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate may also be offered. Recess is not offered at the senior high level, nor quiet time, though some schools make a practice of a study period that may be utilised in a number of ways.
Also part of the Nova Anglican public school system is what's called "CEI" or "Character and Emotional Intelligence". These are both supposed to inculcate values such as perseverance, respect, generosity, integrity, and self-discipline and help students with their inward-facing and outward-facing emotional development. At the primary level, it's usually 15 minutes a day of stories or very short demonstrations. At the junior high level, it becomes a 30-minute weekly session with school counselors (rotating between classes) focusing on roleplaying, mostly. At the senior high level, it's a required class to graduate, taken over a period of a year and incorporating roleplaying, scenarios, class discussions, books and magazine articles, and community service work. It's typically team-taught by a teacher of some other subject and a school counselor and varies. For example, a drama teacher may more heavily emphasize interactive experiences, while a science teacher may choose to focus on the physiological and psychological aspects of it. Some schools also have CEI clubs, which encourage community service work, open and honest discussion, and peer-to-peer relationships.
School choice in Nova Anglicana is important. This includes not only private schools, but not-for-profit "charter schools", magnet programs in public schools, and the ability of students to go to public schools not in their part of the school district if there are spots available. Charter schools are like public schools, but are governed by a board instead of the local school district and employ an unweighted lottery system for admission. They are required to publish performance reviews and have students take required tests, but otherwise operate with more flexibility. Magnet programs are specialties of a particular school that allow for non-zoned students to attend if they wish to study those programs. They range from programs like International Baccalaureate to vocational programs such as nursing or machine shop, to focuses like science and technology.
As far as services, school lunch is free in public school for any student who wants it. School districts make strong efforts to use local food producers, quality ingredients, and to provide a full meal with balanced nutrition to children. Nova Anglican schools do not offer sodas, and try to avoid packaged foods where possible. The majority of students eat school lunch, though a significant minority bring food from home. Every school has a nurse, and larger schools sometimes have more than one on a part-time basis. Social workers and counselors are also available for issues of mental health. A limited number of before and after-school care slots are offered for a reasonable fee.
About 1 in 6 Nova Anglican students attend a private school. Most (80%) are religious, with Catholic being the most numerous, followed by Anglican. Other Christian schools make up the majority of religious schools, though there are a few Jewish or Islamic schools in the country. 20% are non-sectarian and employ methods such as Montessori, Waldorf, and Paideia, among traditional methods of education. Many private Christian schools will style themselves as offering a "classical Christian education. Private schools, of course, require tuition and can be quite expensive, but generous donors often make efforts to cover fees for disadvantaged students, and some more established schools can afford to lower tuition. Private schools generally require entrance interviews and although many are Christian, they cannot turn down students of other or no faiths because of that difference.
Pre-primary is available, but not mandatory, at age 3 for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and available but not mandatory for all at age 4. More than nine in ten Nova Anglicans send their children to pre-primary education, though about seven in ten choose public pre-primary, while two in ten choose private pre-primary. It mostly focuses on physical development, social development, emotional development, and language and literacy development and is typically half-day.
Primary education goes from kindergarten to grade 6. Students will have a primary teacher who will teach language and literacy, mathematical and numerical skills, science education, and social studies such as history or geography. The school day runs from 8:30 to 3:30 for grades one through six, and because education is a provincial responsibility, whether kindergarten is half-day or full-day varies by province. All students will spend 30 minutes at lunch and at recess, and 45 minutes of "quiet time" is mandated per day. For kindergarteners, this is typically time to rest, with mats provided for napping, while for other grades, students usually read, write, draw, or take the opportunity to rest at their desk. All students also get 45 minutes of instructional time in supplementary subjects, such as music, art, physical education, language, or technology, attending these classes for a week at a time. The most heavily studied non-English language at the primary level is French, though Latin is also taught at some schools. In French-speaking areas, there are schools where French is the primary language of instruction and English is the supplementary subject.
In junior high, students have one teacher for each core subject: writing/literature, mathematics, science, social studies, and physical education. They then choose several other classes such as language, visual art, drama, choral or band music (some schools offer orchestra), and vocational or technical education. The most popular languages offered are again French and Latin, though rounding out the top five are Spanish, German, and Chinese. Education primarily in French ceases at this level, though all districts in French-speaking areas are required to maintain a bilingual school. The hope is to prevent language segregation. Students again attend from 8:30 to 3:30, with classes ranging from 45-60 minutes. The four core subjects besides physical education are taught each day and then students will take their supplementary classes, though schools vary as to whether they take those classes every day for a semester or every other day for a year. Physical education is required each year, but may not occur every day. Comprehensive sexual education begins at this stage, with additional health education such as first aid, nutrition, and physiology also being incorporated into the physical education classes. Some schools find time for recess and/or quiet time, though not all.
Senior high is much the same as junior high, except that classes range from 45-90 minutes and supplementary subjects become much available. Some senior high schools will branch out to Japanese, Korean, or Arabic in terms of language education. Vocational classes also expand, and supplementary subjects also begin to be offered in the core areas, such as additional science, literature, social studies, and physical education classes. Advanced studies like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate may also be offered. Recess is not offered at the senior high level, nor quiet time, though some schools make a practice of a study period that may be utilised in a number of ways.
Also part of the Nova Anglican public school system is what's called "CEI" or "Character and Emotional Intelligence". These are both supposed to inculcate values such as perseverance, respect, generosity, integrity, and self-discipline and help students with their inward-facing and outward-facing emotional development. At the primary level, it's usually 15 minutes a day of stories or very short demonstrations. At the junior high level, it becomes a 30-minute weekly session with school counselors (rotating between classes) focusing on roleplaying, mostly. At the senior high level, it's a required class to graduate, taken over a period of a year and incorporating roleplaying, scenarios, class discussions, books and magazine articles, and community service work. It's typically team-taught by a teacher of some other subject and a school counselor and varies. For example, a drama teacher may more heavily emphasize interactive experiences, while a science teacher may choose to focus on the physiological and psychological aspects of it. Some schools also have CEI clubs, which encourage community service work, open and honest discussion, and peer-to-peer relationships.
School choice in Nova Anglicana is important. This includes not only private schools, but not-for-profit "charter schools", magnet programs in public schools, and the ability of students to go to public schools not in their part of the school district if there are spots available. Charter schools are like public schools, but are governed by a board instead of the local school district and employ an unweighted lottery system for admission. They are required to publish performance reviews and have students take required tests, but otherwise operate with more flexibility. Magnet programs are specialties of a particular school that allow for non-zoned students to attend if they wish to study those programs. They range from programs like International Baccalaureate to vocational programs such as nursing or machine shop, to focuses like science and technology.
As far as services, school lunch is free in public school for any student who wants it. School districts make strong efforts to use local food producers, quality ingredients, and to provide a full meal with balanced nutrition to children. Nova Anglican schools do not offer sodas, and try to avoid packaged foods where possible. The majority of students eat school lunch, though a significant minority bring food from home. Every school has a nurse, and larger schools sometimes have more than one on a part-time basis. Social workers and counselors are also available for issues of mental health. A limited number of before and after-school care slots are offered for a reasonable fee.
About 1 in 6 Nova Anglican students attend a private school. Most (80%) are religious, with Catholic being the most numerous, followed by Anglican. Other Christian schools make up the majority of religious schools, though there are a few Jewish or Islamic schools in the country. 20% are non-sectarian and employ methods such as Montessori, Waldorf, and Paideia, among traditional methods of education. Many private Christian schools will style themselves as offering a "classical Christian education. Private schools, of course, require tuition and can be quite expensive, but generous donors often make efforts to cover fees for disadvantaged students, and some more established schools can afford to lower tuition. Private schools generally require entrance interviews and although many are Christian, they cannot turn down students of other or no faiths because of that difference.
Family is important in Nova Anglicana, (mostly) no matter what form it takes. In terms of family formation, the vast majority of Nova Anglicans get married at least once in their lifetime, and the median age of a first marriage is one's early twenties. However, this includes those who get married right out of senior high. Those who attend university tend to wait until their late twenties or even early thirties to get married. Both opposite-sex and same-sex marriage are legal, though polygamy is not. There are no prohibitions on unmarried polyamory, or polyamory in which some members of the relationship may be married and others not, but it's not socially acceptable in Nova Anglicana. Marriage is encouraged through favorable tax deductions and the way some social benefits are structured, as well as generally being culturally encouraged. Both civil and religious marriage is available, but religious-only (without a state marriage license) is not recognised as a legal marriage.
No-fault divorce is the law of the land, but culturally, couples are expected to attend counseling, religious or otherwise, prior to divorce, and some couples regard infidelity or abuse as the only acceptable reasons for divorce. There are some government programs that will offer either referrals to counseling or financial assistance.
As far as children, not having children is socially acceptable, but seen as a good sight out of the mainstream. 87% of Nova Anglicans say they would like to have between two and four children, while 3% say none, 8% say one, and 2% say more than four. The average number of children per family is between 2.5 and 3. Children are regarded as a blessing, though it is also socially acceptable for single parents to give up children for adoption if they aren't raising children yet. The government encourages foster care and adoption and tries to maintain a balance between bureaucracy and ensuring the welfare of children. Adoption by same-sex parents is legal, though religious adoption agencies are allowed to refuse adoption. Those that do represent a minority of all children adopted in Nova Anglicana. Pre-natal care and preventative healthcare for children, like checkups, are free of charge, and births are not expensive. There is a child allowance for the first year of the child's life and tax credits after that that help make child-rearing less expensive, as well as childcare supports for lower-income families and a system of government childcare facilities.
Family is formed in many ways. Same-sex parents, opposite-sex parents, adopted children, or children living with their grandparents are all common. Extended family living in the same house is rare, but living in the same town, region, or province as your extended family is common.
No-fault divorce is the law of the land, but culturally, couples are expected to attend counseling, religious or otherwise, prior to divorce, and some couples regard infidelity or abuse as the only acceptable reasons for divorce. There are some government programs that will offer either referrals to counseling or financial assistance.
As far as children, not having children is socially acceptable, but seen as a good sight out of the mainstream. 87% of Nova Anglicans say they would like to have between two and four children, while 3% say none, 8% say one, and 2% say more than four. The average number of children per family is between 2.5 and 3. Children are regarded as a blessing, though it is also socially acceptable for single parents to give up children for adoption if they aren't raising children yet. The government encourages foster care and adoption and tries to maintain a balance between bureaucracy and ensuring the welfare of children. Adoption by same-sex parents is legal, though religious adoption agencies are allowed to refuse adoption. Those that do represent a minority of all children adopted in Nova Anglicana. Pre-natal care and preventative healthcare for children, like checkups, are free of charge, and births are not expensive. There is a child allowance for the first year of the child's life and tax credits after that that help make child-rearing less expensive, as well as childcare supports for lower-income families and a system of government childcare facilities.
Family is formed in many ways. Same-sex parents, opposite-sex parents, adopted children, or children living with their grandparents are all common. Extended family living in the same house is rare, but living in the same town, region, or province as your extended family is common.
