Homeroom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Home Room" redirects here. For the 2002 film, see Home Room (film).
Homeroom or advisory is a term used in schools across United States. It generally refers to the classroom session in which a teacher records attendance and makes announcements.
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[edit] International Meanings
[edit] Argentina
Home room is a concept that does not exist in Argentinian schools, as a single classroom is often used for all assignments (except for lab work or outdoors exercise). Students usually stay in groups of 20 to 40 for at least 2 years without being reshuffled and often maintain the same grouping throughout both primary and secondary education, with only the group's room and assigned member of staff changing. Typically, Argentinean schools will have a 15-30 minute form period in the morning, a one hour period for lunch and a similar period after lunch, albeit not all schools are required to have classes in both the morning and the afternoon. Schools (particularly private ones) will often use classes in the afternoon for secondary languages (English, French, etc) and sports activities. Students are usually not given much choice in the subjects they study and they all are subject to most academic subjects. The main choice a student has to make in entering secondary high school is in deciding a high school that leans towards general knowledge ("bachillerato", which encompasses arts and a general overview of science), economics ("comercial", whose orientation is towards math, primarily oriented towards accounting and business) or engineering (whose orientation is towards the sciences). Each school is given a lot of latitude in terms of extracurricular activities (teaching of secondary languages, sports, etc). Argentinian's education is often in flux, as governments every 5 years or so change the curriculum and number of required classes.
[edit] Australia
Home room in Australia varies from school to school. Some schools do not have home room at all, and attendance and announcements are made during the first period of the school day in a "student bulletin", while other schools run a home room system which is identical to that run in American schools.
[edit] Canada
Home room in Canadian schools follows the US model as well, but the time it occurs differs depending on the school district (and, in many cases, varies by the individual school).
[edit] China
In China, students often do not move between classes for different lessons and have a 10 minute period in which additional home room tasks can be done. Often these tasks include the collection or distribution of homework or the cleaning of the classroom. In competitive schools, the composition of home room classes is sometime based on ability in one or more core subjects. For example, students with a talent for science and math might be grouped together in one home room, while students with more practical or artistic skills would be put together in another. In such cases, the class' home room teacher often specializes in one of the core areas used to select his or her class.
[edit] Japan
Home room in Japanese schools is based on the US model, however it forms a greater part of students' lives. Students are expected to take on tasks for their home room, including cleaning, day duty (notetaking and classroom organization), and the organization of competitive events between home room classes. Home room classes are often reshuffled between years, changing their compositions.
[edit] United Kingdom
Although the term home room is not used in the UK, secondary students are usually assigned to a tutor group or form, which serves generally the same purpose as a home room. Students usually stay in these groups for at least 2 years without being reshuffled and often maintain the same grouping throughout secondary education, with only the group's room and assigned member of staff changing. Typically, UK schools will have a 15-30 minute form period in the morning and a similar period after lunch. Because UK schools commonly divide their students based on ability in academic subjects such as maths and English, tutor groups or forms are commonly used as the basis for mandatory studies, including sports, faith-based studies, and social studies, which do not require setting by ability.
[edit] United States
In the United States, home room is often the first period of the day, or it may follow the lunch break. During home room, teachers take attendance registers, may collect lunch orders, and carry out other administrative activities. Announcements may be made, correspondence distributed, and the Pledge of Allegiance said. It may be used for a period of reading, or finishing homework. In some schools, students are permitted to socialize or watch television news. The home room teacher is often considered to serve a pastoral role for their students, as well as an educational one.
