(2015) Коллоквиум 2 (1157972), страница 4
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The Cabinet together with the president, the cabinet members (13) form the government. They advise on issues related to their departments.
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, who are generally the heads of the federal executive departments.
11. What is the US president responsible for?
The President chooses the fourteen cabinet members who head departments, such as Justice, Defense, or Education; chooses who will run as vice president; appoints federal judges; chooses heads of agencies such as the FBI and CIA; proposes laws, and approves federal laws after Congress has approved them; appoints US ambassadors to foreign countries; bears the responsibilities of relations with foreign countries and commander- in chief of armed forces.
12. What is the main instrument of the federal judiciary?
The third branch of government is the Judiciary branch. The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, makes sure that laws are constitutional. Nine Supreme Court judges are appointed for life.
In addition to the Supreme Court, there are also twelve courts of appeal and ninety-one district courts. Congress has the power to fix the number of judges sitting on the Court, but it cannot change the powers given to the Supreme Court by the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices.
The Supreme Court has direct jurisdiction in only two kinds of cases: those involving foreign diplomats and those in which a state is a party. All other cases, which reach the Court, are appeals from lower courts. Most of the cases involve the interpretation of the Constitution. The Supreme Court also has the “power of judicial review”, that is, it has the right to declare laws and actions of the federal, state, and local governments unconstitutional.
13. What is the main significance of the Bill of Rights?
In 1791 ten amendments were added to the Constitution, known as the “Bill of Rights”, according to which the Federal government guarantees freedom of speech, press, or religion.
14. What is the attitude of many Americans to their politicians?
Americans, always concerned that their politicians represent their interests, often form “pressure” groups, political lobbies, public action committees (PACs), or special interest groups. Such groups influence politicians on almost any imaginable subject. One group might campaign for a nationwide, federal gun-control law, while another group opposes it.
The traditional American distrust of a too powerful central government has kept the controversy between federal, states’ and local rights over the years.
15.What are the responsibilities of State Governments?
Although Federal Laws apply to all citizens wherever they live, each of the fifty USA states also has its own Constitution and three branches of the Government: Executive, with a governor, a legislative assembly, and a judiciary. Each state has its own state police and its own criminal laws. The same is true w0ith marriage and divorce laws, driving laws and licenses, alcohol laws, voting procedures.
All education at any level is the concern of the states.
A great many of the most hotly debated questions, which in other countries are decided at the national level, are in America settled by the individual states and communities. Most states and some cities have their own income taxes.
Discussion Points:
I. Which document is the operation of the US government based on?
The governmental systems of the United States – federal, state, country, and local are quite easy to understand. The operation of these systems is based on the US Constitution, which was adopted by US Congress in 1785.
2. Explain the function of the different branches of government in the USA.
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress. Enumerated in Article I, Section 8, these include the powers to levy and collect taxes; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment for counterfeiting; establish post offices and roads, issue patents, create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, combat piracies and felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for the regulation of land and naval forces, provide for, arm and discipline the militia, exercise exclusive legislation in the District of Columbia, and to make laws necessary to properly execute powers.
The executive power in the federal government is vested in the President of the United States although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials.
The Judiciary explains and applies the laws. This branch does this by hearing and eventually making decisions on various legal cases.
3. Compare them with those in Britain and the RF.
4. The election of a president is a long and complex process;
.5. What is the relationship between federal, state, and local governments.
1. What were the aims of early institutions of higher learning?
Obviously, the main purpose for establishing institutions of higher learning is to get people educated. During Colonial Era these people were immigrants, seeking for schooling as the tool for a better life and “rising the new world” according to “american dream”. Before the revolution nine colleges had been opened in North America by religious denominations in order to train men for service in the church and civil problems. The American Independence brought a lot of new tasks. The independence of the states raised new questions about what American education should be. The first state universities were founded, though their serious work came a century later, after the Civil War. Rapid development of industry, agriculture and transportation after the Civil War brought about the technological needs and stimulated the creation of agricultural and engineering colleges.
2. Did American colleges duplicate their British counterparts in all respects?
At the time of their establishment they did. They were modeled after Oxford and Cambridge universities in England; they (american ones) early began to collect endowment and special emphasis was laid on classical education.
3. List the changes that took place in the American system of higher education in the 19th century?
Many of the oldest and best-known liberal arts colleges, such as Yale, Columbia and Harvard, became universities during this period. The more elite colleges became increasingly exclusive and contributed relatively little to upward social mobility (such as Harvard). Oberlin College in Ohio was the first to admit women on an equal basis with men in 1837. In 1861 the private school known as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was founded. In 1862, Congress passed a law, which provided states with federal lands for construction and use for higher education. After that many “land-grant colleges” were established.
4. What does the word “school” mean as applied to an American university?
It doesn’t mean “school” in common way. It is a word we use referring to higher educational facility. For example, it is usual for us to say “law school” instead of “university of law”.
5. When were women first admitted to American universities?
Oberlin College in Ohio was the first to admit women on an equal basis with men in 1837.
6. Is the USA school education centralized? Is there a unified system of education?
The United States have never had a national system of education although there is a Federal Department of Education, which in some ways corresponds to the Russian ministry of Education. Its function is merely to gather information and to help finance certain educational programs. Education, Americans say, is “a national concern, a state responsibility, and a local function”. Since the Constitution does not state that education is a responsibility of the federal government, all education matters are left to the individual states. In turn, however, state constitutions give the actual administrative control of the schools to the local communities.
7. At what age do children begin to attend school in the USA?
American children begin to attend school at the age of five or six. There are also pre-school classes or kindergartens. Before this kids may attend nursery school or a day care center.
8. What is a high school in the USA?
High school is a form of secondary education and comprises grades 9 or 10 to 12. Most American high schools are comprehensive high schools and accept all students from their local area, regardless of ability
9 What is the theoretical basis of the great amount of time allotted to extra-curricular activities?
There is usually a very broad range of extracurricular activities available. Most schools, for instance, publish their own student newspapers, and some have their own radio and t.v. stations. Almost all have school orchestras, bands, and choirs, which give public performances. There is theater and drama groups, chess and debating clubs, and, of course, sports. Students can learn flying, diving, and mountain - climbing. They can act as volunteers in hospitals and homes for the aged and do other public-service work. Such activities not only give pupils a chance to be together outside of normal classes, they also help develop a feeling of “school spirit” among the students and in the community.
10. What kind of personality do they try to develop in American school-students?
The apostle of American school education is philosopher and educator John Dewey. He believed that the main aim is to teach kids skills, which they will use in the future. He also greatly stressed that activity and experimentation should come first but factual or theoretical information to students is secondary. So, in American schools much attention is given to creative activities. American schools try to adapt to the needs of society. Schools are initiating programs previously viewed as a part of home education. These include subjects such as driver’s education, sewing and cooking classes called home economics, health and sex education, where issues like drug and alcohol abuse and smoking may be treated.
11. Is there a national system of higher education?
Every state in the US maintains at least one institution of university rank. Programs in them are often adapted to serve local needs. State universities provide opportunities of higher education usually at a cost considerably below the cost of education in private institutions. Each state has the right to found new public or private institutions of higher education within its borders. Of the nation’s 1,900 institutions of higher learning roughly one-third are state or city institutions. About 1,200 are privately controlled or controlled by religious groups. The others are vocational or junior colleges.
12. How can an American school-leaver enter a higher educational institution?
Acceptance into university is based on a written application, submission of a transcript showing all courses and results in previously-attended educational institutions, evidence that the student satisfactorily completed all requirements at the previously-attended institution, and sometimes an oral interview or written resume. The evidence of completing requirements in school is either a SAT or ACT.
13. What are the entrance standards and admission policies at American universities and Colleges?
Different schools of higher learning may have different standards of acceptance: some may require excellent grades on the S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test, which attempts to measure skills in mathematical and verbal fields) or A.C.T. (American College Testing program, which attempts to measure skills in English, mathematics, and the social and natural sciences), while others may have less strict requirements.
14. What are the levels of the American higher learning?
The levels are: College or Undergraduate University Education; Graduate or Professional Education; Doctoral Program. Students in College or Undergraduate University Education are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. A freshmen is a first year student, a sophomore a second year student, a junior a third year student, and a senior a fourth year student.
15. What are “majoring” and “minoring” in American higher education?
Most undergraduate students must take classes in English, Math, History, and science. They choose a major (specialize) in a subject such as business, education, or art in their third year of college or after they have completed half of their course work. Minors are other subjects they study during their education.
16. What are the American degrees?
The bachelor’s (baccalaureate) degree is the oldest academic degree used in various forms by almost every institution. It comprises of four years of education. After graduating the baccalaureate students can take Master’s Program (2 years) .The master’s degree program is not, however, considered to be a research degree, but rather preparation for the PhD. Doctoral programs usually consist of at least 3 years of study beyond the baccalaureate. There are 2 quite distinct types of doctoral programs: the professional degree and the research degree. The first type represents advanced training for the practice of a given profession, while the research doctorate (PhD) is the highest earned degree in the American graduate school.
“Science”
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