(no subject)

[doyle]

Hmm. Looking through some old BBF discussion and I saw this comment by Gyrus (whose LJ handle I forget, sorry):

(For example, I recently read a fic in which something bad happens and Giles tries to tell Buffy that there was no way she could have anticipated it. She replies, "But I should've done!" That just looks weird to a Yank like me.)

I'm sure I'm guilty of using that myself. Why's it wrong? Should it be 'shoulda' instead of should've?

...any other glaring errors any of you have noticed non-Americans making? Because god knows I could go on for pages in obsessive Brit-picking of both Harry Potter fics and Buffy fics set in England (the language thing I get, but some of the cultural stuff, the 'my character's British so they've never heard of ___' : we do have pizzas and action movies and strange flavours of chips/crisps in Britain and Ireland, I promise you)

Comments

Re: sorta off-topic

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

(cont.)

In my high school, GPA was adjusted to reflect the different levels of classes. The idea was that an honors (or level zero) class was more work and had higher standards than a level one class, a level one class was harder than a level two class, and so on. They figured someone shouldn't be punished for getting a slightly lower grade in a more challenging class. (Punished because GPA determines class rank, and class rank is one way colleges sort applications.) So for my honors/level 0/AP (advanced placement) classes, an A was averaged in as a 4.4 rather than a 4.0, and so on.

The class levels went from 0 or 1, depending on the subject, to 3 or 4. 1 or 2 were standard levels, 3 or 4 was usually remedial. Buffy's school was clearly different, because Willow and Buffy and Xander were often in the same classes. My high school did have unleveled freshman science, health, and some other classes... those didn't get factored into your GPA at all. One controversy in American high schools has to do with leveling or "tracking" – where you are put into a given level at the beginning of junior high or high school, and stay there. This tends to perpetuate class distinctions, and is sometimes racist, and all that. In my school you could move up a level if you convince teachers you are capable – and moreover, willing to do the work, which was the big difference between honors and one (or one and two for a class with no honors offered). But in subjects like math, that would be nearly impossible, because the highest level class in a given year might teach something totally different than the lower leveled classes.

High school ends after senior year/12th grade, when there is a graduation. Some places have graduations from junior high/middle school (usually covering two to three years between 6th and 9th grade) or grade school, or even kindergarten (for 5 year-olds, pre-first grade), but I find those a bit silly. You can drop out of school legally at 16, but that tends to lead to lower-paying/unskilled jobs... the state is required to educate you until you are 18. There is an alternative to regular high school called vocational or voke... it's usually for non-college bound kids, who study things like wood and metal shop, auto repair, hair dressing, sewing, etc., as well as a reduced regular academic curriculum. Some vocational schools now include preparation for more technical careers, and some arrange for and require job internships outside school in the local community.

That's probably more than you ever wanted to know... two comments worth!... But it was sorta fun for me to try to break it down for someone unfamiliar with it, because it's quite complex when I think about it... I just always took it for granted.

Re: sorta off-topic

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

You rock hard. I'm saving all this for future fic reference.

Re: sorta off-topic

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

Sweet. Feel free to ask me more... I keep thinking of more things to explain (like statewide tests for graduation, which some states have and some don't, and all the pre-college tests), magnet schools, etc etc. But those things are unlikely to come up. If you really are saving this, please note there is no grade F+... I messed up that sentence. *g*