Education

In the American educational system children are generally required to attend school from the age of five or six until age 16, with the majority continuing until they are at least 17 or 18, or have graduated from high school. The public education systems vary from one state to another but generally are organized as follows: * Age five: Kindergarten * Ages six-11: Elementary school. Children start in grade 1 and advance to grade 5 or 6. * Ages 12-14 or 11-14: Junior high school or middle school (usually grades 7-8 or grades 6-8, respectively). * Ages 14-18: High school (usually grades 9-12 or 10-12, depending on whether the community uses middle schools or junior high schools). The entire span of primary and secondary education, from Kindergarten to grade 12, is often abbrieved in the US as K-12 or K12, which in spoken American English is rendered as "K through 12" or "K 12." Additionally, many children attend schools before they reach the age of five. These pre-schools are often private and not part of the public educational system although some public school systems include pre-schools. Work and jobs An American highway in Atlanta, Georgia Enlarge An American highway in Atlanta, Georgia Most people commute to work using automobiles rather than mass transit; the effect of the automobile on the United States and its prominence in American life cannot be underestimated. Most jobs are based on a 40-hour work week; that is, five days (Monday through Friday), eight hours per day. The United States has minimum wage laws requiring a minimum wage for many employees, though a number of employment sectors are excluded. Minimum wage differs from state to state; some states have higher minimum wages than the wage mandated by the federal government. Vacations are usually two weeks. Other company benefits may include sick days and/or personal days. Americans usually retire at the age of 65, but may retire earlier if their pension plans/financial status permits it. [edit] Housing Immediately after World War II, Americans began living in increasing numbers in the suburbs, belts around major cities with higher density than rural areas, but much lower than urban areas. This move has been attributed to many factors such as the automobile, the availability of large tracts of land, the increasing violence in urban centers (see white flight), and the cheapness of housing. These new single-family houses were usually one or two stories tall, and often were part of large contracts of homes built by a single developer. The resulting low-density development has been given the pejorative label "urban sprawl."