U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

CATEGORY: EDUCATION 
U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM 
Topic: U.S. Education System 


Introduction:
The U.S. education system gives international students many choices. There is an
array of institutions, programs, and locations that can make the student feel confused.
To simplify the choices, a student must carefully study how each program can fulfill their
goals.  A student will need to know how the U.S. education system is organized so that
they can make informed decisions.


Dialogue:
This conversation is between Alex and Julie, who see each other at the campus coffee
shop. Alex is in a nursing program, and Julie is finishing paramedic school.
Julie:  Alex, good to see you. I haven’t seen you in a long time. What have you been up
to?
Alex:  Hey, great to see you too. I’ve been studying a lot and getting ready for my
nursing test.
Julie:  That’s right.  You’re in the nursing program. How’s that going?
Alex:  Pretty good.  The textbook part was pretty brutal, but I enjoy being with the
patients.  Now we’re actually practicing nursing and using what we learned from
the books to help people.
Julie:  Are there a lot of guys in your program?  
Alex:  No.  Actually, I think I’m one of four.  There are about 250 students in the program
and most of them are women.
Julie:  I guess nursing has traditionally been a field that attracted mostly women.
Alex:  Yeah, it is.  But, it’s starting to change nowadays.  More and more men are
joining.
Julie:  Do your guy friends give you a hard time for being in the nursing program?
Alex:  They did a little at first.  But now that they see what a great career I’ll have,
they’re all cool with it.  
Julie:  It’s pretty cool that men and women are choosing jobs now that they might not
have in the past because of their gender.  I even have a friend, Mary, who is a
carpenter.
Alex:  Yeah.  I see women now that have jobs that were usually a man’s job in the past.
Like, I’ve seen female truck drivers on the road and a woman came to install my
cable TV the other day.
Julie: That’s interesting.  I’ve seen men doing jobs that were traditionally “women’s jobs”
too.  My niece had a man as her first grade teacher and most elementary school
teachers are women.
Alex:  Right, it’s true.  My brother is a stay-at-home dad because his wife is a lawyer.
So, he stays home and takes cares of their baby.
Julie:  You don’t hear a lot about dad’s staying home with the children.  It’s usually the
mother that stays home with the children.
Alex:  Yeah, but like you said, roles are changing for men and women more and more.
 
Julie:  Well, look at me even.  I had a job interview at a local fire department for a
paramedic’s position.  Most paramedics are men.
Alex: Oh, yeah.  I forgot.  How do you feel you did on the interview?
Julie:  I think I did pretty well.  I feel like I could do as good a job as any man that
interviewed.  
Alex:  I’m sure you could.  You’ve been studying so much, so I bet you answered all the
medical questions correctly.
Julie:  Yeah.  I could answer everything they asked me.  They said I was the only
candidate who answered all of their questions correctly.
Alex:  That’s awesome.  I hope you get the job.
permission of English 1 on 1. Julie:  Thanks.  Me too.
Alex:  Well, it seems like we’re both going into careers that are not too typical for our
genders.
Julie:  Times are changing.
Alex:  That’s true.
Julie:  Well, I guess I’d better get going.  Good luck with all of your patients and on the
nursing exam next week.
Alex:  Thanks.  Good luck with the job too.  Call me and let know what happens.
Julie:  I will.  See ya.
Alex:  Bye.