North America
North America is a continent within the Northern Hemisphere and all within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16.5% of the earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, the fourth by population after Asia and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands are included. North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge 40,000 to 17,000 years ago; the so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago. The Classic stage spans the 6th to 13th centuries.
The Pre-Columbian era ended in 1492, the transatlantic migrations—the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants. Owing to the European colonization of the Americas, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, their culture reflects Western traditions; the Americas are accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a world map, in which he placed the word "America" on the continent of South America, in the middle of what is today Brazil, he explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio:... ab Americo inventore... quasi Americi terram sive Americam.
For Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespucci's name, but in its feminine form "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia" and "Africa". Other mapmakers extended the name America to the northern continent, In 1538, Gerard Mercator used America on his map of the world for all the Western Hemisphere; some argue that because the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries, the derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" could be put in question. In 1874, Thomas Belt proposed a derivation from the Amerrique mountains of Central America. Marcou corresponded with Augustus Le Plongeon, who wrote: "The name AMERICA or AMERRIQUE in the Mayan language means, a country of perpetually strong wind, or the Land of the Wind, and... the can mean... a spirit that breathes, life itself." The United Nations formally recognizes "North America" as comprising three areas: Northern America, Central America, The Caribbean.
This has been formally defined by the UN Statistics Division. The term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with context. In Canadian English, North America refers to the land mass as a whole consisting of Mexico, the United States, Canada, although it is ambiguous which other countries are included, is defined by context. In the United States of America, usage of the term may refer only to Canada and the US, sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands. In France, Portugal, Romania and the countries of Latin America, the cognates of North America designate a subcontinent of the Americas comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, Bermuda. North America has been referred to by other names. Spanish North America was referred to as Northern America, this was the first official name given to Mexico. Geographically the North American continent has many subregions; these include cultural and geographic regions. Economic regions included those formed by trade blocs, such as the North American Trade Agreement bloc and Central American Trade Agreement.
Linguistically and culturally, the continent could be divided into Latin America. Anglo-America includes most of Northern America and Caribbean islands with English-speaking populations; the southern North American continent is composed of two regions. These are the Caribbean; the north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of "North America", which encompasses the whole continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used to refer only to Mexico, the United States, Greenland; the term Northern America refers to the northern-most countries and territories of North America: the United States, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon and Greenland. Although the term does not refer to a unifie
Primary school
A primary school is a school in which children receive primary or elementary education from the age of about five to eleven, coming after preschool, infant school and before secondary school. In most parts of the world, primary education is the first stage of compulsory education, is available without charge, but may be offered in a fee-paying independent school; the term grade school is sometimes used in the US, although this term may refer to both primary education and secondary education. The term primary school is derived from the French école primaire, first used in 1802. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations, in most publications of the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization. Elementary school is preferred in some countries in the United States and Canada. In some parts of the United States, "primary school" refers to a school with grades Kindergarten through second grade or third grade. In these locations, the "elementary school" includes grades four to six.
In some places, primary schooling has further been divided between lower primary schools, which were the elementary schools, higher primary schools, which were established to provide a more practical instruction to poorer classes than what was provided in the secondary schools. Blab school Early childhood education Elementary school Elementary school Elementary school Elementary schools in Japan Educational stage Secondary school School Virtual reality in primary education National Center for Education Statistics Elementary Schools with Education and Crime Statistics
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an “open enrollment” for students who have graduated from high school; the term refers to a higher educational institution that provides workforce education and college transfer academic programs. Some institutions maintain athletic dormitories similar to their university counterparts. In Australia, the term "community college" refers to small private businesses running short courses of a self-improvement or hobbyist nature. Equivalent to the American notion of community colleges are Tertiary and Further Education colleges or TAFEs. There are an increasing number of private providers, which are colloquially called "colleges". TAFEs and other providers carry on the tradition of adult education, established in Australia around the mid-19th century, when evening classes were held to help adults enhance their numeracy and literacy skills. Most Australian universities can be traced back to such forerunners, although obtaining a university charter has always changed their nature.
In TAFEs and colleges today, courses are designed for personal development of an individual and/or for employment outcomes. Educational programs cover a variety of topics such as arts, languages and lifestyle, they are scheduled to run two, three or four days of the week, depending on the level of the course undertaken. A Certificate I may only run for 4 hours twice a week for a term of 9 weeks. A full-time Diploma course might have classes 4 days per week for a year; some courses may be offered in the weekends to accommodate people working full-time. Funding for colleges may come from government grants and course fees. Many are not-for-profit organisations; such TAFES are located in metropolitan and rural locations of Australia. Education offered by TAFEs and colleges has changed over the years. By the 1980s many colleges had recognised a community need for computer training. Since thousands of people have increased skills through IT courses; the majority of colleges by the late 20th century had become Registered Training Organisations.
They offer individuals a nurturing, non-traditional education venue to gain skills that better prepare them for the workplace and potential job openings. TAFEs and colleges have not traditionally offered bachelor's degrees, instead providing pathway arrangements with universities to continue towards degrees; the American innovation of the associate degree is being developed at some institutions. Certificate courses I to IV, diplomas and advanced diplomas are offered, the latter deemed equivalent to an undergraduate qualification, albeit in more vocational areas; some TAFE institutes have become higher education providers in their own right and are now starting to offer bachelor's degree programs. In Canada, colleges are adult educational institutions that provide higher education and tertiary education, grant certificates and diplomas; as well, in Ontario, the 24 colleges of applied arts and technology have been mandated to offer their own stand-alone degrees as well as to offer joint degrees with universities through "articulation agreements" that result in students emerging with both a diploma and a degree.
Thus, for example, the University of Guelph "twins" with Humber College and York University does the same with Seneca College. More however, colleges have been offering a variety of their own degrees in business and technical fields; the academic and economic value of the college degree is still being tested in the marketplace. Each province has its own educational system, as prescribed by the Canadian federalism model of governance. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, most Canadian colleges began to provide practical education and training for the emerging baby boom generation, for immigrants from around the world who were entering Canada in increasing numbers at that time. A formative trend was the merging of the separate vocational training and adult education institutions. Canadian colleges are either publicly funded or private post-secondary institutions. There are 150 institutions that are equivalent to the US community college in certain contexts, they are referred to as "colleges" since in common usage a degree-granting institution is exclusively a university.
In addition to graduate degrees, universities grant Associate's degrees and Bachelor's degrees, but in some regions and/or courses of study and universities collaborate so college students can earn transfer credits toward undergraduate university degrees. University degrees are attained through four years of study; the term associate degree is used in western Canada to refer to a two-year college arts or science degree, similar to how the term is used in the United States. In other parts of Canada the term advanced degree is used to indicate a 3- or 4-year college program. In the province of Quebec, three years is the norm for a university degree because a year of credit is earned in the CEGEP system; when speaking in English, people refer to all colleges as Cégeps, however the term is an acronym more applied to the French-language public system: Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel. The word College can refer to a private High School in Quebec. Canadian community college systemsList of colleges in Canada Colleges and Institutes Can
Canada
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border, its capital is Ottawa, its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra, its population is urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons. Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century and French expeditions explored, settled, along the Atlantic coast.
As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces; this began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition, with Elizabeth II as its queen and a prime minister who serves as the chair of the federal cabinet and head of government; the country is a realm within the Commonwealth of Nations, a member of the Francophonie and bilingual at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education.
It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. A developed country, Canada has the sixteenth-highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the twelfth-highest ranking in the Human Development Index, its advanced economy is the tenth-largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Canada is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada, the name is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".
In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona. From the 16th to the early 18th century "Canada" referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named the Canadas. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference, the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth"; the government of Louis St. Laurent ended the practice of using'Dominion' in the Statutes of Canada in 1951. In 1982, the passage of the Canada Act, bringing the Constitution of Canada under Canadian control, referred only to Canada, that year the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day.
The term Dominion was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the Second World War the term federal had replaced dominion. Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations, Métis, the last being a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European settlers; the term "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act 1982. The first inhabitants of North America are hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago; the Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Canadian indigenous societies included permanent settlements, complex societal hierarchies, trading networks; some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations.
The indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000
Royal Military College Saint-Jean
The Royal Military College Saint-Jean referred to as RMC Saint-Jean, is a Canadian military college. It is located on the site of Fort Saint-Jean built in 1666, now part of the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, 40 km south of Montreal. RMC Saint-Jean is the arm of the Canadian Military College system that ensures the smooth transition of selected cadets from Quebec high schools to university education by providing pre-university programs; the programs are harmonized with those at the Royal Military College of Canada. The four components of achievement are Academics, Leadership and Bilingualism. RMC Saint-Jean offers a low teacher-student ratio, a physical fitness programme and leadership activities; the college has an intramural sports programme and recreational facilities. Conduct of the Preparatory Year academic activities, under the functional authority of RMC, as well as military and fitness training and bilingualism. Provision of oversight, under the functional authority of RMC, of the Continuing Studies and Officer Professional Military Education programs.
Corresponding to the first two years of college studies in Quebec, preparatory year is a pre-university program of studies. Intended for students who have obtained their high-school certificates in Quebec or the equivalent elsewhere in Canada, the program prepares students to continue their studies at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Military education for Canadian officers is focused on the four components unique to the military colleges: military training, physical fitness and academic excellence. About 200 students per year receive training at RMC Saint-Jean in a two-year, general military, college diploma program: 130–140 cadets in the preparatory year 60–70 in the second yearRMC Saint-Jean allows Quebecers who have completed a year at certain colleges to switch into the first year at RMC Saint-Jean. RMC Saint-Jean offers courses in French to the French-speaking cadets and in English to the English-speaking cadets. Although the college does not offer university-level courses as it did before 1995, credits can be applied to programs at RMC or other universities.
So that students can move seamlessly from one to the other, the academic programs at the two institutions are harmonized. At the end of the first or preparatory year, students who opt for the “General” program stay on at CMR for another year. Students studying engineering go to Kingston, Ontario into the first year at RMC; the preparatory year cadets acquire the necessary academic standard needed to attend RMC. Although the program is intended for students from Quebec, the preparatory year is open to students from Canada who need to upgrade their studies before beginning university courses; the academic function of CMR is to educate its cadets up to the second year of a college degree. The remaining studies are to be completed at the RMC in Kingston. Divided into two semesters, the academic year is composed of 75 teaching days and a final examination period, followed by a supplemental examination period. In preparation for continued university studies at RMC, students select either the Social Sciences programme or the Science programme.
Each programme is offered in both official languages. The two programmes share core courses: four in literature; these core courses are supplemented with courses specific to each programme. The preparatory year students register in either science program; the programs are offered in both official languages. The social sciences program features courses in sociology, political science, computer science and physics; the sciences program includes courses in mathematics, chemistry, computer science, history. The core courses in both programs include: literature, second language, physical education; the mandate of the preparatory year is to develop in its students good work habits, academic diligence, critical facility, team spirit. Cadets wear a variety of uniforms depending on their environment: ceremonial dress. In winter 2009, Royal Military College officer cadets returned to wearing a distinctive Dress of the Day uniform which consists of a white shirt, black sweater/light jacket, as well as black trousers/skirt with a red stripe down the side.
The headdress is a black wedge with red piping. Mess dress is worn in the Senior Staff Mess for formal occasions such as mess dinners; the gold thread crossed pistols are awarded as a military badge for marksmanship when marksman levels are achieved for the pistol. The gold thread crossed rifles are awarded as a military badge for marksmanship when marksman levels are achieved with a rifle; the gold thread cross swords in a laurel wreath military proficiency badge is awarded if the following conditions have been met by the student: a mark of at least B in military assessment.
Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec
The Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec is a public network of nine state-subsidised schools offering higher education in music and theatre in Quebec, Canada. The organization was established in 1942 as a branch of the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec by the government of Quebec during the premiership of Maurice Duplessis. Orchestra conductor Wilfrid Pelletier and composer Claude Champagne are credited for their zeal in promoting this project towards establishment, the two men led the organization as director and assistant director for its first several years; the organization's current director general is Nicolas Desjardins. The first two conservatoires in the CMADQ network were for music and were established in Montreal in 1943 and Quebec City in 1944. During the 1950s the organization founded additional schools for the theatre arts in both those cities, followed by four additional music conservatories in 1967 in Chicoutimi, Trois-Rivières, Val-d'Or; the seventh and last school for music to be added was in Rimouski in 1973.
A large number of Canada's most successful musicians and artists of the theatre of the 20th and 21st centuries have been trained or taught at these schools. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Canadian composer Claude Champagne put together a large report on music education; this report was presented to the Quebec government by Champagne and conductor Wilfrid Pelletier with the hopes of establishing Canadian institutes of higher learning for music. The report examined music education in Europe as well as in Canada and plans were soon formed to establish a network of state-subsidized school which would be modeled after European conservatories the Conservatoire de Paris. On 29 May 1942 The Conservatory Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Quebec which allocated a $30,000 budget to form the CMADQ's first school, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal; the CMQM opened its doors in January 1943 with its first round of courses which were held at the Saint-Sulpice Library. Pelletier was Champagne the first assistant director.
With the successful opening of the CMQM, the CMADQ, under Pelletier's leadership, began plans to establish a similar conservatory in Quebec City, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec. These plans were swiftly carried out and the school's first day of classes occurred on 17 January 1944 with Pelletier serving as this school's first director. Most of the conservatoire's original faculty were teachers at the CMQM and commuted back and forth between the two schools during its early years; the CMADQ was only concerned with musical education, but Pelletier felt that Quebec needed to conservatories for studies in theatre as well. He was met with resistance. However, he won the ear of Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis and his influence led to the establishment of the CMADQ's first school for the theatre arts, the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Montréal in 1954 under the directorship of Jan Doat; the establishment of the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Québec followed four years later.
The CMADQ went on to establish four more music conservatoires in 1967. The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières was established as a preparatory school for conservatoire bound students in 1964, it became a full-fledged conservatoire in the CMADQ network in 1967. The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Val-d'Or opened in September 1967 and the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau was opened on 15 October 1967 followed by the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Saguenay on 16 October 1967; the last conservatoire to be added to the CMADQ, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Rimouski, opened in 1973. The conservatory consists of seven music schools and two theatre schools: Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Gatineau Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Rimouski Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Saguenay Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Val-d'Or Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Québec Official Web site
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Northern Ireland, the Caribbean, Malta and Malaysia, among others, where students aged 16 to 19 study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels and Technology Education Council and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, or school-level qualifications such as General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. In Singapore and India, this is known as a junior college; the municipal government of the city of Paris uses the phrase "sixth form college" as the English name for a lycée. In England and the Caribbean, education is compulsory until the end of year 13, the school year in which the pupil turns 18. In the English state educational system, pupils may either stay at a secondary school with an attached sixth form, transfer to a local sixth form college, or go to a more vocational further education college, although in some places there may in practice be little choice which of these options can be taken.
In the independent sector, sixth forms are an integral part of secondary schools, there is a number of smaller-scale independent sixth form colleges. In Wales, education is only compulsory until the end of year 11. Students at sixth form college study for two years; some students sit AS examinations at the end of the first year, A-level examinations at the end of the second. These exams are called C. A. P. E. in the Caribbean. In addition, in recent years a variety of vocational courses have been added to the curriculum. There are over 90 sixth form colleges in England and Wales. Most perform well in national examination league tables. In addition, they offer a broader range of courses at a lower cost per student than most school sixth forms. In a few areas, authorities run sixth form schools which function like sixth form colleges but are under the control of the local education authorities. Unlike further education colleges, sixth form colleges accept part-time students or run evening classes, although one boarding sixth form college exists.
There are a few schools in Brunei providing sixth form education. Five of them are dedicated sixth form colleges, with four located in Brunei-Muara District and one in Tutong District. Belait has yet to have its own sixth form centre and sixth form education is presently housed in Sayyidina Ali Secondary School, sharing facilities with the secondary education. There is no sixth form education in Temburong — prospective students go to sixth form colleges in Brunei-Muara where they may stay in dormitories. All sixth form schools are government schools. Five of them provide education leading up to Brunei-Cambridge GCE A Level qualification. Jerudong International School is a non-government school which has sixth form education and its A Level is independent of those offered by its counterpart. Along with International School Brunei which offers the program International Baccalaureate Diploma instead of A Levels after the completion of International General Certificate of Secondary Education in their lower secondary year.
Another school, Hassanal Bolkiah Boys' Arabic Secondary School, is a government sixth form centre for students in the specialised Arabic stream. Instead of A Level subjects, students learn subjects pertaining to Islamic knowledge in Arabic medium; the schooling culminates in the sitting of Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Ugama Brunei, translatable as the Higher Certificate of Brunei Religious Education. They may proceed to Islamic universities, locally or abroad such as Al-Azhar University. In the English-speaking Caribbean, there are many sixth form colleges attached to secondary schools. Students must attain a grade A-C in 1-3 in the Caribbean Examinations Council CSEC examinations. Students that fail these exams are not accepted into the sixth form program and either can do courses in other tertiary facilities, or begin working with high school degrees. After sixth form, students are presented with an Associate Degree. Scotland does. Higher Grade qualifications can be taken in both the sixth years; the first comprehensive intake sixth form college in England was established in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, took its first intake of students in September 1964.
Since sixth form colleges have spread across the UK and have proved popular with students, their parents, other groups in the community. Until 1992, these colleges were controlled and funded by local education authorities, but the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 transferred all institutions within the sector to the Further Education Funding Council for England, a national agency with strategic responsibility for the operation of general further education colleges; the FEFC's functions were taken over by the Learning and Skills Council, a reorganisation that included changes in the funding and supervision of sixth form colleges. Sixth form colleges take responsibility for their own employment and pay arrangements with the support and advi
