School and hobbies

All of us know that a child from one to three years of age can attend a day nursery and from the age of three, kindergarten. There children experience their first contacts with society, social rules and ethics.
After enrolling in the nine-year elementary school, six-year-olds begin their compulsory school attendance. The school year begins on 1st September and finishes on 30th June. Children gradually learn to read, write and count. Later they get acquainted with the fundamentals of history, geography, the natural sciences and the fine arts. At the end of each school year students get reports with their academic record in both compulsory and elective subjects. Then they have summer holidays. It lasts for two months. Pupils and students look forward on this holidays very much. Naturally, these aren´t the only vacations they have. They also have Christmas, Easter and spring holidays.
In the final year of the elementary school many people face a problem. During this time everybody needs to choose his future occupation. The choice doesn´t depend only on our interests but also on our performance and success at school.
We can choose various options: to study at some secondary school (industrial, medical, economic) or an apprentice training centre, or some art school. One of the alternative secondary schools is Grammar School which prepares its students for university studies. Nowadays there are also private and religious schools. In contrast with the past, more emphasis is placed on foreign language studies as well as computers and economics.
Secondary school studies last four years. At the end of the fourth year students must pass a graduation examination, usually consisting of oral and written parts. Knowledge of four subjects is verified here. The Czech language exam is compulsory, while other subjects are determined either by the institute itself or left to the choice of the student. From each subject a student selects one question which should be answered and discussed for fifteen minutes. If we don´t pass the examination on our first attempt, we are offered a second chance in September.
Students get marks from 1to 5. 1 is the best and 5 is the worst.
If we want to study at a college or university, we must successfully pass the entrance examinations and interviews. The choices are really quite wide-ranging. We can decide whether we will study at a school with a technical, humanistic, economic or some other orientation.

Universities and Technical Universities have several levels. The lowest, usually lasting three years, is the bachelor´s degree. Upon successfully completing this course of study, we achieve the title of bachelor. We can also opt for study at a college of education, upon the completion of which we obtain the title of master. After completing studies at an economics or technical college we obtain title of engineer. The completion of studies is marked by a ceremony called graduation, where we get a diploma certifying the successful completion of our studies.
One of our most renowned universities is Charles University, founded in 1348 by Charles IV. This school was the first university in Central Europe. It would be suitable to mention some rather „special“ schools that prepare children with mental or physical handicaps for normal life. Specialised teachers help to acquaint them with demands of the contemporary world and with the way that our society will accept them.
When I was three years old I started attending kindergarten in Konice. Then I attended Basic school in Konice and now I attend Grammar school in the same town. And what about our hobbies? Some hobbies tend to be a men´s affair while others attract mostly women. Most hobbies are a mixed affair. Children have their hobbies, too. There aren´t many people who don´t have an interest at all in sports. Sport is an activity enjoyed by just about everyone. If we have good results in a particular sport, it may be worthwhile to start doing it more intensively. There are elementary and secondary sporting schools, which prepare us for the future. During this time it becomes evident whether our talents are just average, or if it makes sense to do the particular sport in a serious way. People need to improve their health and protect themselves from a host of illnesses.
Sport goes hand in hand with tourism. It´s actually just a branch or type of sport. Here we don´t pay much attention to our performance. The main thing is to go out into nature. Here we can look at the surrounding countryside and the animals. We are taking care of our health, too. We breathe fresh air and move around in a natural environment.
In the summertime we often go swimming – in a pond, a lake or the sea. Most of us love water. We must, however, pay attention also to dangers involved in any given sport. It often happens that somebody starts drowning. In winter, when the mountains are covered with snow comes time for all winter sports.

Downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing and skating are favourite winter sports.
Many young people take an interest in dance. Every young person needs space to express his feelings and ideas. Dance makes that possible for everybody.
Most women and young girls have a needle, thread and scissors at home. Sewing is, however, an important part of life. We can sew by hand or an sewing machine. Men like to tinker about workshops in their home. Taking care of their car is frequent source of enjoyment for them. They spend their time fixing the least little scratch.
Men like fishing, too. Many people wonder how a fisherman manages to sit for hours by the water and watch the smooth surface.
We know a whole series of other hobbies – taking photographs, cooking and baking, literature, history and so on. The most important thing, however, is that we should truly and correctly choose what we enjoy.
My hobbies are reading books, listening to music, skiing, swimming and playing baseball.