Teachers from countries outside the United States who plan to spend time in U.S. schools might find this document beneficial. It includes a brief examination of the structure of U.S. secondary education, patterns of life, and work in a typical U.S. secondary school, and relationships among various groups of persons within secondary schools. Three key issues in U.S. public education are discussed against this introductory background: (1) progressivism versus traditionalism; (2) homogeneous versus hetrogeneous grouping; and (3) local versus state financing of school costs. The document also contains a 15-item summary of important features of U.S. secondary education; a 29-item glossary of common terms in secondary education; and a graphic depicting optional paths of student advancement through the U.S. educational system (pre-school through grade 12). (DB)