School Swap
Take a half dozen students from various backgrounds and schools, pair them up and send them to a school they’ve never been to before and what do you get? The great Our Generation School Swap.
Students from Ferris High School and Cheney High — what we considered to be pretty typical high schools — spent a day at not-so-typical schools including very small rural schools and a Native American alternative school.
In some cases, the differences they experienced were shocking, in others they learned that in many ways a school is a school is a school.
Here are some excerpts from some of their essays on their experiences. For the full report, head to http://ourgen.spokane.net
“Recently I had the opportunity to attend Ferris High School… . It was an overwhelming experience,” wrote Celesta Limberhand, a student at the Medicine Wheel Academy. “(One) major difference is the student-teacher relationships. At Medicine Wheel, we develop a strong family connection. The small student population provides the students and teachers the opportunity to create one-on-one relationships academically and personally. The Medicine Wheel students consider themselves extended family … Ferris to appears to be less personal… . I found Ferris to be somewhat intimidating. I think that Ferris would be an excellent school to attend but it depends on how you learn and what sort of relationships you are looking for. Not all students learn the same ways.”
“Coming from Ferris, a school where just a tiny sliver of the approximately 2,000 students are minorities, I already knew my day (at Medicine Wheel Academy) would be a lot different,” wrote Brian Thorpe. “The day I visited all students were required to attend a drug and alcohol education class. I quickly felt out of place, not only because I was a new face, but also because most students simply carried binders or notebooks instead of the monstrously overfilled backpack I was lugging around… . I noticed that there seemed to be a more relaxed and laid-back feeling among students and staff alike. Pupils were allowed to go out into the halls during class without asking a teacher — a sharp contrast to the strict hall-pass policy at Ferris. And teachers were always addressed by their first name. … Although class choices seemed few in number compared to the slew of courses offered at Ferris, some of the subjects seemed more exotic, such as Celesta’s traditional drumming class. All in all I had a great time at Medicine Wheel. Nonetheless, although I enjoyed the more personal feeling the smaller school atmosphere created, I was glad to get back to the familiar anonymity of the violently crowded Ferris hallways.”
“I have attended the same school since I started kindergarten, and I have always wondered what it would be like to be somewhere else. I can sit down and count the kids in each class on my fingers, and if you gave me a little time eventually I could name every kid in the school,” wrote Brynn Potts, a senior at Ritzville (Wash.) High School. “ When I first got (to Ferris) nothing had prepared me for how big of a jump I was truly making.
I had gone from a one-building school to a campus of 10 buildings. I was thankful that I had a guide. I can’t imagine becoming a new student at a school that large and having to find classes on your own. … Throughout my visit, many people commented to me that it wasn’t uncommon for them to see someone they had never seen before every day. That, I think, is what appealed to me the most about attending a large school. There are always new people to make friends with.
“I also think that in a larger school, you have more opportunities. Small schools are limited in the amount of classes they can offer by the lack of money and the fact that there are not enough students interested in a class for it to be worth the trouble.
At Ritzville High School, there is one art teacher and one art room. There are two classes offered. Ferris had its own art building. Not just one room - an entire building dedicated to my favorite subject! I was stunned.”
“In about 10 minutes, I was introduced to most of the staff (at Ritzville High),” wrote Ben Caparoso. “This left me with an impression of how small the school really was, because I didn’t even attempt to introduce Brynn to all the teachers at Ferris. It didn’t turn me off, but it was a different feeling that persisted throughout the day.
“The major difference: the number of people in the classes. At Ferris, I sit in a packed classroom of about 25 students, while in Ritzville’s we sit comfortably with five people in the room.
“Third period was P.E. - this has got to be the most universally uniform class ever. We arrived on the field, and soon after we were told to run a lap. After that we began a game of catch in lieu of the new softball unit. This reminded me of my freshmen P.E. class, right down to the range of personalities in the class - not much difference at all.
“Overall, I found Ritzville High an enjoyable experience from the busy and crowded halls of Ferris. Everyone knew everyone, and I hear that means everyone knows everyone else’s problems, which is a downside.”
“The first thing about Odessa (Wash.) High that caught my attention was the size of the school. I thought it was rather large for a B school. My partner explained that all grades, K-12, were located in this building,” wrote Cheney student Riley Palmer. “Next, I went in to meet the principal. Everyone knew my partner and the project he was doing (and who I was). Unlike Cheney, we didn’t need a visitor’s pass or a signed note from the principal. The actual meeting went great, we shook hands, he welcomed me and wished me luck.
“Between second and third period, there is a sort of recess for high schoolers, indoors. It is a time when people just hang out for 15 minutes (employing the vending machines) while socializing. I think this is a novel idea and hope it would someday be at my school (I really miss recess).
“Instead of having a lunch line with the same four main courses and two side dishes to choose from, I found that there was one course for everyone, and that varied from day to day. Also, the food was actually cooked, not thrown into a microwave. It was great compared to what I normally eat.
“At the end of the day, I felt a sense of knowing where I should be. The day was like spending a day in a hotel, liking it, but knowing where you really belong: home. Cheney is my home.”
“My experience of being in a large school started off when Riley led me inside Cheney High School and introduced me to some of his friends and then took me to meet the assistant principal so I could receive a hall pass for the day,” wrote Lance Kissler. “One of the first things I noticed was how the principal asked for Riley’s name during part of the conversation. I guess I am just used to everyone knowing each other at my high school.
“Hallway after hallway, door after door, new faces after yet more new faces, which I’d probably not run into again later in the day. It seemed to me that the students were allowed a little more flexibility in the classroom with their behaviors and rules. There were times when students would just start up conversations with each other during the middle of class and continued them without the teacher interfering. I’ve been programmed with the `raise the hand or keep your mouth shut’ discipline.
“More interesting was the size of the lockers, probably about one-fourth of the size of my locker.
“We decided to eat at the cafeteria. I was able to choose from several main courses and side dishes, as well as have juice and milk in a bag. That was probably the highlight of the day: milk in a bag. “But if I had a choice, I think I’d like to remain approximately 5 percent of my class size.”