Students Returning to GA Share Their Experiences
By Peter Geraldino '00
Peter Harrington's return from Conifer High School has shed some light on
different cultures within schools across America. Peter will be returning
to GA for his Senior year, but sacrificed his "lifer" status when he
decided to visit a new school in the Colorado Rockies last year. Partially
influenced by his father, who lives in the suburbs of Denver, Peter was
curious about the lifestyle there. Peter initially expressed concern, he
thought that he would have trouble breaking into the community, but unusual
circumstances proved otherwise. Conifer was a new school which was composed
of students from other neighboring schools. The student body was still
developing, so everyone was in a similar position as Peter. He says that
the school hasn't developed spirit yet, because it hasn't been around long
enough.
The schedule took a bit of getting used to. Rotations were composed of two
days, and each day had three periods. Each period lasted 95 minutes, which
made it easier to concentrate on the specific subject. The schedule also
allowed students two days to do homework. However, the schedule also made
it too easy to get into the bad habit of not doing homework immediately,
and eventually falling behind.
Despite its underdeveloped nature, the school was more computer oriented
and there are more facilities at students disposal. Digitized photos of all
the students are on the network, so when substitute teachers took charge of
a class, they were able to identify students. Attendance was also taken on
the computer.
Peter wasn't disappointed with the classes or teachers either. Conifer has
aggressive honors-level courses. His English class only had nine people in
it. It started out with twenty, but eleven kids dropped out. The amount of
attention the teachers gave to students was on par with what GA provides,
and required effort and commitment from the students in order to keep up
with class work.
Peter soon discovered that Conifer doesn't have a lacrosse team. His
commitment to lacrosse forced him to drive down to the city play for a
different school. "I had to drive 70 miles a day to play," he remarked.
Peter agrees the point is moot, because the dry atmosphere and high
altitude often ruined the schoolís home fields, forcing teams to share
other schools fields.
What was most striking about the school community was the cowboys.
People who not only dress themselves after the western originals, but also
acted and spoke like cowboys did. The cowboys were big guys Peter says.
There were a lot of them, and they traveled in packs. Usually, no one
bothered the cowboys, but, if anybody called them hicks, they would receive
a beating. Cowgirls weren't uncommon either. Many of these people
participated in rodeos.
Culture doesn't stop there though; it continues into early fall when
elk-hunting season begins. School stops then too for several days while
people hunt, camp, and enjoy the spoils. Then, once the people have had
their fill, school life resumes. Peter enjoyed Conifer and found the
culture interesting, but is happy to return to familiar surroundings.
Diane Saltzman is returning from the international ambience of Phillips
Academy Andover in order to complete her Senior year at GA. Located in
Andover, Massachusetts, Phillips Academy stirred Diane's sense of
adventure, desire for a challenge, and also satisfied her parents wishes
for her to attend. Competition for matriculation at Phillips Academy is
intense on an international scale. Diane did not originally believe that
she would make it, but applied thinking that on the off-chance that she was
accepted, it would be an honor.
Going to Phillips Academy was a hard transition. Diane described
the community as the best students from around the world, who gave their
utmost dedication and effort to academics. "It really felt like college! "
Diane remarked, but she missed the intimacy of a small campus that she had
at GA, and felt that the faculty seemed less personable at Phillips. Diane
felt lost in the crowd when the same familiarity with teachers and
classmates wasn't there. Also, after school, because she would return to
her dorm room instead of her home, the pressure of school always loomed
over her head.
Despite the pressures, Diane liked the dorm rooms because she was
able to meet interesting people. One German roommate spoke five languages
fluently, another Chinese roommate did not speak English at all, which
sometimes made for uncomfortable situations. Privacy was also an issue
because not all dorm rooms had separate rooms for each roommate. Diane
quickly discovered that not all people have the same working hours.
At the end of our interview, Diane said she was happy to be
spending her Senior year at GA because she would be able to spend time with
old friends, and that she felt that GA was more relaxed and less
competitive.