1974 School Magazine

SCHOOI, [N ,AMER.TCA In 1973, my family went to the State ol Connecticut in the U.S.A. wherc wc were to stay for a year in or around the town of Middle- town. The house we rented was in East f,{ampton about eleven miles from Middletown. I entered school halfway through thc sophomorc year (lOth grade) at East Hampton High School as the American school year starts in September and finishes in June. I took five subjects, U.S. History. Biology, English, Art, and Technical Algebra. On my first day at the new school I was shown around by one of the senior girls. Everything was very different but I thought I'd get used to it pretty quickly. She introduced me to her friends who were dressed in all kinds of different out- fits. Some were in jcans and others were more dressed up. Whatever they were wearing, they looked casual and relaxed. From this time on I just wore jeans almost evcry day. As long as one looked decent, there werc no othe r restrictions as to school dress. But it was in the classroorn that I found many differenccs between school in America and at the B.C.G.S. Thc first thing I noticed was that the class sizes werc infinitely smaller. Of course class size differcd from subject to subject. For instance, therc wcrc about twenty-fivc students in my U.S. History class whereas in my English class there were only about f ifteen. The Art class consisted of about twenty students; however the class itself was run in an easy informal way. The art room contained many different types of facilities ranging from the potter's corner to the silk screen equipment. My art teacher was one of the most charming people I've ever met. He was interested in every student and wanted to develop their creative abilities. He was so encouraging that I looked forward to every art lesson. Again in Biology, I noticed the interest taken by the teacher in his students. I think he genuinely enjoyed teaching. The science facilities were extremely good, For example, when doing a dissection each student would be given a wax board, animal and dissect- ing kit. In this way, it was much easier to study the animal involved. The teacher would then come around and help students individually as they needed him. As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed my Biology lessons, as they were interesting as well as being informative. The teachers showed interest in every student in the class - even out of the classroom in casual conversation. Occasionally, students would take advantage of this informal atmosphere and not come to lessons. But for the most part, many students (including me) appreciated it. I thoroughly enjoyed my year in America and experienced many different things. Gillian Spearritt

Mary Ure

Alison Craig, IVA