Before arriving at the school, our whole group was feeling anxious, nervous and excited. We are a pretty diverse group so as a whole we had some preconceived notions about the culture of the area. We (Clare + Vanessa) thought that the students and staff of the school might be cautious and suspicious of our presence as “foreigners” in the area because we were trying to place ourselves in their shoes.
Over the past couple of days we observed some similarities and differences between rural schools in this area and the urban schools back home. The biggest similarity we found is that teenagers are pretty much the same anywhere you go. We found some differences as well. The biggest difference we found was definitely the respect students had for the teachers at both the elementary and high school. If teachers gave students directions, the students would listen the first time they were given (for the most part – still teenagers!), which is something, in our experience, is very rare in urban settings.
At the same time, there definitely seems to be a disconnect between the elementary school and the high school. Overall, the high school seemed to have a more apathetic attitude towards learning as opposed to the proactive elementary school. We think that there are many factors that may contribute to this – age being one of the biggest.
Leaving Iaeger today was bittersweet. We were extremely sad to leave but excited about the new experiences later in the week. We are extremely thankful to the students and staff at both Iaeger Elementary and High School, as well as Arnie and Kathy from the food pantry, for being welcoming and so friendly. As we were leaving the high school, the sun was shining (finally) and we felt as though it was an omen for good things to come.
We believe it,
Clare, the one who thinks that everyday is SUPER exciting &
Vanessa, the girl who showers on the regular
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