Page 3 - Edge issue 4

Choice Schools Should Allow Exchange Students
Editorial by Hana Hunter
Thousands of high school students from across the United States broaden their perspectives each year by traveling to a foreign country and living there for an entire school year. These students get the opportunity to share their homes, schools and cultures with foreign students. So if these cultural experiences are so beneficial to students, then why don’t choice schools offer students these opportunities?
The summer of 2019 was the best one of my life. I was finally able to fulfill my dream of living and studying in Japan. I spent the entire summer living with my host parents and host sisters in Ichinomiya, Japan. I attended Kisogawa High School where I was able to take Japanese art, tea ceremony, and judo. I volunteered in the English conversation lab every day. I walked through the school with slippers on (no shoes allowed) and ate my bento box in my classroom because there was no cafeteria. I also cleaned the school with other students and was awed by my host sister as I watched her school jazz band practice every day of the week before and after school. I struggled to find my way back and forth to school on my bike each day. I was confused in classes every day as my teachers gave directions in Japanese. I was a curiosity to my fellow students, who asked me thousands of questions in broken English. I tried my best to represent myself, my school and my country in my broken Japanese. I learned more Japanese in a summer than I had learned in years through study. I was lost and confused- and it was the best educational experience of my life.
Prior to my time abroad, I investigated the process for getting credits from Japanese schoolwork to transfer over to my schoolwork here. I also wondered whether it would be possible to enroll my exchange sister for a semester. The response I got was that choice schools do not permit current students to leave for any time, including an approved exchange program, without losing their enrollment status. Additionally, no exchange students are allowed at Edgewood or any other choice school. This was shocking to learn. Why are choice students denied this outstanding educational opportunity to learn and grow overseas? Why are foreign students not allowed to enter choice schools even though they can share so much culturally and add a level of diversity?
Upon further research, I discovered that all choice schools in Florida follow the same rule when it comes to accepting students by lottery. All students applying to Edgewood, or any of the choice schools in Florida, are separated into
different tiers based on priority.
“For example, you have employee preference, you have
sibling preference, you have in-county people, and then after that you have out-of-county people,” said Mrs. Jackie Ingratta.
The school prefers students who live in Brevard County over students from a different county- let alone a different country.
“Our seat capacity is held solely for people that fall into those tiers,” said Ms. Ingratta.
Because of this priority system, there is no room for new exchange students and any student that leaves for a foreign exchange program must be replaced. Although the school board does not have a specific rule against accepting foreign exchange students, these students are the bottom priority because they are considered out-of-county students and there is no current route for those wanting to participate by hosting or studying abroad.
Choice schools should be able to accept exchange students because it is beneficial for the exchange student and the students in America. Hosting a student that lives in a different country will teach students more about a different country’s culture and what life outside of America is like. Knowing more about another person’s culture is important and adding diversity to choice schools is beneficial to everyone.
Being a “fish out of water” is what pushes people to find their strengths and understand that it is okay to be outside of their comfort zone. Come graduation, every high school student will face that feeling of being immersed in a new world. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some experience navigating that uncomfortable and unsettling feeling? Being an exchange studentgivesstudentsthatrealworldknowledgeoffinding their way while still being in a relatively safe family setting. This type of self exploration should be encouraged and not penalized by losing a spot at a choice school.
The students of Edgewood, or any choice school, can help change this rule by requesting that the chool board revise their quotas for exchange students. Although the school board’s policy does not completely ban foreign exchange students, we can request an exception to the quota policy. With a place for exchange students at Edgewood, or any other choice school, these students would be able to contribute their unique cultural perspective and would be able to grow and learn at Edgewood.
Calendar 12/23
Winter Break begins
1/8
Winter Break ends
1/10
Dodgeball Tournament
1/20
Martin Luther King Jr. Day