THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070054
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LAUREN ALDER, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 92 lines
THE BELL RINGS as Courtney and I pull into the parking lot at First Colonial High School, fondly known as ``FC.''
``Oh no!'' she says nervously. ``I'm going to get a tardy!''
We run toward the building, trying to make it to class before the tardy bell rings. I am slightly confused. What's the hurry? Courtney tells me that too many tardies result in detention, or in serious cases, in-school suspension.
I can understand this but cannot relate to it. At Norfolk Academy, where I go to school, if we are late, we simply go to the front office and sign in. If we bring in a note excusing our tardiness the next day, we are excused. If we have no note, arriving to school late results in demerits. (Five demerits mean a Thursday detention. Eight demerits mean a Saturday detention.)
We slide into first bell - advanced-placement calculus. There are 16 people in the room - it's about the size of my math class. This comes as a surprise, because I always think of public school classes being much larger and less personal than private school classes.
Then I notice that everyone in the room is female. This is a surprise. At Norfolk Academy, it seems like gender distribution is very carefully controlled. When I mention this to Courtney, she just shrugs her shoulders.
The next two things that happen are a huge surprise. The teacher walks around the room checking homework. I have always assumed that it is sort of up to you as to whether or not you do your homework. At Norfolk Academy, we are expected to do our homework, of course, but it is not usually checked. If we choose not to keep up with our work, it usually shows on tests. Believe me . .
Courtney has a test today and the teacher passes out the questions. About three minutes after everyone has started working and the teacher has answered one question, the teacher leaves the room. I am impressed.
At my school, we have an honor code that is taken very seriously. It basically says that no one is to lie, cheat, steal or plagiarize. Although there is no official honor code at FC, no one moves from their chair or speaks a word when the teacher leaves.
The bell rings to end class and we go out into the hall. There are certainly a lot more people than at Norfolk Academy but not the ``hallway gridlock'' I expected. We have no problem getting to where we need to go, and it seems that no one else does either.
Second bell is advanced-placement biology and we have a lab. There are 16 people in this class, as well, with an about even mix of girls and boys.
But I confront something very different here. A student-teacher is in front of the class. At Norfolk Academy, we never have student-teachers, though at times we do have people come in to observe the classes. She seems very well-liked, however, and seems to know what she is talking about.
Oh, geez. I need to go to the restroom. I lean over to Courtney and she points to the shelf by the door and tells me to sign out on the clipboard and take a pass. I walk up to the door and write my name, the date and my destination and take the hall pass. It is a good thing I did! As I walk to the restroom, a teacher stops me and asks to see my pass. I show it to her and she lets me go, but when I get to the restroom, there is a teacher inside who also asks to see my passport.
I show it to her and look around. The restrooms are very different. There is a hint of smoke in the air and graffiti on the stalls, but overall the bathroom is clean. Instead of sinks, there is a big basin with a pedal you step on to turn the water on. I leave and head back toward class.
Oops! The hall pass! I run back to the bathroom and grab the pass. Again, I am glad I have it. A different teacher stops and asks me for it. At Academy, we do not have hall passes. In fact, in some classes, the teachers ask us not even to raise our hand and ask . . . just to get up and go.
The bell rings and we head back into the hallway toward Courtney's locker. When we get there, I realize something. These lockers have locks - the ones at my school do not even have doors.
When the bell ends the next class, we head back into the hall. Two people walk by holding hands. This looks odd to me in school, but the people I am walking with don't seem to notice. We then walk by two people kissing. Ah! This does not happen at Norfolk Academy without serious, serious reprimand.
We proceed to Courtney's sixth bell . . . lunch. This is a major jolt. We walk into the kitchen area and get a tray. As we go through the buffet-style lunch line, we tell the people behind the counter what we want. At the end of the line, we pay for what we asked for. Courtney and I then choose a seat wherever we want.
So different. At Norfolk Academy, we have assigned seating and the food for the entire table is brought out by someone who sits there. Also, people can bring their own lunch here. . . . This is not allowed at my school. Instead of announcements at lunch, there is an electronic board that flashes messages.
As a whole, FC is not much different from my own school. Even the differences I expected were not as drastic as I thought they would be. There are more people and a wider variety of personalities. And getting out at 2 p.m. was nice compared to the norm at my school - 3:25 p.m. So, all in all, it seems that the differences between private school and public school, at least these two, are not all that great.
P.S.: A note to my principal and headmaster . . . they are allowed to chew gum at FC! by CNB