When I entered high school I thought I would never leave. I imagined four years of stress, unnecessary drama, and all the highs and lows that comes with being a high schooler. My sophomore year I came across semester school called CITYterm. Although I knew little about the program I decided to apply and a few months later I was accepted. After spending a stressful first semester of my junior year at my hometown high school I left for New York City. For the next semester myself and 29 other students from around the US would be living, eating, and breathing New York City.
From my first moment at CITYterm I knew this experience would be nothing like I had ever done before. The teachers asked us to call them by their first name as they gave us their phone numbers so we could text them whenever we needed them. I experienced my first harkness style classroom where instead of rows 15 students sat around a table, and I no longer had to raise my hand when I wanted to speak. My teachers challenged me to wander and wander, to explore my surroundings and to be aware of where I was. I became friends with Texans who used the world y'all in every sentence. I was introduced to new culture which gave me a new appreciation for art and theater. I got to see Hamilton before it was on Broadway, I met with authors after reading their novels. But the best part of all was having the ability to fall in love with a new city. New York City became a second home to me. I learned the subway lines by heart, memorized the grid system, and learned the abbreviations for the neighborhoods.
I could talk about CITYterm and my experience forever. But the main lesson I want to stress is the importance of doing a semester school. For four months I was introduced to new people, a new city, and a new learning environment. I became interested in my education again. I was excited for classes and interested in the subject matter. I got to write papers about places I had been and create projects based off what I wanted to do.
Being able to take a break from the only learning environment I had ever known grew my appreciation for education. I was more confident in who I was and what I wanted. I was more cultured and became friends from all over the country which gave me the ability to tradel to new places.
I am a strong supporter of the semester school movement and urge high schoolers to consider taking a risk. As Aldous Huxley once said, “experience is not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you”
For more information about CITYterm visit: http://www.cityterm.org
For more information about the semester school consortiums and to check out other semester school visit: http://semesterschools.net
