Orientation at The Arts

To be honest, I was nervous and I did not want to go. I did not know what to expect. I did not know where the school was, who I would be meeting, and what I would be doing. Driving to Arts High School I was well aware of my surroundings and I realized that I have been in this area before and was somewhat familiar with it. Once I realized I have been around here before I became more at eases, but still, I had no clue what to expect. Walking in to the high school it felt like a welcoming environment. Art was hanging everywhere in the entrance and it looked like a great creative school.
We entered the library and the orientation began. Mr. Denard introduced Jasmine to do a poetry reading and I was blown away. I wanted to know. Who are her teachers? What classes us she taking? What does she want to do after high school? I had all these questions and was so intrigued and I wanted to know so much more. Then, I realized there were hundreds of other students with similar talents throughout the whole building. I was instantly interested and ready to get started and to meet more students.
After reviewing the paperwork and understanding the hours, observation, and community service we have to complete we divided into groups and were able to have open discussion with some teachers for Arts High School. They were all teachers that were only a few years into their careers. We were able to ask anything and I took full advantage of it. I wanted to know how they adjusted from being a student to being on the completely other end of it. They explained that it is an adjustment and it does not come easy. It may take a couple years of different classes to fully get used to the routine. I also wanted to know about how they managed all the students in their classroom. With each student learning at a different pace it must be hard to keep all of them on the same page. They explained that it is a bit difficult, but it takes trial and error to uncover what is the best approach. Some students learn visually so incorporating some of that while also incorporating physical learning is important. All of these answers were so helpful and really helped me to understand some things I would not learn in the classroom.
Observing the teachers just at the orientation I could tell that they all got along and friendships were strong. They bounced off each other during discussion and were always backing each other up. They all had smiles on their faces and you could tell they enjoyed where they were and what they were doing. Just the fact that they were all there to help Mr. Denard says a lot. I am excited to go to Arts High School and learn more. I cannot wait to meet more students and see how the teachers interact with each other. The orientation went above and beyond my expectations and I cannot wait to get started.