So I was asked to talk about ITEX in five high school science classes... I was pretty nervous because even though I've been five for five weeks, the longer I'm here, the more I learn that I don't know. But, it went well and I think I learned more than the students.
Barrow High School has over 200 students. They are called "the whalers." BHS is a lot like many other high school across the country. There are many sports including: football, volleyball, cheer-leading, cross country, basketball, and wresting. They have band and drama. There are vocational classes like auto-shop and carpentry. The students study Iñupiac and some take French in their junior or senior year. There are business and personal finance classes as well. Students have access to a lot of technology. Each teacher has their on laptop cart, although some teachers share their carts. There is a SmartBoard in every classroom hooked up to an LCD projector on every ceiling. The building itself was very spread out and only one story tall in most areas. It was built on stills to elevate it above the permafrost to prevent thawing.
There are six class periods in their school day. Every day begins with homeroom and there is a school-wide lunch after third period. Classes are from 9:00 to 3:30. I presented five times and every period students seemed psyched about tomorrows home football game. A lot of times they play on a snow-covered field, but the players are pretty happy that tomorrow will be warm by Barrow standards with no rain or snow.
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