Educationally Speaking -- Gay Geiser-Sandoval

Gay Geiser-Sandoval

Costa Mesa High School is celebrating International Week this week.

Although its student population is already fairly global, the school will

also feature some dancing from its Austrian guests.

Most of our high schools invite students from another country to share

the American experience firsthand. Newport Harbor recently hosted

students from France, and Corona del Mar High has had Japanese visitors.

Costa Mesa High is hosting 17 students and their English teacher from a

town outside of Vienna.

Our family was offered an opportunity to get to exchange cultural

information firsthand by having Stefan stay with us for two weeks. The

Austrian students go to class with their host brother or sister, so they

get a real flavor for the differences in the two school systems.

For instance, his school houses kids between the ages of 10 and 18.

The teachers move from class to class while the students stay in the same

classroom with the same group of students all of the time. The downside

for students is that there are no electives, so students there don’t have

choir, drama, newspaper or any of the other subjects that are offered as

extras to the American student. Stefan thinks the Austrian way does lead

to better friendships with the kids in his class but says you don’t get

to know as many people.

Austrian teens each take the same 13 subjects, which are in two-hour

blocks. After a week at an American school, he said he thought the

one-hour time frame was better because it was easier to concentrate for

only one hour on a subject, and homework on that subject could be done in

smaller sections each night.

They take physical education twice a week for two hours and don’t have

all of the school sports teams that local high schools have here. His

particular high school does not have school uniforms, but some schools do

have them. Most of his teachers dress more formally than the teachers do

here, but he wasn’t sure that it made too much of a difference.

Although we just passed a bond because we think the facilities at our

school are inadequate and in need of repair, one of his first comments

was how nice our infrastructure was. They do not have sports facilities

such as pools, tennis courts or baseball diamonds. The drinking age in

Austria is 16 years old, but he said most kids didn’t over imbibe. Many

have a couple of beers on the weekend when they go out with friends. I

asked if drinking and driving was a problem, and he said that was

forbidden. After high school, men must spend eight months in the Austrian

Army. Stefan said American schools have a bad reputation in Austria but

that he thought they were both learning about the same things in some

classes. Austrian students have definitely learned more math and, after

seven years of English, he is fluent in his second language.

On Friday, join the Austrian students at the second annual Costa

Mesa-Estancia High School Joint Science Fair at Costa Mesa High School’s

gym. The projects will be displayed and judged beginning at 10 a.m., with

a reception and presentation of awards beginning at 2:45 p.m.

Because you can’t just put scientists through a six-week, on-the-job

training program, UC Irvine has provided funds and expertise to

piqueinterest in science at an early age. Many of the contestants are

from seventh grade, and they have met scientists firsthand, as well as

worked with UC Irvine students acting as mentors. Apparently, Yoda will

be there, because one science project is titled “May the Force Be with

You.” There will also be a Battle of the Insects. I hope you can join

these young scientists in action.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs

Tuesdays. She may be reached by e-mail at GGSesq1@aol.com.