Sociologists prefer to call America a stew or a goulash as opposed to the commonly used moniker, “Melting Pot.” The point being, immigrants to the U.S. infuse our society with myriad aspects of their culture from food to music to dress rather than being subsumed by whatever “they” say it means to be American. How else we would we get kimchi tacos? Through only two short weeks I have come to view my own school as a sort of educational goulash. The make-up of our student body is rather eclectic in all the best ways.
At a glance, Highland Tech seems to consist of one part gifted, one part autistic, one part avant garde, one part punk, one part LGBT, and one part former home schooled. They all coalesce into an extraordinarily mutually supportive learning culture. Our “behavior system” is called CORE – Culture of Respect for Everyone, and although it is admittedly quite early in the school year, I have already witnessed multiple examples what I like to call “Upstander” behavior, students who don’t sit by and watch misbehavior or mistreatment, but actually step up and step in. Maybe it’s because the long-time students know no different and the newer students have come to us as a haven from traditional public school harassment and bullying. Whatever the case, I look forward to this dynamic playing out over the course of the full year. In addition to CORE being the established set of norms for student behavior (I never liked the use of “rules” in school. It implies restrictions rather than expectations), I have communicated my expectation of modeling to my staff. As a relatively young group of educators, they are, in some ways, as impressionable as my secondary students. I hope that as I lead by example in the building, so too will they do so in the classroom. The motto of Highland Tech is “Educating for Leadership; Educating for Life.” That goes double for the adults.
A side note on home schooled students. Highland Tech seems to have an unusual number of students who have transitioned from home schooling. Apparently there are significant financial incentives in Alaska that support home schooling. These dollars, coupled with the highly independent nature of Alaskans in general, has created a much higher home schooled population than I would imagine exists in most areas of the lower 48. Click here if you’re interested in learning more about home schooling in Alaska.
Cultural notes – I shall endeavor to conclude each dispatch with unique observations about Alaska/Anchorage that fall outside the realm of education. This week I’m noting the Seattle-like love of coffee here in Anchorage. In addition to a number of local roasters, there are dozens of tiny coffee “shacks.” That’s really the only way to describe them. They are little drive-through buildings often no bigger than a backyard shed usually situated in a store or business parking lot. My favorite is “Bikini Babes” even though their coffee is fairly ordinary… My other observation of the week has to do with the high number of Southern transplants to Alaska. Wherever I go I hear Southern lilts from one person or another. What drew them from the warmer climes of the contiguous? I’m guessing it’s the hunting, fishing, and once again, independent spirit of the Last Frontier. Again, one for the sociologists, not me.