East students abroad: Gracie Webb in Turkey

Gracie Webb, who left East to pursue education abroad during her senior year, is currently studying in Izmir, Turkey. While in Turkey, Webb is immersed in the language and culture of a country 5,600 miles away.

Webb will send CEHS News pictures and essays about her time in Turkey every few months.

GRACIE: When I left the halls of CEHS last June, I knew that I would be back in high school before long. The only difference is that I now live in Turkey. The U.S. Department of State offers scholarships to high school students to study abroad, and I received one last April to learn Turkish. I now live in a suburb of a city the size of Chicago named Izmir.

While I have been in İzmir since September 8th, I was unable to start school until October 8th because the Turkish Ministry of Education had yet to print off my approval paper. I was somehow placed into one of Izmir’s most prestigious public high schools despite my fledgling Turkish language skills. Turkish students take an exam at the end of middle school to determine which high school they can enroll in. Whenever I told Turkish people which school I was to attend, I was met with a gasp and awed facial expressions over how difficult getting into my school is. Apparently the students at my new school are renowned for their studiousness.

On my first day, I left my home in the suburbs to take a city bus, the metro, and walk ten or so blocks to my new school in the city center. I walked into my classroom 20 minutes late, a week and a half into the school year, and to a teacher who did not know that I would be joining her class.

As an explanation, I said, “I’m a new student” in Turkish and stood awkwardly at the door.

Thankfully, a couple of students recognized what was going on and explained to the teacher. The class welcomed me and I took a seat at the back of the room.

In Turkish schools, the students stay in one classroom and the teachers switch. Student solidarity is emphasized and each classroom is its own community. Although there is no need for a passing period, there is a ten-minute break after every forty-minute class period. Students play loud music on the classroom computers and dance, rush to other classrooms to chat with friends or go to one of my closed campus’s several cafés to buy coffee or a snack for a couple Liras and then sit in the park.

The classes are on a block schedule that makes room for lots of different subjects. I have philosophy, sociology, geography, math, Turkish literature, Turkish grammar, Ottoman history, art, PE, English, German, and an optional religious history class at least once every few days. Everything except English and German is taught in Turkish, so I sit with a dictionary and try to figure out what’s going on while everyone else takes notes.

The Turkish education system is so hyper-focused on exams that students are very rarely given homework. Exams are given every few weeks, and it is assumed that students will study for the tests that are the sole determiners of their grades. Students are given one exam at the end of high school to determine which universities they may attend. Seniors are so intent on studying for this test that I have been placed in grade 11 so that my classmates will have time to make friends with me.

Speaking of the students, they’re all wonderful and quite friendly. They contribute to a relaxed and fun attitude that facilitates learning. While there is a school uniform, most don’t wear it. They pay attention during class and have fun in between. If a teacher is absent, there are no substitutes. The students simply sit chatting or working for a class period. I stick out a lot, and they’re all curious about my presence. They ask me questions about where I live in the US and if I actually got to drive myself to high school in America.

The questions that I field most often are “Why did you come to Turkey?” and “Why do you want to learn Turkish?” I answer honestly. Turkey has an important role to play in the world, and this makes their language a priority as well. Besides that, I wanted to come here because of the beautiful mixture of Eastern and Western cultures and the stunning hospitality shown to me by the people here.

I left my first day of school an hour early to walk further into the city center for my daily Turkish language classes. As I left the 128-year-old campus, I was excited to return for my second day of Turkish high school.