Foreign exchange diploma was hard earned and not a mistake
Dear Editor,
It has come to my attention that (the school board) refused to let the exchange students in Morgan Hill graduate. Since I graduated from Ann Sobrato High School in June 2008, I thought I would share some of my experience with you, so that you know how important is was for me to graduate.
First of all, I took some very interesting classes in order to graduate, such as civics, and U.S. History. I am not a citizen of the United States, but I found these classes to be very interesting. My grades in these classes were always very high, and I really enjoyed learning about the history and the political system of the country I was staying in. Though, I have to say, I found that the classes were rather simple. I did not have to study as much as I had to in Belgium. Maybe this was the case because I found the classes to be more interesting than in Belgium, or maybe because the teachers were really good (you have some excellent teachers in Morgan Hill!). But whatever the reason was, to say that you are not sure if the exchange students have met ‘California Standards’, I think, is wrong.
In Ann Sobrato, they checked my grade cards from Belgium (I followed a lot more classes than the average, American student), and they calculated my GPA from my previous years in Belgium (not really that high), and as a senior in Ann Sobrato, I got on the Honor Roll, my GPA was above 3.5.
The standards in European schools are very high, and I had to work really hard in Belgium in order to get accepted as an exchange student. Once in the U.S., I worked hard to graduate from Ann Sobrato. Finally, my hard work paid off, graduation day was there. I was so proud, graduating with my classmates was one of the best experiences of my life.
I cannot understand how you can say that my diploma was a mistake. I worked really hard to receive it, and so it is really hard for me to hear that you think of it as a mistake.
Every time I talk to my Belgium friends about my year in the U.S., I tell them all the stories about how wonderful it is, how nice the people are, how much fun I had in school. I also tell them about my classes, about U.S. History, I can talk to them about American politics. I really hope you are not ruining the chance to tell the same stories for the exchange students who are in Morgan Hill right now. I can imagine it is really difficult to work toward something, to work hard to be able to graduate with your classmates and then to hear that they are denied the amazing experience of graduating. Please don’t let their wonderful year in Morgan Hill end with such a refusal. Â
I really hope (the school board) can relate to my story, and that (they) will, at least, consider letting the students graduate, just as I did. I also hope that (they) stop thinking of my diploma as a ‘mistake’.
Aurelie Bom, Kampenhout, Belgium
