Struggles face transfer students at the start of each school year. Being the new kid comes with its own perks and challenges. Changing schools is a fresh new start but students might get nervous and might even feel frustrated. You wonder if you’ll make friends and if teachers are nice, struggling through the halls, until the bell rings for lunch and you’re stuck not knowing where to go or sit.
No one likes being left out or isolated. Sitting down, talking, laughing, are all enjoyable and greatly affect you. Friendships offer comfort, safety and trust. Counselors and teachers are always reminding us that school is a second home. You spend a great amount of time at school and it’s a great way of socializing. French and Spanish teacher Christina Maass often encourages students to socialize with each other, “It’s difficult, I try to talk to them more, say hello in the hallways. We even explained celebrations during class to out of country students, which fit into our class units,” Maass said.
Connecting with others, socializing with peers, affects all more than expected. Students learn diversity, different cultures, and even gain skills for future occupations, which is seen as highly important to most high school students. According to Nancy Bailey’s Educational Website,“teen academic success could be connected to peer acceptance involving socialization.”
According to Nancy Bailey’s Educational website, not many schools notice how students distance themselves from others even when “public schools have a responsibility to help children socialize with each other and the adults in their lives.”
Students need to want to socialize as well. The choice of sitting alone also has to do with wanting to be independent or just being afraid to talk to others, believing that they don’t fit and even frustrated for having to leave behind previous friends and schools. Junior Layla Negmeldin is a recent transfer student,“The school itself is good, and the teachers are nice, and the education is nice. I just expected different and was disappointed,” Negmeldin said.
The welcoming of transfer is essential to uniform and strengthen the school, and create a more diverse community.
