VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENTS
REALSCHULE
On March 18-19 eighteen students from Bavaria, Germany came to Heritage to get a taste of American high school for three weeks. One of the students, Svenja, has enjoyed many of her new experiences since she’s been in America.
“I like your donuts and your burgers,” she explained. “They are really good.”
Svenja also was attracted to the driving age we have. “I love that you can drive a car at sixteen. In Germany you have to be eighteen. But in Germany when we are sixteen we can go to the disco and drink beer, here we cannot.”
Despite the donuts and burgers, she hasn’t loved every part of her trip.
“Germany is really clean… I was in Seattle and thought the city was really dirty. The big cities, they don’t look really clean.” She did, however, enjoy her experience down in Vancouver. “It’s really pretty. I think the people here are nice.”
Svenja describes schooling in Germany as less lenient, and more difficult.
“I think classes in America are easier because you can decide what you want for math, or English, or anything, but we can’t. We have English, German, math and they are really hard.” Svenja also explained that the school German students attend depends on their grades.
“In fourth grade, if you have good marks, you go to a Gymnasium, or Grammar School. If you have good or middle marks you go to Realschule, or Intermediate School. When you’re really bad at school you go to Hauptschule, Secondary School.”
All eighteen of the visiting students are from an Intermediate school, and have been visiting local places such as Prairie High School. They will fly back to Nuremburg the last week of March. “It has been a good trip, I like to see America.”
CONFIDENCE: MADDIE
FOREIGN ACCENT by Amber Poer
Imagine coming to a new country and trying to speak the language they’ve been speaking their entire lives. For foreign exchange students, this is reality.
HHS’s Kathleen Pfannstiel is from Germany. She was taught to speak British English in school, but decided to spend a year in America, where we speak our own version of English. Kathleen, or Kathy, has had to overcome many struggles speaking with people. Her lack of experience in the English language prevents her from understanding other people, and her accent prevents people from understanding her. It took a lot of guts for Kathy to come here and try to communicate with everyone. It’s a lot to handle all at once.
Kathy explains how much confidence it took to bring herself into a new country without any familiar faces. She came here alone, and had to be confident enough to walk down the halls of a school with kids that don’t even speak the language she grew up with. With just a couple months left, Kathy has learned to accept her accent, and decided to be confident in herself as a German exchange student.
-Written, recorded, and edited by Amber Poer
MISS REPRESENTATION
On a scale unprecedented in human history, the media communicates cultural values, dictates gender norms, and tells us who we can and cannot be. The collective message that seeps into our subconscious is that women’s value lies primarily in youth, beauty and sexuality. As a result, both men and women have a limited understanding of who women are and what women can be, leading to the under-representation of women in key leadership roles and skyrocketing levels of eating disorders, sexual assault, cosmetic surgery, and exploitative pornography. In this climate of dangerous stereotypes and rigid gender roles, women are rarely seen as powerful figures, and it is difficult for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
–Jennifer Newsom, Writer, Director, Producer of the documentary film Miss Representation
TRULY BEAUTIFUL
This video is dedicated to my beautiful sister (who is actually the main actress in the video).
I hope whoever watches this video will realize that they are truly beautiful.
You are the best you there is and nobody can change that.
Believe in yourself.
-Selah Zichterman
Directed, Edited and Produced by Selah Zichterman.
Original Song Written by Selah Zichterman
Acting by Sandra Zichterman
Guitar by Joseph Zichterman
CONFIDENCE: AMBER