On Thursday, December 4, Mr. Tower’s Sociology students had the opportunity to experience a completely different culture and social atmosphere.  They were each assigned a pen pal from South Division and have been exchanging letters to get to know each other.  Many students got to know their pen pal through Facebook or Myspace.  This exchange gives both schools’ students the chance to break stereotypes and get a different perspective.

This is the 8^th year doing the pen pal exchange, and every year it has turned out successful.  “Anticipation on both sides I think is very high. Students have no idea what to expect,” said Mr. Tower of the exchange, “Until you go through this experience you really can’t have a clear vision of the cultural differences.”  Shockingly, only 500 of the 1500 students who go to South Division finish the year at that particular school.  “South is a very transitional school with students coming and going from places such as Somalia, Mexico, and many countries in Asia. That characteristic is something that makes it so interesting,” said Tower.

The exchange has benefited the students in ways that they will never forget.  “My partner, Eli, told me over Facebook that I had inspired him to try harder in school after I visited,” commented Mia Ferrito.  “I loved that there were not any cliques at South Division,” said Kelsey Sievers, “nobody judged anyone for how they looked or who they hung out with…everyone was friends.”  Megan Makowski, who graduated from Arrowhead in 2008 said, “I still keep in touch with my pen pal from last year!”

Everyone looks forward to the South Division exchange every year.  “Students see this as one of the main reasons they sign up for this class, besides my great humor, of course,” notes Tower.   The program is a great way for suburban high school students to get a taste of what it’s like to go to an inner city school and for inner city students to experience a day at a suburban high school.   South students will be visiting Arrowhead on Thursday, January 8^th, so make sure to say hello to them in the hallways and welcome them to our school!