My First Interview With My Neighbor

For as long as anyone could remember education has been effected by who you are, where you live, how much you have, and when you were in the schooling system. As I became more intrigued, I began conducting interviews with family and friends who had gone through being educated at different circumstances. I interviewed my neighbor Elizabeth Aldridge, my father Saber Al-kilany, and my eldest sister Asmaa Al-kilany. The information I gained from these interviews truly opened my eyes to how much has changed, and how much has remained the same.

My first interview was with my neighbor Elizabeth Aldridge. Ms. Aldridge was born and raised in Florida. She attended first public high school in Gainesville, Gainesville High School. Ms. Aldridge recalls that Gainesville High didn’t integrate until 1970. One of Ms. Aldridge’s fondest moments was winter break, “as Christmas came closer and closer we did less and less work.” Elizabeth had several choices of private schooling; Gainesville had over ten choices to choose from. Although she had the choice to her family figured she’d be less “brainwashed” in a public school. Ms. Aldridge says, “I’m glad my parents made that decision, private schools don’t care for educating, and all they want is to condition students into little religious robots.” The largest controversy she remembers was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. She heard about the riot at Tallahassee, but took no part in them. Although some were pleased with the news, Elizabeth and her family were devastated. Graduation requirements were similar to present requirements such as the SAT, but they had less time and more questions. Hearing about schooling today has led Ms. Aldridge to believe schooling has become unreasonably stri...

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... taught in another country. First major comparison would be separation of genders. In public school there is no separation of gender, but in some private schools there are. Also, Saber believes in Egypt they had it harder, but in comparison now we have much more homework since we have four classes a day, students have much more stress, and it’s much harder to get into college. Lastly, education back when Asmaa Al-kilany was in school is quite similar to what it is now. The only comparison would be that they had it much easier. Graduation requirements have become increasingly harder and teachers aren’t as lenient. Students now are drowned with homework, projects, tests, and even summer assignments. In comparison to then and now, education has evolved and will continue to change, and unfortunately become harder for years to come. To those poor souls, I say good luck.